Below (2018)

 PC
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 24
  3. Negative: 1 out of 24
  1. GameStar
    Jan 6, 2019
    85
    Nobody had expected Below in 2018 anymoe - and even more unexpectedly the low-poly Roguelike is one of the hits of the year.
  2. Eurogamer Italy
    Jan 9, 2019
    80
    Below is a great indie game which can mix genres and mechanics to tell a story that is worth playing. It could have been a real masterpiece, with some more balance between the combat system and the survival gameplay.
  3. GameCrate
    Dec 25, 2018
    80
    Below is not an inviting or wholly accessible experience. It does, however, have a lot to offer to players who enjoy uncovering mysteries and delving headlong into the unknown. It’s a more hardcore Zelda game without the true bite of a Souls-like. Love it or hate it, Below is unabashed in what it is and what it demands of players who brave its depths.
  5. Wccftech
    Dec 20, 2018
    80
    Below is a game that will keep calling you back. With its challenging gameplay loop, beautiful design and polished mechanics, it's a game that could easily become a classic of the genre over time.
  6. Everyeye.it
    Dec 18, 2018
    76
    Below can be extremely punitive and frustrating. In case you intend to embark anyway, we advise you to bring back a good deal of patience-in-box, because you will certainly need it.
  7. GamingTrend
    Dec 20, 2018
    75
    Below is a dark, mysterious game that invites you to illuminate its secrets, then punishes you for trying. While it does a great job invoking a sense of wonder, thanks in part to its sparse, tense soundtrack, its genuinely great moments are spread far too thin. Below will certainly be a divisive game, but it offers a compelling experience for players willing to put up with a good amount of frustration and tedium.
  8. Jeuxvideo.com
    Dec 20, 2018
    75
    Below is an experience where survival and exploration are the keys to success in a narrative and well-polished environment. Unfortunately, the roguelike aspect is sometimes too repetitive, and the lack of visibility messes with the pleasure that we take.
  9. Game Informer
    Dec 18, 2018
    75
    You need serious tenacity and perseverance to see the sights, but they are wonders worth seeing.
This publication does not provide a score for their reviews.
This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation.

In Progress & Unscored

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  1. Polygon
    Dec 18, 2018
    It’s a brute of a game. I think I like it. But I’m not sure. Ask me in another 30 hours.
  2. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Jan 4, 2019
    Progress feels so gradual as to be nonexistent, and can be instantly wiped out — but not in a calculated way like the difficulty of Dark Souls. In a sort of hopeless way. Each warrior is a tiny Sisyphus.
  3. The A.V. Club
    Dec 21, 2018
    Personally, I can’t handle it in more than a few short bursts at a time, but it keeps sticking in the back of my brain, luring me back, a dark, mysterious island of a game just begging to be explored.

Awards & Rankings

99
#99 Most Shared PC Game of 2018

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 67 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 67
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 67
  3. Negative: 24 out of 67
  1. robomartion
    Dec 15, 2018
    7
    Beautiful, boring, mysterious.

    There's a sense of wonder and exploration in Below you don't get anywhere else. It's mysterious, foreboding,    Beautiful, boring, mysterious.

    There's a sense of wonder and exploration in Below you don't get anywhere else. It's mysterious, foreboding, and it really is a world of its own. It's beautiful, the music is gorgeous and it creates a real atmosphere, especially when you're out in the rain, exploring the island for the first time. This atmosphere extends into the depths as you go down, and then fills you with wonder when you find a short-cut connecting you to a previously visited area, or a secret-passage that opens to a beach, where tens of ship-wrecks lie still in the water. You will feel clever when you catch a fish with your spear, feel conflicted when you kill a harmless fox for your own survival. You will, however, feel an unrelenting and unavoidable sense of boredom dawn upon you as you pick up every stick, rock and piece of string, make your sixty-eighth band-aid, your fiftieth torch, find your coveted lantern, only to step on a trap immediately after, teleport backwards and forwards and up-and-down between each campfire, walk down the same set of steps for the sixteenth time, swing your sword, or fire your unwieldy bow at the same enemy, in the same room over and over, picking up the remains of every single one, as you descend again and again. You will be compelled however to continue, for your curiosity cannot be quenched, and the allure of revelation - the telling of just another secret is too rich a prize, and however hard the slog, however seemingly distant and intangible the reward; however down-right tedious the trek, you will be drawn back down Below.    … Full Review »
  2. timkrueger
    Dec 14, 2018
    9
    The game is definitely worth the wait. It has a lot going on for it in terms of graphics, sound and overall atmosphere. The combat andThe game is definitely worth the wait. It has a lot going on for it in terms of graphics, sound and overall atmosphere. The combat and machinics are easy to learn, but hard to master. If you like that, give it a try!… Full Review »
  3. babak_relic
    Dec 18, 2018
    5
    just good music i think , confusing map , no information , when you die you must start at the first that show there is no story and just ajust good music i think , confusing map , no information , when you die you must start at the first that show there is no story and just a survival video game .… Full Review »
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