Below
Official Xbox Magazine|March 2019

Turn Out the Lights, Crank Up the Sound: Prepare to Die.

Martin Kitts
Below

Originally unveiled alongside the Xbox One in 2013, Capybara’s mysterious dungeon crawler had long since passed from ‘eagerly awaited’ to ‘dropped off the radar’. And then, with very little fanfare, it suddenly fell into the release schedule, sent out to die at the end of the pre-Christmas rush.

After all this time, Below is no less mysterious than it was when we first laid eyes on it. This is an extraordinarily single-minded game, utterly untroubled by everyday conveniences such as tutorials, handholding or any kind of instructions whatsoever. It’s strange, confusing, awkward and frustrating, yet never less than intriguing, somehow even charming in a dark, malevolent sort of way.

An extended intro sets the scene, the camera slowly closing in on a tiny boat as it washes up on a deserted beach. The remains of older boats lie ruined in the shallows. An adventurer steps ashore, a campfire is lit, and that’s all. You are completely and utterly on your own.

Not that games really need much of a story or even a reason, beyond a player’s natural curiosity to push ever onwards, but Below literally gives you nothing. What is this place? How does this work? What am I supposed to do? Below isn’t telling. The occasional button-prompt when you can pick something up is pretty much the only help you’ll ever get, and we suspect the developers only grudgingly put those in there.

We will rock clues

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2019-Ausgabe von Official Xbox Magazine.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2019-Ausgabe von Official Xbox Magazine.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINEAlle anzeigen
Why I love... Roaming the post-apocalypse
Official Xbox Magazine

Why I love... Roaming the post-apocalypse

How modern releases are continuing to find creativity and beauty within gaming’s most prevalent setting: the end of the world

time-read
3 Minuten  |
March 2020
10 Best Multiplayer Games
Official Xbox Magazine

10 Best Multiplayer Games

From shooters to kitchen chaos, these titles are best played with friends

time-read
6 Minuten  |
April 2020
Revved up and ready to go
Official Xbox Magazine

Revved up and ready to go

EA hands the wheel of Need For Speed back over to Criterion Games

time-read
2 Minuten  |
April 2020
The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor
Official Xbox Magazine

The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor

Return to Tamriel’s frigid North this summer Chris Burke

time-read
3 Minuten  |
April 2020
Remothered: Broken Porcelain
Official Xbox Magazine

Remothered: Broken Porcelain

We’re going potty for this cult classic survival horror sequel

time-read
2 Minuten  |
April 2020
Yakuza 0 Yakuza Kiwami Yakuza Kiwami 2
Official Xbox Magazine

Yakuza 0 Yakuza Kiwami Yakuza Kiwami 2

Triple trouble: Sega’s crime drama trio brings glorious thug‑thumping action to Xbox

time-read
3 Minuten  |
April 2020
Mosaic
Official Xbox Magazine

Mosaic

ALL AROUND ME ARE FAMILIAR OFFICE SPACES

time-read
4 Minuten  |
April 2020
The Falconeer
Official Xbox Magazine

The Falconeer

Savouring the joys of flight with an indie that’s living on a (gigantic) wing and a prayer

time-read
2 Minuten  |
April 2020
10 Best Examples Of Great Architecture On Xbox
Official Xbox Magazine

10 Best Examples Of Great Architecture On Xbox

Games are crammed full of gorgeously crafted designs and architecture. From gables to gargoyles, we look at the best building designs on Xbox One

time-read
5 Minuten  |
March 2020
THE PROMISED 'LANDS
Official Xbox Magazine

THE PROMISED 'LANDS

With so many great games competing for our time, how do you keep gamers locking and loading? Gearbox’s looter-shooter, Borderlands 3, knows how…

time-read
6 Minuten  |
March 2020