Below

1. Panoramixomix

   Dec 29, 2018

   10

   *DISCLAIMER FOR ANYONE NON-SURE IF WANNA BUY* Yes, game is hard and can be frustrating. But it is precisely designed part of its experience.*DISCLAIMER FOR ANYONE NON-SURE IF WANNA BUY* Yes, game is hard and can be frustrating. But it is precisely designed part of its experience. Yes, there is permadeath. But the game does have many kinds of game saving mechanics. Firstly: after every second or third level (or sth like that) you get acces to a shortcut: from Island to a certain floor. There are many of such shortcuts, they are regular. Secondly: on one of first floors you can find an oniric equipment storage mechanism, which allows you to hoard items and food. Thirdly: on the Island, and from shortcuts there are certain areas filled up with a certain items. For example: floor 3 is the best for gaining crystals, if You know how to survive there. That allows you to make preparations for next stepping into the depth. And, of course, you can find your last dead character and take its items - it is easy, because the map shows you exacly where it is. What is more, the map is very easy to follow, and always shows you: if the room is safe or not, what are directions to walk from this room, and if there is a secret in this room. So no frustrating exploration - your task is to find the way, enlight hidden things and investige them, in interactive way. Yes, there are one-kill traps. But they are visible and easy to disarm, they are to force you to be careful and understand importance of light in this game. Game have no tutorials and dialogs. It is atmospheric rougelike, much more interactive than you think. It is hardcore gaming, but very fluent and immersive. *END OF THE DISCLAIMER*
   
   Was waiting for such a game for so long! Seems normal artistic-indie atmospheric fight exploration game, but the trailers and ,,first 15 minutes" do not show much, so you are not sure what to expect. You run the game. No start screen, no tutorial, even no menu. Lonely boat on an ocean. Lonely island. You step into the cave, and then...
   
   To the last moment you have no idea what you can find in the depths. What you will have to do, to survive. Hunting for mices to not starve? Eating raw meat, and then vomiting, placing yourself in danger if attacked? Will you see the traps? Will you figure out, how to disarm or protect from them? You know, half wounds you will get, will be bleeding. How many bandages you made before? One? Great, this time you are not dead. That monster wasn't worth risk, you know, you wouldn't be able even to get meat from it. You want to explore that corner? Do you have enough lantern crystals or torches to get there, go back to the next camp and don't get killed in between? Well, if so, you're welcome... Did you wonder about that strange sounds around?
   
   On the surface - simple crafting based on four/three slots to combine, simple combat without stamina, not many weapons or items to colletc, nice looking locations with no hidden rooms.
   
   If you look correctly - perfectly working deep mechanics connected to the narrative and gameworld logic. Suprisingly many resources to get from environment, and even more items to create with them. Dynamic, movement-based combat with emphasis on timing and aiming, where every weapon has its application, and any wound is a big step to fall, or victory. Beautiful, spacious locations, filled up with different resources and dangers, every single level with its own specific atmosphere and desing construction. Discreet, easy to understand HUD, an affordance to explore with no pointless tries to find the hidden door, but some shortcuts and keys to special places.
   
   And, of course, great soundtrack by Jim Guthrie, which do not need to be praise :)
   
   For me - magnificent game. Hope people will find out what precious thing they got to their hands :3… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
2. EvilEmperor2

   Jan 16, 2019

   10

   Esse é um ótimo jogo tecnicamente, que tem todo um design de Titan Souls e tem gráficos magníficos ao meu ver, e quanto mais você joga, maisEsse é um ótimo jogo tecnicamente, que tem todo um design de Titan Souls e tem gráficos magníficos ao meu ver, e quanto mais você joga, mais viciante fica, mostrando ser superior a muitos jogos que vi em 2018.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
4. MysticalNinja

   Dec 15, 2018

   10

   Beautiful, haunting, deep, atmospheric, intelligent are just some of the ways I can describe my first 30 minutes with this gem. I never playedBeautiful, haunting, deep, atmospheric, intelligent are just some of the ways I can describe my first 30 minutes with this gem. I never played anything quite like this before and I look forward to many more sessions with this mysterious game.
   
   Thank you Capy for making something this great! You guys are an inspiration! … Expand

   • 1 of 5 users found this helpful
5. robomartion

   Dec 15, 2018

   7

   Beautiful, boring, mysterious.
   
   There's a sense of wonder and exploration in Below you don't get anywhere else. It's mysterious, foreboding,Beautiful, boring, mysterious.
   
