Below |OT| Wanderers in the Dark

[sheaaaa]

I've bounced off Below really hard. On my second run, at floor 3, and each room feels exactly the same as the last, combat isn't engaging, and while there's been some interesting stuff surrounding the bigger picture (eg unlocking what I think are shortcuts), the thought of trudging through floor 3 to place the keystone just doesn't appeal.

Am I missing anything? Can anyone who's spent more time with the game tell me if it gets better?

 

[thomasmahler]

It should be the shield button!

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Hm, that's strange. I have the torch equipped on the right dpad and stand in front of the vines and press LT or hold LT and nothing happens. Is that a bug?

 

[Tappin Brews]

I've bounced off Below really hard. On my second run, at floor 3, and each room feels exactly the same as the last, combat isn't engaging, and while there's been some interesting stuff surrounding the bigger picture (eg unlocking what I think are shortcuts), the thought of trudging through floor 3 to place the keystone just doesn't appeal.

Am I missing anything? Can anyone who's spent more time with the game tell me if it gets better?

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you arent far from what i found to be really interesting new mechanics honestly. i'd push on just to see that stuff - but if you arent enjoying it now you probably wont be further on either

 

[Tappin Brews]

Hm, that's strange.

Spoiler

I have the torch equipped on the right dpad and stand in front of the vines and press LT or hold LT and nothing happens.

Is that a bug?

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Spoiler

i'm in the same boat. i too havent opened that door. i've seen posted to use the torch but either it isnt working or i'm not sure how to get the torch to interact with the thorns

 

[XVerdena]

Jesus that intro is fucking long. Was gonna just turn the game off.

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I thought it was fucking amazing.

 

[Donniewahlberg]

Hm, that's strange. I have the torch equipped on the right dpad and stand in front of the vines and press LT or hold LT and nothing happens. Is that a bug?

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It could be. With the torch equipped, you should still have your sword in your regular hand and able to attack but the torch should replace the shield and you can swipe it at things like bats or vines to burn them with LT.

I have ran into quite a few bugs throughout my time. I've had the game lock up in room transition and one instance where switching weapons locked my adventurer into a constant attacking animation I could only break by quitting.

 

[Shelbyville Milhouse]

I thought the intro has been by far the best part of the game so far

 

[thomasmahler]

It could be. With the torch equipped, you should still have your sword in your regular hand and able to attack but the torch should replace the shield and you can swipe it at things like bats or vines to burn them with LT.

I have ran into quite a few bugs throughout my time. I've had the game lock up in room transition and one instance where switching weapons locked my adventurer into a constant attacking animation I could only break by quitting.

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Goddamn. You need to DOUBLE TAP LT in order for that to happen. Just holding LT has the character holding out the torch, double-tapping LT is the swipe. Honestly, this is the kinda stuff that the game should explain somehow...

 

[Tappin Brews]

Goddamn. You need to DOUBLE TAP LT in order for that to happen. Just holding LT has the character holding out the torch, double-tapping LT is the swipe. Honestly, this is the kinda stuff that the game should explain somehow...

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whelp, time for me to find that door early on. is that 2?

a game like this, hands off, no tutorial, walks a fine line between too much info and not enough. i used obtuse to describe the game earlier i think thats really an apt description. still really enjoying it, but it is definitely despite things like this.

 

[honest_ry]

Finally played it. First thoughts....

This is shite.

I'm glad it came to game pass and I didn't spend any money on it.

 

[Majora85]

If they ever introduce a mode without survival mechanics I will definitely give this another shot but everything being on a timer is too stressful for me. Combine this with losing everything when you die and can't recover your corpse and it's one of the most punishing games I've ever played. It makes the Soulsborne games feel relaxed and generous by comparison. At least in those games you can explore at your own pace and keep all your items and weapons each time you die.

I feel like all the different systems in this end up fighting with each other. What I want to be a game of exploration and discovery turns into a grim, determined march because of the hunger, thirst and cold meters. When the next fire on level 4 you need to keep warm is hidden behind literally about 10-15 enemies and the clock is ticking then I inevitably end up trying to rush things and dying in three hits, but if I try to approach the groups methodically then I end up freezing to death.

Fail to reach your corpse and lose all your food and items and you're faced with a choice to either rush back and likely die quickly again due to lack of resources or face yet another 10-15 minutes gathering resources from the beach and earlier levels and it's just too much. You can store things in the pocket but only a derisory amount really.

