Mythological Mystery
Developed by FairPlay Studios, The Land Beneath Us is a new turn-based rogue lite dungeon crawler that truly peaked my interest as soon as I loaded up the game. The game bases itself deep in the heart of Welsh mythology in both setting and characters you meet along the way. You play as Sven, a robot who is tasked with rescuing the creator of the Ultimate Soul Harvester or U.S.H for short. The creator has gone missing and you are informed by a talking PC that you will have to traverse through Annwn (The Welsh mythological underworld) in order to find the creator and answers to your own existence along the way. As with many games within the genre, the story is not the focal point of the game but I found it interesting and informative. I have always been fascinated with different mythologies and I loved exploring this game’s locations and talking to the characters in order to find out as much as I could.
With the setting being the underworld, it’s understandable to think the story might be dark and brooding but The Land Beneath Us has this sort of charming humour about it. Conversations with the merchants of the game who help you power your weapons or relics, are memorable and unique. Even the brief conversations with the bosses of the game wield hilarious responses before you battle them. It reminds me a lot of the superb Hades, in the sense that some of my favourite parts of that game were getting to know the wonderful cast. It’s a minor shame that the characters in this game were not voiced as they could have added a truly cinematic feel to each conversation. This game had no right having such an interesting narrative and setting but I’m impressed with how much effort the developers have poured into this side of the game. Remarkable. Of course, gameplay needs to hold up its end of the bargain as well, and boy does it.
A Finely Balanced Chess Match
The way in which I would describe the gameplay in The Land Beneath Us is addictively refreshing and innovative. Movement and combat are turn-based, making each move you make feel important and possibly life-threatening. Each area across the four zones of the underworld plays out like a chess match as each floor is split into squares like a board. You move one square at a time followed by your enemies’ movement. But what makes this gameplay special is that each directional button has a weapon slot assigned to it. This is such a refreshing take on combat using turn-based movement, and it makes you think long and hard about your next move. It really makes you stop and think about which direction you want to take next because each weapon is unique. Throughout the game there are many different weapons to collect, ranging from swords and katanas that have special abilities like the spear of Longinus that heals you on attack, or range weapons, such as pistols and cannons, that help you attack enemies from afar. The range of weapons available to the player only expands as you get further and further into the underworld, resulting in a vast arsenal for the player.
Along with weapons, you pick up relics along the way from chests or through vendors. These relics range from gaining health after clearing a room, damage buffs for your weapons or getting extra gold to spend at each vendor. There are a vast amount of relics available to you per run, which is wonderful, as each time I entered the underworld I wanted to try out new relics to see if different combinations would garner positive results for me. Whilst these relics are only temporary upgrades for one specific attempt, there are permanent upgrades you can purchase in the PC mainframe which are very welcome and too often left in the wayside in roguelites. Throughout the game, Sven gains further powers, such as the ability to teleport and the introduction of power chips. These chips vary from healing abilities to damage abilities like a fireball or a shockwave. What I particularly loved about these chips is they act as sort of a minigame as you have to input a specific movement combination in order to use them. This creates incredibly tense moments as you navigate your way through enemies, whilst trying to activate your abilities. The only negatives to gameplay itself are that sometimes movement is so sensitive you move too many times, resulting in loss of health or death and also the ability to save during a run would be greatly appreciated. However, these are minor issues. There are now so many games in the roguelite space but I think The Land Beneath Us has truly created something innovative and special with the gameplay mechanics. The game can be brutal in its difficulty but it’s so addictive I was constantly saying to myself, ‘One more run!’
Pixelated Precision
This game just oozes style. Created in a pixel-based format, each area looks fantastic in both location design and enemy design. Areas are bursting with colour and have this wonderful retro sci-fi look to them. I became enthralled in entering a new area just to see what its location would look like. Navigating your way through the map is also a strong point as each teleportation stone has a unique colour, letting you know what type of location you are heading to next. The developers have done such a marvellous job at making this game look old school but stunning at the very same time. Enemies themselves look monstrous and devious whilst bosses themselves look fantastic. Each boss looks amazing, memorable and different.
Similarly, the characters and allies you meet along your journey look fantastic. Each vendor looks vibrant and unique, my particular favourites being the Enhancer and the Blacksmith. Conversations with each character are shown through text bubbles whilst also having the character in question shown in a comic book animation style next to it. This makes the characters much more personable, whilst the images of them are beautifully designed and made me not want to continue the conversation just so I could marvel some more at the images themselves. A wonderful showcase of an indie game that has chosen a unique art style which has made it thrive and look truly wonderful.
The Sound Of The Underground
The way I would describe the music in The Land Beneath Us is eerie, but in a good way. The soundtrack has this creepy sci-fi main theme that softly plays in the background of the main hub. It helps set up the battles of the underworld as once the combat begins the music becomes a tense synth-based rhythm which really makes some of the battles, particularly the boss ones, feel nail biting and nerve wracking. In many ways the soundtrack sums up many of my thoughts on the game itself: it’s addictive. The beat itself became stuck in my head. A wonderful showcase of deft but impactful music.
Along with the soundtrack, The Land Beneath Us sports a solid sound design. Movement sounds crisp and concise and weapons sound particularly impressive with the sword swings swishing in an impactful way. Ranged weapons like revolvers and pistols reverberate around the screen whilst the chip abilities sound powerful. It’s just a shame at times the same love hasn’t been given to the enemy sound design. Some enemy abilities sound great, like the pyromancers flames bursting onto the tiles but some enemies don’t have distinct sounds for their attacks, making it annoying and frustrating at times. But overall a solid effort on the sound design front.
Verdict
If I was to sum up my time and thoughts on The Land Beneath Us, I would say it has been addictive and absorbing. With the roguelite mechanics, every time I died my first thought was, ‘I’m going back for more!’ The unique twist on turn-based combat made me love plotting my movements and attacking my foes. It’s a wonderful showcase on innovative combat design. Whilst there are some frustrations with sound design and some issues with movement sensitivity, this game is more than worth your while. Great visuals, character design and a strong soundtrack help see this game home. A great indie game for a steal of a price. See you in the underworld!
