"Our objective was to create a game that evokes a sense of oppression and claustrophobia."

After Those Who Remain, what were the biggest challenges that you wanted to tackle with your next horror game? How does Beneath differ from it, and in what areas does it make the biggest changes or improvements?

Although both games fall under the horror genre, they differ substantially. Those Who Remain was mainly focused on narrative and puzzle-solving, while Beneath leans towards survival-horror. The contrast between the two games presents a considerable challenge. While Those Who Remain featured only a few onscreen characters, Beneath introduces groups of soldiers and creatures that engage in combat with the player, often requiring strategic AI decision-making.

In addition, there is a significant increase in the number of character interactions, which presents a challenge in creating realistic and impactful experiences. To address this, we’re using motion capture technology for the animations, which has been extremely beneficial so far.

All this adds several layers of complexity to the game, representing a significant advancement from our previous work.

What can you tell us about the game’s setting? Horror media has often been tied to oceanic settings, but what about it appealed to you specifically for Beneath?

Our objective was to create a game that evokes a sense of oppression and claustrophobia. Although we are fascinated by space, we have already created a survival horror game based in that setting, and we wanted to explore something new.

Consequently, we turned our attention towards the ocean, an enigmatic and largely uncharted environment that provides a perfect backdrop for a horror game. This setting also presents opportunities to experiment with unique gameplay mechanics.

Last but not least, we also drew some inspiration from HP Lovecraft’s works, which are usually tied to the sea.

It looks like sanity mechanics will play an important role in Beneath. While they have been a tried and true staple in psychological horror games over the years, what form will they take in Beneath specifically?

Sanity is a crucial element of the game mechanics and not just a gimmick. The game’s protagonist is psychologically unstable, a condition resulting from the influence of both a psychic entity and the stressful environment.

As the character interacts with specific objects or encounters psychic creatures, or when his health is too low, his sanity begins to deteriorate. This deterioration manifests as blurred vision, distorted sounds, and decreased accuracy. In extreme cases, powerful creatures might be spawned.

However, the character’s sanity will gradually recover if he’s not in immediate danger or combat. Essentially, sanity represents a handicap that ranges from a minor inconvenience to severe peril.

How much emphasis will the game place on exploration? What sort of a balance will it strike between combat and more slower-paced exploration and puzzle sections?

Exploration will be critical in the game, not just to uncover new areas and essential items or clues, but also to discover useful items such as health kits, ammunition, and weapon parts scattered throughout the environment.

Survival will necessitate combat, but the game’s progression is contingent upon exploration. Maintaining a balance between exploration and combat is essential to our design approach, as too much focus on action would transform the game into a shooter, an outcome that we want to avoid.

"Sanity is a crucial element of the game mechanics and not just a gimmick. The game’s protagonist is psychologically unstable, a condition resulting from the influence of both a psychic entity and the stressful environment."

What should players expect from Beneath’s deep sea diving sections where their unique mechanics are concerned?

Tense exploration moments. When the main character is exploring the exterior with the deep-sea diving suit, he doesn’t have access to his weapons. His sole means of defense are flares, which can be used to deter any inquisitive creatures.

Additionally, the oxygen supply is limited and requires replenishment when covering vast distances.

When it comes to the combat, what will Beneath have on offer with its variety in enemies, tools, and weapons?

There are four distinct weapon classes in the game: handguns, submachine-guns, rifles, and shotguns. Each class possesses unique advantages over the others and is more effective in specific situations or against particular foes. Weapon parts, collected throughout the game, can be used to upgrade the weapons at workbenches. These can be stats improvements or new weapon attachments.

The enemies encountered in the game can be either human or inhuman. Human soldiers work in teams and use tactics to try and defeat the player. Inhuman enemies have more straightforward behaviors, but they tend to be more resilient. Some enemies can be incredibly challenging, and it may be best to avoid them to conserve ammunition.