I find it frustrating because this is a world I want to explore, with secrets I want to discover, with mechanics I want to engage with but it's just so frustrating and unforgiving and brutal in a way that makes the Souls games feel like a Nintendo title in comparison. My gut feeling is that the devs have spent so long making this and playing this and getting adept at this that they've kind of lost sight of how punishing and harsh it is.

Maybe I'm wrong and everything I've complained about was completely their vision for the game, in which case I guess I have to hold their hands up and say it's not for me. But as it is, I fear only the most absolutely determined players are going to give this more than a few hours.

 

[thomasmahler]

Finally played it. First thoughts....

This is shite.

I'm glad it came to game pass and I didn't spend any money on it.

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It really is not. It might not be your kinda game, but I'm having a ton of fun with it right now :)

 

[honest_ry]

It really is not. It might not be your kinda game, but I'm having a ton of fun with it right now :)

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Fair enough. But I just don't like it. And there's no genre I don't like. The fact I am visually impaired doesn't make it easy to play either

 

[Donniewahlberg]

I feel like all the different systems in this end up fighting with each other. What I want to be a game of exploration and discovery turns into a grim, determined march because of the hunger, thirst and cold meters. When the next fire on level 4 you need to keep warm is hidden behind literally about 10-15 enemies and the clock is ticking then I inevitably end up trying to rush things and dying in three hits, but if I try to approach the groups methodically then I end up freezing to death.

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I totally agree with your sentiments but I'm just singling this part out because there's a tip for floor 4 that might help you out if you've not discovered it yet

Spoiler

there's a room off the map on that floor that you can open up if you're able to craft yourself a bomb. Inside there is a hat that will make your temp gauge go down slower. I've generlaly found it somewhere towards the left of the floor layout

I know you only used that as an example (and I agree) but just in case

 

[Greyvvolf]

Spoiler: Floor 2 Spoilers

is that the room that is a dead end blocked by a pillar? If so try shining your lantern on the pillar. Hold LB.

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No, this is the part just before that to get to it. But thanks for replying, I was able to get the help I needed.

Spoiler: 2

that bottom picture, with the diamond shape in it, you are approaching it from the wrong side. walk around the rock structure and approach from the top. its not a door, but instead stairs.

dont feel dumb, i did the same thing. very visually confusing in my opinion

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This was it. Thank you! I thought I was doing something wrong or was missing something. I agree, very visually confusing. I went and walked around this structure multiple times.

 

[NovaXz]

I've died about 6 times trying to get back to my lantern on level 19. Mainly from starvation. Not enough food

 

[Donniewahlberg]

I've died about 6 times trying to get back to my lantern on level 19. Mainly from starvation. Not enough food

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Yea, at a certain point you kind of have to head up to North Beach and maybe even run the first few floors again before you're in a position to actually go after your things again. I'd probably try and sprint to floor 19 from the shortcut to floor 4,try and get my stuff then sprint back as far as you can. You might starve again anyway but at least your stuff will be close enough to make a serious go next time and you'll be able to fish etc

 

[Stratosphere]

Anyone? How do I get my spear back?

 

[Potterson]

Anyone? How do I get my spear back?

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It's on your corpse I guess.

 

[Donniewahlberg]

Anyone? How do I get my spear back?

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My spear has always been on my corpse. Could be a bug :( did you make sure to take all?

 

[Dimple]

This game has pissed me off to no end at times, but yet I keep pushing on, is definitely getting under my skin, one thing I do feel the game should have is kind of a Journal (a la RDR2) that records the things like the map, how to craft things, and general techniques, so that if you die and come across your body with a new character, all that knowledge has been stored and 'passed on' so to speak.

I feel this would be in keeping with the game, but at the same thing relieve a lot of the issues people have been having with difficulty and would make finding your previous character more much of an incentive, thoughts?.

 

[striderno9]

Intro is very good, but also very long. I keep dying and its sort of frustrating me to no end but that's the type of game this is. I played for about an hour and kept finding new places to die.

 

[Stratosphere]

It's on your corpse I guess.

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It wasn't for me...

My spear has always been on my corpse. Could be a bug :( did you make sure to take all?

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I did take all, hopefully I can still find another one somewhere

 

[Deleted member 11976]

Yea, at a certain point you kind of have to head up to North Beach and maybe even run the first few floors again before you're in a position to actually go after your things again. I'd probably try and sprint to floor 19 from the shortcut to floor 4,try and get my stuff then sprint back as far as you can. You might starve again anyway but at least your stuff will be close enough to make a serious go next time and you'll be able to fish etc

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Once you get past 20/21F, if you're like me, you'll return to the North Beach and 2F to farm food items and Gems. Both are extremely scarce when you go deeper than 21F.

