Below
Developer(s)Capybara Games
Publisher(s)Capybara Games
Director(s)Kris Piotrowski
Producer(s)Nathan Vella
Designer(s)Kris Piotrowski
Anthony Chan
Programmer(s)Bryan McConkey
Artist(s)Anthony Chan
Sylvain Coutouly
Composer(s)Jim Guthrie
EnginePhyreEngine
Platform(s)Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
ReleaseWindows, Xbox One
December 14, 2018
PS4
April 7, 2020[1]
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Below is an action-adventure game developed by Capybara Games. The game was announced during Microsoft's E3 2013 press event, and was indefinitely delayed in 2016. It initially released on Microsoft Windows and Xbox One on December 14, 2018, with a PS4 port released in 2020. The game received mixed reviews upon release.

Gameplay

The player can sleep, cook food, or create a fast travel point at bonfires.

Below is an action-adventure game viewed from a top-down perspective with roguelike elements.[2] The player-character is a "tiny warrior exploring the depths of a remote island".[3] The game is about exploration, though that goal is contingent upon the character's survival.[3] Microsoft's Phil Spencer described the game at E3 2013 as a "creative take on roguelike gameplay" in a "mysterious world".[2] The environments are randomly generated.[3] The game is designed to be difficult, with "brutal but fair combat" and permanent death.[3]

Development

Colin Weick of Capybara presents on the game's development at the 2017 Game Developers Conference

Below was announced at Microsoft's E3 2013 event.[2][3] The project had been in development for years.[3] The company had discussed ideas for the game, particularly the difficulty element with Capybara's Kris Piotrowski.[3]

Capybara compared the game to "roguelikes of yore", as a "roguelike-like" with design choices like permanent death and high difficulty.[3] The game punishes recklessness and is designed for fair, but rigorous combat.[3] Capybara president and co-founder Nathan Vella called the game the company's largest by number of features, artwork, and development time and difficulty.[4] He described the game as a "super video game-y video game" for its aesthetics, soundtrack, and game mechanics.[3] While the game is mostly single-player, the multiplayer aspects are important in some of the world's areas.[4] In March 2014, Vella said that the game's development progress was hard to gauge, but its foundation was laid.[4] Its first playable demo was scheduled for the April PAX East 2014.[5]

To create and emphasize scale, Capybara chose to make the player-character small and use a dramatic tilt-shift photography effect.[3]

Below was expected to release simultaneously on Microsoft Windows and Xbox One,[2][3] and would be a timed exclusive on Xbox One for a limited time.[6] The project was indefinitely delayed in mid-2016 while Capybara turned to finish OK K.O.! Let's Play Heroes for Cartoon Network.[7] Below was released on Xbox One and Microsoft Windows on December 14, 2018.[8] A PlayStation 4 version and an easier difficulty setting was released on April 7.[1]

Soundtrack

Singer-songwriter Jim Guthrie composed the score.[2] His compositional work on a previous Capybara's release, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, led to their Below collaboration.[3] Capybara has described Sword & Sworcery as a game built upon Guthrie's music, and Below as Guthrie's music built upon Capybara's game.[3] The soundtrack for the game was released over three albums: Below (Original Soundtrack), Below OST - Volume II, and Below OST - Volume III.[9]

Reception

The game received mixed reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic with an overall score of 71.[10][11] It was nominated for "Game, Original Action" at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards,[18] and for "Best Sound Design for an Indie Game" at the 2019 G.A.N.G. Awards.[19]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Alice Bell criticized the game's insta-death traps and slow progression, but praised the game's world and atmosphere.[20] Colin Campbell, writing for Polygon praised the mystery and visuals of the game, but disliked the repetition of the levels.[21] Destructoid's Jordan Devore praised the ambience of the game but criticized the pacing, saying "Below puts its best foot forward in its early hours and then never stops losing steam".[22]

References

  1. 1 2 "'Below' arrives on PS4 on April 7th with an easier exploration mode". Engadget. 25 March 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-03-28. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Corriea, Alexa Ray (June 10, 2013). "Below by Capybara Games coming to Xbox One". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 McWhertor, Michael (June 11, 2013). "Below from Capy Games is an ode to roguelikes, with 'brutal but fair' combat". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Farokhmanesh, Megan (March 19, 2014). "Super Time Force shooting for summer release, Below 'hopefully' playable before E3". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  5. ↑ Tach, Dave (April 3, 2014). "Capy's Below will be playable at PAX East 2014". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 4, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  6. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (August 8, 2013). "Capy's Xbox One roguelike Below will come to other platforms". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  7. ↑ Frank, Allegra (March 9, 2017). "Capy Games returns for project with Cartoon Network (update)". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  8. ↑ Batchelor, James (December 5, 2018). "Capy's Nathan Vella "not afraid of how Below will perform" when it arrives next week". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Below (Original Soundtrack), by Jim Guthrie". Jim Guthrie. Archived from the original on 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  10. 1 2 "Below for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  11. 1 2 "Below for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Below for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Review: Below". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 2019-10-02. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  14. ↑ "Below". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  15. ↑ "Below Review - Deep Down". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  16. ↑ "Below Review". IGN. 20 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  17. ↑ "Below review". PC Gamer. 17 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  18. ↑ "Nominee List for 2018". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. February 11, 2019. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  19. ↑ Lagumbay, Emmanuel (February 14, 2019). "2019 G.A.N.G. Awards Finalists". Game Audio Network Guild. Archived from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  20. ↑ Bell, Alice (2019-01-03). "Wot I Think: Below". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  21. ↑ Campbell, Colin (2018-12-18). "Below is beautiful, subversive and frequently maddening". Polygon. Archived from the original on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  22. ↑ "Review: Below". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2021-01-14.

Further reading

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