It’s important to note that a tactic that works against one enemy might not be successful against another. The player must determine how to approach each confrontation strategically.

What can you tell us about the game’s adaptive AI and destructible environments and what they will bring to the table for the combat side of things?

The soldiers in the game have a dynamic behavior, with each soldier having a unique set of options that can be chosen based on their situation and squad. They work together, with some units attempting to flank the player while others shoot directly at them. Different squads can prioritize either defense by firing from behind cover or an aggressive approach by launching an all-out assault upon detection.

Gunfire and explosions directly affect the game’s environment, with shattered glass, crumbling monitors and tables, and billowing steam from damaged pipes. Lamps swing precariously from the ceiling and may even come crashing down, while barrels deform from bullet impacts.

All of this adds to the immersion of the game, which is one of our primary goals.

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of the game be?

While we cannot provide an exact figure, given the time that it takes to complete the sections that are already built, it is certain that the gameplay duration of the whole game will exceed 8 hours.

Given that you have now worked on all the current gen consoles, I hope you don’t mind answering some questions about their hardware. Since the reveal of the PS5 and Xbox Series’ specs, a lot of comparisons have been made between the GPU speeds of the two consoles, with the PS5 at 10.28 TFLOPS and the Xbox Series X at 12 TFLOPS. How much of an impact on development do you think that difference will have?

As previously mentioned, the game contains many complex elements, and therefore requires a considerable amount of computing power. Frankly, I’m uncertain whether we could port the game to a current-generation console without compromising some of its unique features.

The capabilities of the next-generation consoles provide us with greater opportunities to explore the full potential of the game without compromising its essence.

To answer the question, the impact is significant.

"A tactic that works against one enemy might not be successful against another. The player must determine how to approach each confrontation strategically."

The PS5 features an incredibly fast SSD with 5.5GB/s raw bandwidth. How can developers take advantage of this, and how does this compare to the Xbox Series X’s 2.4GB/s raw bandwidth?

With a raw bandwidth of 5.5GB/s and SSDs, loading and unloading assets will be faster, resulting in quicker asynchronous level loading and assets. Background loading of parts of levels will go unnoticed by players, and keeping VRAM usage low will enable faster games.

I don’t believe there will be a significant difference as most devs will likely use the baseline of 2.4GB/s when developing for multiple platforms. However, the situation may be different for exclusive titles where the platform’s specs can be pushed to the limit. For instance, higher quality textures may be used because the streaming time will be a lot lower.

Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X boast Zen 2 CPUs, but there is a difference in the processors of both consoles. The Xbox Series X features 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.8GHz, whereas the PS5 features 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz. Your thoughts on this difference?

I don’t believe the difference will be significant. Developers who target both consoles will likely create games that are equivalent in performance on both platforms. While Sony-exclusive titles may gain some advantages, I don’t think the difference will be substantial.

The Xbox Series S features lesser hardware compared to Xbox Series and Microsoft is pushing it as a 1440p/60 FPS console. Do you think it will be able to hold up for the more graphically intensive games as this generation progresses?

In my opinion, I do believe that the equipment is powerful enough to hold up among the others. However, it will require some additional work and optimization to ensure that it meets the necessary requirements. If the development team is able to effectively plan and optimize the game, taking advantage of the capabilities of the equipment, then it should be able to compete with other games on the market.

Super Resolution is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. How do you think this will help game developers?

I believe that the technology of super resolution will prove to be particularly beneficial for small-scale developers. By enabling the simulation of higher resolution images from lower fidelity ones, it offers a viable solution for teams struggling to achieve higher resolutions in their games. Thus, it serves as an alternate means for enhancing the visual quality of games that face challenges in this regard.

"We’re aiming for 60 FPS."

What frame rate and resolution will the game target on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S?

We’re aiming for 60 FPS.

What are your thoughts on the Steam Deck? Do you have plans for any specific optimizations for the device?

