The First Five Hours

This preview encompasses approximately the first five hours of the game and will be spoiler-free. I look forward to completing the rest of this experience upon release and I absolutely recommend this game to fans of the genre. From the first minute to the last, my time with Beneath was an enjoyable, action-packed throwback to horror-inspired shooters of the past. This game is going to be a hit with fans of horror-themed first-person shooters, especially from the 2000s era. When the game isn’t building a heavy and oppressive atmosphere, it is throwing the player headlong into fierce and fatal combat. First, I was lured in by the familiar glow of horror tropes: an isolated closed environment, a vague and utterly horrific supernatural disaster. Disgusting and squelchy growths on the walls and ceilings. And most importantly, a lone protagonist trying to save his daughter-trope. A brave and surprisingly good gunslinger, Noah Quinn is our hero of necessity.

Man Vs Environment

The initial conflict is the setting and location of the story. Beneath begins with our protagonist Noah Quinn, a proficient deepsea diver, diving below the waves in search of a missing submarine. On the sea floor, the helmets reduced FOV and the murky, low-light leads to the realization that something dark and extraordinary is about to happen. Sudden hallucinations followed by an apparent time-jump reveal that disaster has struck the deepsea research facility that you were set to arrive at. These events and the overall thickening atmosphere were very reminiscent of how I remember horror-style FPS games in the 2000’s. Noah’s hallucinations show a grotesque and hellish reality, and I appreciate the brief intro that sets the scene and quickly establishes our motivation. Noah cannot leave the area because of the presence of his daughter Amber. For Noah, saving Amber and further progress through the game would start at a slow pace at Bauer Station; a long series of corridors, each as dark and empty as the last. There is a notable absence of any puzzle mechanics that fans of Resident Evil could expect to see. That was a bit of a disappointment, as these environments could have been fun to explore and problem solve. The deepsea facility is an always present hazardous and oppressive environment. Danger could be around any corner. Thankfully, this does not last too long, and it is mostly used as a background and plot device. Your patience with these segments will be rewarded.

Man Vs Man

Similar to F.E.A.R and horror-shooters of past generations, the real content of the game features fast-paced combat. The opening segment of the game concludes with a frankly ludicrous number of zombies bearing down on the player. You must run as a helicopter overhead opens fire on the pursuing horde. That opener really teased the intensity of what was to come. In a perfect reminder that man's greatest foe is a fellowman, following my arrival at Wikmer Station, it immediately erupted into an all-out battle. Around eight to twelve soldiers lay defeated, and their ammunition was scavenged. The lore in the area, and several environmental clues indicate that these paramilitary soldiers are attempting to “clean” the facility in an effort to contain the zombies within. Both the soldiers and zombies will be a recurring threat. A tutorial window at one point suggested that there may be a way to stealth through to avoid combat, but that is absolutely not true in every encounter I experienced.

This is mildly disappointing, but only because it had been mentioned in-game at all. In any case, hoovering up all the slain soldiers’ ammunition is undeniably gratifying given that this game is described as ‘survival-horror.’ Despite that, however, I never found myself running low on supplies. There are plenty of ammo caches to find between gunfights, and those fights are unavoidable and result in looted ammo. I think this is going to be a point of contention with players because, on one hand, the lack of survival aspects to Beneath may be disappointing; but on the other, the combat is really fast-paced and fun. There are the typical weapons (pistols, SMG's, shotguns) and workbenches to upgrade them. I think the upgrade system isn’t necessary, but either way, the combat was very enjoyable when played aggressively. The enemy AI isn’t very good and the handling of the un-upgraded guns can be rough, but destroying squads of soldiers felt good on every occasion.

What Lies Beneath

From my experience, the environmental storytelling, striking action and the haunting atmosphere all come together to make this game very recommendable. Beneath is a fun horror-themed shooter with a compelling narrative. I think this will be enjoyable for fans of somewhat retro horror-narrative shooters.

The graphics were unimpressive and unfinished in places during my playthrough, but I was warned that would be the case in advance and that there are placeholders for now. That aside, what I was very impressed by was the lighting on the environments. In some settings there would be smoke in the air or dust in the water, and the light rays casting through them were incredible! Although the cutscenes and animations were lackluster, the lighting systems have me excited about the final product. The sound design was satisfactory but overall not notable. The standout for me is the story and world-building on display. Every room has a story to tell. Each computer accessed has a piece of rich lore regarding the zombie mutations, the paramilitary cover-up, and the mystery behind it all. The frequency and frantic nature of the combat is in direct conflict with the apparent “survival-horror” first impression, but what remains is a fun series of action segments strung together by a harrowing tale of a man desperate to save his daughter.