This game has pissed me off to no end at times, but yet I keep pushing on, is definitely getting under my skin, one thing I do feel the game should have is kind of a Journal (a la RDR2) that records the things like the map, how to craft things, and general techniques, so that if you die and come across your body with a new character, all that knowledge has been stored and 'passed on' so to speak.

I feel this would be in keeping with the game, but at the same thing relieve a lot of the issues people have been having with difficulty and would make finding your previous character more much of an incentive, thoughts?.

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I'm thinking the decision not to include a Recipe Log of some kind is backed by Breath of the Wild not having one. I've actually kept a little note with recipes on it.

In general, here's what I've found:
Meats + Veg = Broth (half heart)
Meats exclusively = Stew (full heart)
Meats + Mushroom = Elixir (yellow, red, blue, green, white; each has a buff I won't spoil)

Item Crafting is much more complex, obviously. 😉

 

[msarnone]

Just needed to pop in to say how much I'm enjoying this.

I have not been a fan of survival mechanics before this and I was pretty worried when I heard that they were involved but holy shit if I don't appreciate them here for some reason. I love the way they've approached the mechanics, too. They're not opaque or coy... they've been streamlined and the UI and context clues do a wonderful job of pointing you to possible meanings/uses for icons and items and warnings. Lends to a real feel of discovery. Just super well made. Super thoughtful. The combat, where I am at least (layer 4?) feels tight but not single note and the art direction is stellar.

We'll see where it goes but at the moment, I'm kinda in love.

 

[Legacy]

Wait, this game is out now? How did I miss this, let me check the reviews first.

What are ERA's impressions so far? Seems a bit mixed

 

[antispin]

So, is this region locked or something? I see it on the gamepass screen but can't install it. Can't find it on store.

 

[DisturbedSwan]

Played this for 2 hours yesterday and I could barely tear myself away from it, it is superb.

The atmosphere - largely conjured up by the phenomenal soundtrack - is one of the best I've ever experienced, it is just so mysterious, evocative, melancholic, moody and intruiging. Everything about it just stokes your natural curiosity and you just can't help but wonder what's around the corner.

This is helped by the minimalist art style and a distinct lack of hand holding. Dropping right into the game after a short strange cutscene and then being left to your own devices to decide what to do, where to go and how to play the game.

It is just so incredibly evocative. I was almost immediately completely immersed in the world and just gradually eking my way out from the starting beach area and gradually tumbling deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole to try to find out the Island's secrets.

I honestly could not tear myself away from it and just wanted to continue playing and making just a little more progress to get to the next room or floor, it is so addictive and compelling. I can't recommend it enough.

 

[h8bit]

Just want to chime in and say I also adored the intro. Really appreciated how it set the mood. Also the natural ambient sounds are just the icing on the cake when it comes to setting the mood. It's been really rainy here in my part of the world and it's been the perfect time to dive into this game

 

[Tappin Brews]

It wasn't for me...
I did take all, hopefully I can still find another one somewhere

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i too am missing my spear. sucks, as fish seem to be a staple of your diet

 

[h8bit]

i too am missing my spear. sucks, as fish seem to be a staple of your diet

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wait.. when do you get a spear. played about 3 hours and i don't think i've seen one in my inventory?

 

[ASilentProtagonist]

I'm on Win7 and I also can't launch the game. I'm probably gonna get a refund, but I'll keep checking the forums till there's a fix, because the game looks intriguing. Good luck.

But, seriously, did no one test this game on Win7 before launch?

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Has this been fixed? Major issue....

 

[Stratosphere]

i too am missing my spear. sucks, as fish seem to be a staple of your diet

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So I was actually able to get another spear from the same location you originally find it. Give that a try!

 

[Deleted member 10601]

I think my time with the game might be wrapping up. I just find the survival parts a little exhausting for my tastes, while I absolutely love the exploration and wonder of it. If they were to launch a *story mode* or something where you could respawn at your last campfire and worry less about keeping your hunger bar etc up over multiple floors, I would definitely play that. I still think it would be a very engaging challenging game moment to moment like that. I really like the loop of exploring floors and even re exploring upon death and the stiff challenge from the environment. Going all the way back to the beach with none of my stuff is just extra time I can only devote to a point.

That said, I think the team made something really interesting and special and I applaud them for sticking to their vision. There are going to be folks who discover this game and love exactly what it is for years I think.

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Amen.

I'm still on the fence. lol

 

[Tappin Brews]

wait.. when do you get a spear. played about 3 hours and i don't think i've seen one in my inventory?