It’s a wonderful device, we love it. Although we haven’t made any concrete plans for it as of yet, it’s definitely something that we will take into account and consider exploring in the future.

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.

According to Ricardo Cesteiro – co-owner and producer of Camel 101, the studio behind upcoming first person horror game Beneath – though the difference between the speeds of the two consoles might not count for much when it comes to multiplatform games, for games that will be exclusive to the PS5, it will be a much bigger boost, allowing for “quicker asynchronous level loading and assets” and, by extension, higher quality textures.

“With a raw bandwidth of 5.5 GB/s and SSDs, loading and unloading assets will be faster, resulting in quicker asynchronous level loading and assets,” Casetiro said in a recent interview with GamingBolt. “Background loading of parts of levels will go unnoticed by players, and keeping VRAM usage low will enable faster games. I don’t believe there will be a significant difference as most devs will likely use the baseline of 2.4 GB/s when developing for multiple platforms. However, the situation may be different for exclusive titles where the platform’s specs can be pushed to the limit. For instance, higher quality textures may be used because the streaming time will be a lot lower.”

Quicker load times and more efficient world streaming are, of course, some of several things that Sony has been touting for the PS5 since the console was revealed back in 2020, and with multiple exclusives now lined up that are being built exclusively for the console’s hardware, it should be interesting to see how that comes to fruition.

Camel 101’s Beneath is due out for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC sometime in 2024. Our full interview with Casetiro will be live soon, so stay runed for that.

The current pandemic of the coronavirus has had a major impact on just about everything across the globe. Conferences being delayed, many forced to self-isolate and stay home from work and stock markets crashing have made for a scary time. Of course, as with all industries, it’s also going to affect gaming. While no major delay has been announced due to the outbreak, yet, two midrange budgets felt the hit.

Wired Productions announced via their official Twitter that they had to push back the release of Those Who Remain as well as the console ports of Deliver Us The Moon. Both games are thrillers, with Those Who Remain just recently getting its release date. Those Who Remain followed a man fighting unexpected horrors in a small town, and Deliver Us The Moon featured a lone astronaut sent to the moon on a critical mission to save humanity and things aren’t what they seem. The latter has been available on PC for some time, but was ramping up for console release.

Those Who Remain will now  launch sometime in June of this year, with the console ports of Deliver Us The Moon pushed back to April 24th digitally on PS4 and Xbox One with the physical copies now launching in July to coincide with the Switch version. You can check out the full details below.

Important information about the release of Deliver Us The Moon and Those Who Remain. pic.twitter.com/PuU1xASz2Z

— Wired Productions (@WiredP) March 20, 2020

The next few months are looking to be a brutal one for the wallet with multiple high profile titles, from remakes to sequels, hitting one after another. But you always have to make time for those hidden gems from time to time, and one of those looks to be the horror title Those Who Remain. It’s been in the works for quite a good while, and now we have a solid release date.

Those Who Remain follows Edward as he finds himself in the small town of Dormont. Things go awry, however, as horrors begin sweeping out of the darkness. You must survive the night, making choices along the way that will impact Edward’s fate with multiple outcomes, as you weave through the many terrors that he faces in his hope to escape.

The Who Remain will launch on May 15th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. A Switch version is also in the works, but won’t come until later in the year. You can check out the release trailer below.

Camel 101 have announced Syndrome, a brand new horror game that they are making that they hope will channel classic survival horror games that have all but died out in the market in recent years. Syndrome has a typical premise – waking up on a spaceship and discovering that things have gone horribly wrong – but it is promising a return to the kind of psychological horror that used to define the genre in the first place.

In Syndrome, you can’t (and shouldn’t) always take your enemy head on in combat- a lot of the times, running and hiding effectively are the best course of action available to you. In Syndrome, everything is scarce, so make sure you make what you get really count- conserve your resources, and save them for a rainy day.

Syndrome will be out in the second quarter of 2016 on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, and Linux. Check out a trailer for this game, as well as some screenshots, below.