The indie games industry continues to grow at a rapid pace with a buffet of exciting releases that challenge the many norms of AAA game development. There’s almost a never-ending cavalcade of promising games that are set to release sometime in the future, and most games in this category continue to impress with their unique mechanics and fresh designs. We started this feature series to put a spotlight on some of these games, and highlight why these games are worth looking out for.
Today, we will be taking a look at Beneath, which is currently in development at Camel 101. This is the same studio that previously brought us Those Who Remain, which is yet another survival horror game that shares more than a few similarities with its upcoming project. The game has had a mostly positive reception from fans as can be seen on Steam, and Beneath is looking to be the perfect spiritual sequel that expands and refines the psychological horror elements laid out in the developer’s prior projects.
Beneath takes place in a rather interesting setting. Where most horror games are content with having well known backdrops like an infected city or an isolated village, Beneath takes place away from the land and right into the heart of the sea. Players will be assuming the role of Noah Quinn, a professional underwater sea diver who finds himself stranded on an abandoned ship filled with all kinds of horrors.
As such, you must use everything in your wits and find a way out of this nightmare. While this narrative setup might sound redundant at first glance, Beneath puts up an interesting case for itself by making the player’s twisted psyche an important part of the experience. You see, Quinn is prone to having seizures and panic attacks thanks to his mental condition, so players will also have to put up with these issues as you explore these desolate environments and try to make your way out.
Beneath utilizes a first person perspective for the gameplay, which should hopefully help in establishing a deeper connection with the protagonist. Seeing the game’s events unfold through the eyes of Quinn could open up many avenues for exciting horrors, and it would be rather interesting to see how the developers implement psychological horror into the mix. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice did a great job in this department by portraying its protagonist’s dilapidated mental state through presenting a world that was a mix of reality and figments of imagination, and here’s hoping that Beneath also takes some cues from this material and craft a similar experience.
The most interesting part of Beneath is definitely the Sanity meter. As if lifted straight out of Eternal Darkness: Sanity Requiem’s hat, players will have to put up with a Sanity meter that will keep on filling amidst all the horror that players will be facing throughout their adventures. As such, keeping enemy encounters to a brief minimum might be the best option – but the game will most likely feature scenarios where you need to face enemies and keep your Sanity levels simultaneously in check.
Switching gears over to the gameplay side of things, Beneath’s core gameplay will revolve around exploring these desolate environments and dealing with any enemies that might stand in your way. The shooting isn’t the most polished, but it’s looking appropriately brutal with adequate feedback from the weapons and semi-realistic recoil. According to the developers, the enemy should also put up a fair fight thanks to an adaptive AI system that reacts to player choices – which should hopefully make enemy encounters dynamic. Players will also have the option to use attachments on their weapons for added utility. The game showcased this in a attachment system where you can easily swap out scopes, magazines, stocks, to create weapons to create something that suits your tastes.
But of course, engaging in combat will be a luxury since resources are going to be scant for the most part – and your limited firepower should be reserved for occasions that absolutely demand it. As such, you will also need to resort to creative tactics that should help you avoid these encounters and keep your Sanity levels in check. That could be taking alternative routes to your objective, or sneaking around the environments to chart a safe path without coming in direct contact with your enemies. Furthermore, the developer has confirmed the presence of destructible environments as well – so using that to your advantage could also prove useful in conserving your ammunition.
Beneath is also set to feature sequences that would put players back into the diving suit as they explore the many depths of the deep sea. These sequences are definitely looking to be one of the more interesting aspects of the experience, since players will have the option to freely traverse the ocean floor between their trips to the many different underwater stations that will house the majority of the game’s encounters. We haven’t really seen much of underwater gameplay at this point, but hopefully more details will surface soon.
For all the many strengths in Beneath, we have to admit that it isn’t the perfect game by any means. There are plenty of flaws with the experience that are worth noting as well, and most revolve around the game’s presentation. The action here tends to feel a bit choppy and mechanical, with animations not being quite as smooth as one would like from a modern game. Furthermore, while the presentation itself is mostly great in terms of art direction – we can’t help but feel that the level of fidelity leaves a lot to be desired. Thirdly, the performance in the gameplay isn’t the best – which is definitely not a good show for a game with subpar levels of graphical fidelity.
But then again, these are some of the compromises that games with small development teams tend to have. Hopefully, these issues will be resolved by the time the game releases. And on the topic of release dates, Camel 101 hasn’t mentioned any release dates as of now – so it’s going to be some time before we get the game on our hands.
In conclusion, Beneath looks like an ambitious project that could turn out to be something special. The underwater setting is a perfect backdrop for an inescapable nightmare, and the sanity mechanics also sound really intriguing. Furthermore, the development team has already proven themselves capable of creating good horror experiences with their past projects – so there’s a high likelihood that Beneath will stand true to its lofty promises. Fingers crossed, until then.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
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