Below is a rogue-like action-adventure game that’s using a fantastic artistic direction as the material for procedurally generated encounters. Stranded on a mysterious island, the player has to overcome multiple challenges by descending, floor by floor, into an underground complex. Explore, find secrets, battle enemies in a Souls-like fashion and survive!

Below’s fog of war is a neat mechanic that blocks the players’ vision in order to prevent them from knowing what’s coming next. I would advise against rushing through the fog as it’s easy to step on a trap while doing so. The fog of war is different from the field of view. The latter is a depth of field that gradually applies the further away the image is from the character’s position.

The level design might be one huge ledge, but there is no reason to panic. You can’t fall off the map. So it’s better to leave this fear behind and maybe mind the traps instead.

Below has some mild but important survival mechanics. The character is subject to hunger, thirst and cold. You’ll have to constantly monitor the three in order to survive.
Food can be obtained by killing animals or by looting vegetables. Food supplies can be cooked for increased nourishment or eaten raw if desperate. Water is most commonly found in puddles spread all over the natural caves. Lastly, the character is affected by cold only on particular levels and the way to counter it is by igniting braziers and warming up next to them.
Monitor your food and water intake. Make sure you have the supplies needed to survive during prolonged exploration otherwise your attempts might stop short.

Crafting can be performed at any time as long as you have the necessary materials to make an item. In order to craft you have to access the inventory. Clicking on a crafting material will immediately highlight only the materials in your inventory that can be put together. After selecting all the materials necessary the crafting button becomes available and upon pressing it a new item will be created. There is no journal or codex for the crafting formulas. So finding new items is about trying new combinations and you have to memorize or write down what can be crafted using a combination of materials.

The combat is a big part of Below and one you have to excel at in order to survive longer. The combat system isn’t too complex and can be mastered fairly quickly. However, there are a few attack combinations that work better depending on the situation:

• Normal combo – Pressing attack twice in a consecutive sequence will perform a double slashing combo which works as the default attack pattern.
  
• Smash attack – Pressing attack while running will trigger a smash attack. Pressing attack again will follow with an immediate slash.
  
• Piercing attack – Pressing attack after dodging will trigger a medium range piercing attack. Pressing attack again will follow with an immediate slash.
  
• Counterattack – Pressing attack while blocking will perform a short range piercing attack. Pressing attack again will follow with an immediate slash.
  
• Shield slam – Pressing guard once will trigger a shield slam attack capable of breaking the guard of enemies. Pressing attack again will follow with an immediate slash.

The visual range is impaired by design in Below to stop the players from gaining an unfair advantage. However, a lot of effort has been put into audio design to make the player aware of the situation. There are a lot of audio effects that give away the enemies ahead or warn about the character’s basic needs. Pay attention to these sounds as it will help tremendously, especially if you miss the visual feedback.

Shortly after picking up the lantern it becomes obvious that it’s not meant to be used only as a light source. When needed, light can be provided by torches or braziers. The lantern however has other uses which include opening sealed doors and highlighting traps. The lantern is in constant need of fuel in the form of shards. The shards are obtained by slaying enemies which limits their availability preventing players from being wasteful. Manage your shards well, but don’t be too greedy in using your lantern as it may uncover secrets or deadly traps.

As with any other rogue-like game, death is a part of the gameplay experience in Below. However, having to go through the same floors over and over again can get tedious. In order to avoid extreme repetition, checkpoints can be created. A checkpoint is created by spending 25 shards on a campfire. The campfire will turn blue and serve as a teleportation waypoint from any other campfire you visit. The checkpoint can be used only once, no matter if you are in the same attempt or you have respawned.

Even the safety of checkpoints isn’t always enough to prevent a disaster. So, while exploring the underground complex, be on the lookout for shortcuts. Once unlocked, a shortcut will lead from the top of the island straight to a lower level, heavily mitigating any time loss.

Reaching the third floor will unlock a hideout area. The hideout has multiple storage boxes which will allow you to deposit materials, weapons, armors and even shards. The storage capacity can be upgraded with special items found in secret locations. After unlocking it, the hideout can be accessed at any camp fire by simply sleeping.

This cannot always be said about this type of games, but Below comes with mouse and keyboard support. The mouse is used to control direction and attacks, as it should, while the keyboard serves for pretty much any other function. Sadly, the controls are not rebindable (as of now), but the control scheme is pretty standard.

I’m hoping this guide will come in handy and help you avoid unnecessary deaths. I’m not finished with my descent into the darkest corners of the island. So if I find new things that are worth mentioning, I’ll make sure to update this guide.

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