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So I was actually able to get another spear from the same location you originally find it. Give that a try!

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remind me, us, where this was at again? (in spoilers)

 

[Donniewahlberg]

Amen.

I'm still on the fence. lol

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Haha I feel so torn on it. I've had some moments that just click and are so fun but I just feel like I could have even more fun with some tweaks

A question about head gear you can find

Spoiler

has anyone figured out what the horn skull does? I have the crystal skull from the shop and with that I've been able to find some special little creatures that have decent drops, and the Tuque from floor 4 was easy to figure out but can't really see what this one does

 

[Nex]

Has this been fixed? Major issue....

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It was fixed, and I played the game.. and I was super disappointed. In short, it's really boring and empty, the combat is shallow and unsatisfying. There are Steam reviews in the game page that go into more detail, but that's basically it.

 

[Stratosphere]

remind me, us, where this was at again? (in spoilers)

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Spoiler

Its in the shortcut to the first floor. You can get there from the cave to the right on the starting beach.

 

[Bacon]

I really wanted to like this game. The atmosphere is incredible but I have to echo others and say that it's just too punishing. After dying I lose all ambition to get back to where I was when I died on some unfair spiketrap. Glad I gave it a shot but yeah, not for me I guess.

 

[ASilentProtagonist]

It was fixed, and I played the game.. and I was super disappointed. In short, it's really boring and empty, the combat is shallow and unsatisfying. There are Steam reviews in the game page that go into more detail, but that's basically it.

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Yeah, i'll skip this. Apparently, Ashen is pretty good, so i'll look into that.

 

[closer]

love this game

 

[Andrei Rublev]

As a few others have mentioned, if they included a mode that didn't have the survival elements I would be playing this non-stop. Has some of my favorite art direction and soundtrack in a game from this generation. I'm just getting frustrated in the level 4 region because I keep dying of starvation. I'm having a very hard time finding consistent food sources.

 

[impact]

It was fixed, and I played the game.. and I was super disappointed. In short, it's really boring and empty, the combat is shallow and unsatisfying. There are Steam reviews in the game page that go into more detail, but that's basically it.

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Agreed, definitely glad this was a GP thing and I didn't actually pay for it. Audio and visuals are nice but my god it's a terrible game to play.

Hate to say it but if they made it more of a Souls clone with their own audio visual flair I probably would've liked it. This weird survival shit just going through the same empty zones ain't for me.

 

[Tappin Brews]

As a few others have mentioned, if they included a mode that didn't have the survival elements I would be playing this non-stop. Has some of my favorite art direction and soundtrack in a game from this generation. I'm just getting frustrated in the level 4 region because I keep dying of starvation. I'm having a very hard time finding consistent food sources.

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Are you killing the ambient life?

 

[DeepChord]

Anyone knows how a ryzen 2500u is running this?

 

[Andrei Rublev]

Are you killing the ambient life?

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Yeah, when I was in level 4 I came across about 2 wolves and that was it.

 

[Tappin Brews]

Yeah, when I was in level 4 I came across about 2 wolves and that was it.

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The north beach should have a few fox, fish, and mushrooms

 

[BubblegumNemesis]

As a few others have mentioned, if they included a mode that didn't have the survival elements I would be playing this non-stop. Has some of my favorite art direction and soundtrack in a game from this generation. I'm just getting frustrated in the level 4 region because I keep dying of starvation. I'm having a very hard time finding consistent food sources.

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I guess there is a big chance they will add something like that, a lot of people do not seem to be happy with the survival aspects.

 

[wafflebrain]

I guess there is a big chance they will add something like that, a lot of people do not seem to be happy with the survival aspects.

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Include me in that camp lol. Love the atmosphere and exploration plus the gorgeous dark ambient soundtrack, but I've pretty much hit a brick wall in terms of patience to keep going, the loop to get back to the lantern or other areas is killing it for me.

I know initially the Rainworld dev was hesitant about implementing changes to the difficulty, citing it as more of an "art piece" than a traditional game, but thankfully they relented eventually and made the whole hibernation and food checkpoint system a lot more forgiving, made the game much more playable and enjoyable. Hopefully the Capy devs here will consider an alternate mode too if they have the time and resources available to do so, it'd be a shame to have so few people get to experience the other areas and ending due to the harsh difficulty, especially considering the development length!

 

[Rudderless]

Goddamn. You need to DOUBLE TAP LT in order for that to happen. Just holding LT has the character holding out the torch, double-tapping LT is the swipe. Honestly, this is the kinda stuff that the game should explain somehow...

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Or you can use a fire arrow (which is what I did).