   There's a sense of wonder and exploration in Below you don't get anywhere else. It's mysterious, foreboding, and it really is a world of its own. It's beautiful, the music is gorgeous and it creates a real atmosphere, especially when you're out in the rain, exploring the island for the first time. This atmosphere extends into the depths as you go down, and then fills you with wonder when you find a short-cut connecting you to a previously visited area, or a secret-passage that opens to a beach, where tens of ship-wrecks lie still in the water. You will feel clever when you catch a fish with your spear, feel conflicted when you kill a harmless fox for your own survival. You will, however, feel an unrelenting and unavoidable sense of boredom dawn upon you as you pick up every stick, rock and piece of string, make your sixty-eighth band-aid, your fiftieth torch, find your coveted lantern, only to step on a trap immediately after, teleport backwards and forwards and up-and-down between each campfire, walk down the same set of steps for the sixteenth time, swing your sword, or fire your unwieldy bow at the same enemy, in the same room over and over, picking up the remains of every single one, as you descend again and again. You will be compelled however to continue, for your curiosity cannot be quenched, and the allure of revelation - the telling of just another secret is too rich a prize, and however hard the slog, however seemingly distant and intangible the reward; however down-right tedious the trek, you will be drawn back down Below.… Expand

   • 7 of 9 users found this helpful
6. LesPaul

   Dec 27, 2019

   6

   I thought that this game would fill the niche for a light, easily-accessible time-filler. The graphics looked simple but appealing, butI thought that this game would fill the niche for a light, easily-accessible time-filler. The graphics looked simple but appealing, but discovered thru gameplay that objects are a bit too small to enjoy: the great majority of my screen was often black. The game mechanics and sound were as I had hoped, but I eventually lost interest nonetheless.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
7. madarasi012

   Dec 30, 2018

   6

   Below is a fine game. From Canadian indie studio Capybara, Below is a game that’s been long in development. Announced in 2013 and intended forBelow is a fine game. From Canadian indie studio Capybara, Below is a game that’s been long in development. Announced in 2013 and intended for release in 2016, the game was infinitely delayed so that Capybara could take the time to polish the game. The completed product was released on December 14th, 2018 and, believe me when I say, it is well-polished.
   Below does not hold your hand when it comes to explaining things, nor does it give you a ‘tutorial section’ to figure things out. That is something that I both enjoyed and didn’t—I enjoyed seeing what items I could put together in my inventory to craft something entirely new, and then watch that new item in action, but, at the same time, I did not enjoy the fact that it explains nothing—it took me two hours into the game to realise that I could switch my weapon by pressing X.
   Designed to be ‘difficult, but fair’, is only one of those two things. The combat is engaging, with the levels slowly introducing newer and more difficult monsters, but the random presence of spike traps and death pits that kill you—out of nowhere—and force you to start over from scratch will grate on your nerves as you wonder why you picked up the game to begin with. Furthermore, the fast-travel system in the game is obtuse: You need to collect 25 bits to be able to turn a fireplace blue, which allows you to travel from that point to the previous fireplace… for 25 bits. If you die, you are permitted to use the fireplace once, probably, for 25 bits, that will then allow you to pick up where you left off. Die again, and you’re forced to start from scratch.
   Too much focus is placed on the survival and rougelike elements, creating a game that is frantic and fast-paced; yet, going too fast punishes the player. The game is imbalanced and difficult in ways that seem needless. Some people will enjoy this game; the sense of achievement that you get from clearing an area, or finding a way deeper down is a feeling quite like any other, but the pace of Below is contradicted by its desire to have you explore—a quick pace and exploration do not go hand-in-hand.
   All in all, I would recommend this game for people who like a challenge like no other, because Below is a game quite unlike any other. That’s not a commendation, but it is by no means an insult.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
8. Dedlet

   Dec 23, 2018

   0

   This game is **** I had to drop it down to 720p just to be able to read the font. The game inflates the difficulty by locking you into aThis game is **** I had to drop it down to 720p just to be able to read the font. The game inflates the difficulty by locking you into a view that makes it hard to pick out details. A zoom feature would be **** nice so I don't have to sit 3 feet from my TV. The death mechanic is basically "let's make a dark souls game without being sued or mocked for making a dark souls game." Garbage. On my xbox I realized I could restart the game offline to start over rather than having to go through the frustration of having to retrieve corpses. That's how invested the developer is to their hardcore mechanic, you can't delete your profile from the Xbox cloud! And the game is so hard without the lantern it's easier to start over than to attempt to retrieve your body without a dependable light source. The limited use campfire transportation system also adds to the frustration. The music and soundtrack is great but that's the only compliment I can pay this game.
   If you play games to relax then get Dark Souls or even give The Surge a try. If your only sense of achievement in life is completing hard games then this is your game.… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful

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