A game that doesn’t really take itself seriously but still as fun as it is engaging. Going Under is a gem that I believe anyone could possibly enjoy. Wanna know why? Keep reading.
Going Under is a rogue-lite dungeon crawler game. You play as this intern who starts on her first day at work at Fizzle. The protagonist thought she was going to start her job at digital marketing but she was then tasked to kill monsters from the lower levels of the building.
You are tasked as an intern to clear out each dungeon with various monsters who each have their own abilities and weapons. Once you reach the bottom of each dungeon, you will be facing the boss of the dungeon and will have to defeat them to clear out each dungeon. Should you get defeated at any point while going through the dungeon, you will have to start from the very beginning. Although the dungeon resets, you do gain some points for exploring the dungeon which you retain every time you go out of each dungeon.
I really like this concept of exploring a new dungeon every time. It keeps the game fresh and entertaining. It keeps you wanting to explore more of each dungeon because you know that when you go in, it’s going to be different again.
The points that you retain are specifically for skills that you pick up throughout the game. The skills you find in each dungeon can be anything from making you invincible to letting the monsters catch on fire. You don’t get to keep the skills once you leave the dungeon though but you do retain the experience points towards unlocking them permanently. Once you unlock a skill, you can then choose this from the hub area as your starting skill.
The skills are very interesting and unique, and they can really make the difference between successfully clearing a dungeon or dying. One of the skills I really liked using was the one called Conflict Resolver which deals with shock damage whenever you get hit. The names of each skill are hilarious and it’s just so fun trying to collect them all. The more you play the game, the more skills you can unlock and discover.
If you play further in the game you also get to pick up items called Apps. These apps are items that you can cast instantly. So they are like spells, while the skills are your passive abilities. I really like how this adds more creativity to the way you play the game. There are just so many apps and so many skills that it would create endless combos for you to apply.
Another interesting feature of the game is the rooms that you encounter while exploring the dungeons. There are at least 3 types of rooms that you encounter in the dungeons. They are the shop, the skill room, and then the cursed room. The shop is your typical shop where you can purchase healing items and skills. The Skill room lets you choose between two skills and you get to keep the one that you choose to use in that dungeon. The Curse room lets you decide if you want to get cursed to gain valuable items and skills from the room. The Curse they give you can sometimes be detrimental but I feel like overall it is worth getting cursed to get the items that they give you.
Items and skills are everything in this game. Without it, you won’t really survive long enough to make it to the end. What’s very interesting in this game is that you can literally pick up anything inside the dungeon to use as a weapon. Want to use a keyboard for a weapon? Sure, want to use that dungeon exit door as a weapon? Go ahead! The possibilities are endless and sometimes it results in hilarious fights and encounters. Mind you though, the weapons have durability and if you keep using them, they will eventually break.
I like the graphics of this game as well. I think it really fits the vibe that this game is going for. It’s fun, it’s colorful and vibrant. It’s wild and imaginative. It may not have as stunning graphics as most games but I feel like the design works pretty well here.
The only thing that can become very frustrating at times is that when you end up in a situation where you run out of weapons to use or all your weapons suddenly break and you are overwhelmed with enemies. Mind you, these enemies are not kidding around, so you could easily get wiped out in heartbeat. And I say this, even when I play it on easy mode. I don’t really see it as a bad thing though, in fact, I welcome the challenge sometimes and it makes the game that more interesting.
All the characters in this game have their own story and even the bosses that you fight have background stories that are well-made. I really felt like whoever wrote the story for this game really planned it all out perfectly.
I wouldn’t say that this game is on par with all those high-caliber games we have right now but I can say that this game can stand on its own and can be very entertaining for the right person. I don’t think I ever had this much fun in a game that seems so simple on the surface but has real depth into it. If you’re looking for a game to jump into while you wait for the next big game, I say give this one a try and I’m sure you won’t regret it.
