Below
Latest
'Below' arrives on PS4 on April 7th with an easier exploration mode
While we knew it was coming to PlayStation 4 this spring, we now have an exact release date for Below. The one-time Xbox One exclusive will launch on Sony's console on April 7th. And when it arrives on PS4, Below will include a new optional "explore" mode that addresses some of the difficulty issues that stopped the game from finding a bigger audience when it first came out.
Indie dungeon-crawler 'Below' is coming to PS4 this spring
More than two years after coming out on Xbox One and almost seven years since it was first announced at E3 2013, Below is making its way to PlayStation 4. If you've been patiently waiting to check out the game, developer Capybara Games says you'll be able to play Below on PS4 "later this spring."
The Xbox One's original indie game is finally here
Patience. Below is a game steeped in time, from creation to consumption, and it demands patience from developers and players alike. Capybara Games revealed Below during the Xbox E3 conference in 2013, suggesting this beautiful, dark and expansive adventure game would be out soon. So, fans waited. And waited. Another trailer dropped, showing a tiny character fighting its way through massive dungeons filled with supernatural secrets, but no release date appeared. Fans waited some more.
Indie roguelike 'Below' has a release date: December 14th
More than five years after its original reveal, Capybara Games is ready to deliver Below, a much-anticipated indie title. Engadget spoke to co-founder Nathan Vella a few months ago about the stresses of running a successful small game studio working on such a complex game. At the time, he said that: "Fear of letting people down, and the kind of trust that people have put in us, are the two biggest motivating factors." Below throws gamers into procedurally-generated dungeons with a shield and weapon, and keeps the pressure up with permadeath. In a 2016 interview, creative director Kris Piotrowski said "The answer to 'What lies below?' is the main thing we're holding back." Now, the game is ready to ship on Xbox One and Steam, with a brief preview trailer teasing the adventures players have ahead of them.
The unique stress of running a successful indie studio
It's a big year for Capybara Games. Below is actually coming out, five years after its announcement and three years after its original promised release date, but that's only the half of it. "I'm just starting to come to the realization of what's left in 2018," Capy co-founder Nathan Vella says. "We're only halfway through and I'm like, 'Aww, I've gotta fit everything into the last half?'" Capy is working on two other games while it prepares Below for launch, which is a beast of a project unto itself. The team plans on announcing the new games around August. "I believe pretty strongly in waiting for the right time," Vella says. "As proven by a game that's, like, three years late."
'Below' is going to come out this year, seriously
Capybara Games announced Below during Microsoft's 2013 E3 conference, sandwiched between details about the Xbox One, which would hit retail later that year. When it launched, Below was going to be console-exclusive to the Xbox One for an unspecified amount of time, and it immediately captured the imagination of fans and press. It was a visually powerful game, showcasing a tiny protagonist who explored caverns that stretched for miles beyond the screen, hiding mysteries and adventure around every corner. Below served as a testament to Microsoft's commitment to being a hub for innovative games, regardless of whether they were created by mainstream studios or independent developers.
Beautiful indie game 'Below' is delayed once again
If you're eager to play Super Time Force developer Capybara Games' latest title, Below, you're going to have to wait a bit longer. The atmospheric and ethereal indie game has been delayed once again, this time with no new release date. Below was originally supposed to come out this summer for Xbox One and PC, but Capy needs a little more time to make sure it meets the studio's high standards.
'Below' is hiding more mysteries than you think
Capybara Games made a classic mistake in the middle of developing its latest game: announcing the release date too early. Capy unveiled Below, a moody and mysterious exploration experience, back in 2013. A year later, the team revealed plans to release it in 2015 on Xbox One and PC. And then, 2015 came and went. "Microsoft gave us a really good opportunity to show it for the first time a long time ago," Capy Creative Director Kris Piotrowski explained during GDC this week. "Then we went home and kind of realized the game was like 100 times bigger and more complex than we anticipated."
Survive underground in Capy's 'Below' this summer
After almost three years we finally have a better idea when developer Capybara Games' Below will finally release: this summer. Other details on the procedurally generated, subterranean survival game are still scarce, but hey, there's an ominous new trailer and screenshots just, ahem, below.
Don't kill the dogs in Below
The dogs in Below aren't vicious or dangerous. They'll follow you around and are downright cuddly, as long as you don't hurt one. Still, most players try to kill the dogs the second a pack appears, Capy founder Nathan Vella said during a demo of Below at Gamescom. "Everybody wants to kill the fucking dogs," Vella said. "Everybody who plays the game, they think everything is an enemy, but the bats are just bothering you, the dogs are just hanging out. They might catch your scent and they might want to follow you, but they're not really going to mess with you." Killing the dogs does give your character meat, an item that provides a health boost. So, sure, kill the innocent, adorable dogs if your character is feeling a little peaky. Sure.
Explore the depths down Below on Xbox One in 2015 [UPDATE: Trailer added!]
