Beneath

Beneath is a retro-inspired survival horror shooter with clear influences from classics like Doom 3, FEAR, and Half-Life. It features an atmospheric underwater setting with Lovecraftian horror elements, blending exploration, combat, and story-driven gameplay. Players appreciate the immersive environment, sound design, and tense combat that rewards patience and tactical thinking. The narrative, while familiar, keeps players engaged with hallucinations and mystery. However, the game is marred by numerous technical issues, including bugs, crashes, and glitches that disrupt progression and immersion.

Gameplay pacing is notably slow, with extended walking sections and repetitive objectives that some find tedious. Combat mechanics and AI are functional but lack polish, with occasional frustrating enemy behaviors. Graphics are modest but fitting for the retro style, though optimization problems and visual quirks detract from the experience. Despite these flaws, the developers are responsive and actively patching, showing promise for future improvements. Overall, Beneath offers a nostalgic, atmospheric horror experience that is enjoyable but currently rough around the edges.

Highlights

Players praise Beneath's atmospheric and immersive underwater setting, which effectively evokes claustrophobic tension and Lovecraftian horror. The sound design and voice acting contribute significantly to the eerie mood. Combat is challenging and strategic, with a variety of weapons and destructible environments adding depth. The story, while traditional, is engaging and enriched by hallucination sequences that enhance the psychological horror. The game's retro aesthetic and homage to classic shooters resonate well with fans of the genre. Developers' active support and patching efforts are also positively noted.

Criticisms

Common criticisms include numerous bugs and technical issues such as crashes, weapon glitches, and AI problems that hinder gameplay. The pacing is often described as too slow, with excessive backtracking and repetitive, tedious objectives like carrying batteries across large areas. Visuals, while stylistically retro, suffer from optimization problems and jittery rendering. Combat, though functional, can feel unpolished and frustrating due to enemy behaviors like shooting through walls and delayed reload mechanics. Some players find the story and world-building underdeveloped or clichéd, and the absence of certain quality-of-life features (like early flashlight access and jumping) detracts from immersion.