Adventure fans can delve into Below's looming world on Xbox One sometime in 2015, head of ID@Xbox Chris Charla announced during Microsoft's Gamescom 2014 presentation. Community Manager Anthony John Agnello tried his hand at surviving Below's massive, dangerous environments earlier this year at PAX East and ... well, he died a lot. [Image: Capybara Games]
Below is a link between Dark Souls and Zelda
Below makes you feel small. Wonderfully, wonderfully small. Capybara Games' new adventure, a lush marriage of Dark Souls and the original Legend of Zelda, is a game of contrasts, encroaching dark and tiny lights with a wee character in a big, echoing world. "The idea of scale was the first thing we landed on. Ever since 1080p monitors came out I've had this dream of taking advantage of that technology in a different way," explained Kris Piotrowski, Below's creative director. "You've got this view you've never seen before, a character on a scale you've never seen before, and it gives the world a feeling of vastness and mystery." The muted, thick colors and heavy rain surrounding the Wanderer, Below's fragile star, in the game's beach side opening are as oppressive as they are beautiful. Wanderer is tiny on the beach and rocky path leading up into the hills in the background, taking up almost no screen real estate and moving slowly. Even holding the run button, he only moves at a trot. Unsheathing your sword and shield takes a good beat as well, leaving you vulnerable. Climbing up a trail toward the monolithic cave first seen in Below's E3 2013 debut is immediately tense and alluring. Those feelings of vastness and mystery sweep you up so much that you're not expecting it the first time spikes shoot out of a grey splotch of cave-floor, cutting your life short. When you start again as a brand new Wanderer, a little wiser and a little more ready with a sword, that's when this chilly game warms up, inviting you into its artful, challenging exploration one dark cave at a time.
Joystiq Weekly: PAX East, The Last Of Us: Remastered, Super Smash Bros. and more
This week's reveal of Charizard in Super Smash Bros.' roster is a bit of a blow to our argument that Squirtle is the best starter from Pokemon Red/Blue. Yes, both pocket monsters were in the Pokemon Trainer's arsenal in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but Charizard flying solo is a whole different level of awesome, one that's left us Squirtle enthusiasts drowning in envy. Playground rivalries aside, there's a lot more going on this week beyond Pokefeuds. Sony admitted that The Last Of Us is coming to the PS4, Borderlands fans are finally going to be able to play as Claptrap in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and we've got a faint glimmer of hope for the Xbox One to eventually be backwards compatible. This is also the weekend of PAX East, which you can treat as a source of news or, if you're attending, a giant game of "Where's Waldo?" Track down Joystiq's away team and say hi! Provided you can catch them between appointments, panels and the lone meal of their day, that is.
Below confirmed for Steam
Below is coming to Steam as well as Xbox One, developer Capybara Games announced today with a new trailer. Microsoft revealed Below on its stage at E3 2013. In August, we learned that Below and Capybara's Xbox 360 game, Super TIME Force, would both come to other platforms "after a period of time." This is the first confirmation of a Steam launch for Below. Below is a roguelike-like, throwing the tiny character into randomized dungeons with a shield and a weapon; death is permanent. It's exploration-based and features music by Indie Game: The Movie composer Jim Guthrie. There's no launch date for Below. [Image: Capybara]
Super TIME Force coming 'for sure' in 2013
Super TIME Force from Capybara Games will "for sure" be available to play on your Xbox 360 before the year is out, Capy President Nathan Vella said at PAX Prime. Once Super TIME Force is out in the wild, it will be exclusive to Microsoft platforms for "a period of time." The same timed exclusivity goes for Capy's Xbox One title, Below. So many vague details regarding time and time windows! If only there were some kind of force... a Super Force of Time, if you will, to help us sort this all out. You can check out the latest trailer for the game right here.
Below, Super TIME Force will be multi-platform after 'a period of time'
Capybara Games has revealed that both Below and Super T.I.M.E. Force - announced for the Xbox One and Xbox 360, respectively - will arrive on non-Microsoft platforms after an undisclosed period of exclusivity. "Like many games on stage at E3, Below will be available on the Xbox One first. Then, after a period of time, CAPY can bring it elsewhere. It's always been this way," Capy's Nathan Vella and Kris Piotrowski revealed in a blog post today.
Capy flies 'Below' the radar on the Xbox One
Microsoft's E3 press conference yesterday was full of gigantic new titles like Titanfall, Ryze, and Metal Gear Solid 5, but in among the blockbusters, there was one little announce that stood out in a big way. Below is the latest game from Capybara Games, the indie Canadian studio behind Critter Crunch and Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes, who most recently won all the awards with the beautiful iOS title Sword and Sworcery EP. Below is about as far from an early next-generation console title as you'd imagine: Instead of bombastic, flashy, and loud, it's quiet, subtle, and slightly menacing. "You are small," Capy co-founder Nathan Vella says while smoking a cigarette outside a Microsoft E3 showcase last evening. "Death is at every turn if you are not smart about it." Below is "a roguelike like," he says, focusing on sending the player through a series of randomized, one-screen dungeons, with a sword, shield, and some other not-yet-revealed tools and weapons.%Gallery-191148%
Capy's 'Below' revealed for Xbox One
Minecraft isn't the only subterranean-themed indie on Xbox One. Capy, working with Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery EP composer Jim Guthrie, is making a roguelike for the platform called "Below." The trailer shown on stage can be seen right here.
