Going Under is a Delightful Roguelite | Game Review
A Little Off-Balance, But Ultimately Recommended.
A Little Off-Balance, But Ultimately Recommended.
Going Under has charming characters, impressive witty writing and humor, and a fun world to explore, all nicely bundled in a challenging roguelite experience that will likely push you to the story’s finish, and then some. NameBrand.
Going Under is such an anomaly to me! On one hand, we have some really impressive writing that made me actually laugh out loud, and the other, is a remarkably fun roguelite gameplay loop experience. Yet despite that, I don’t regard it as a masterpiece… it’s a good game, but it’s not without its flaws. I’ve spent a little over 15 hours playing it, and I’ve been trying to figure out how to explain some critical points about it. I believe, what it boils down to, is balance and repetition.
Looking at the Steam global achievements tells an interesting story that lends a little credence to my belief. More than 50% of players stop playing after finishing the first dungeon. The first of 8 dungeons. Which is odd, because the game gets easier the longer you play it, just like any other roguelite. As you complete missions, your “mentor” will give you greater buffs, the shop updates its inventory, and you’ll be able to “pin” your favorite skill to bring it with you, no questions asked, into a dungeon at the start of a run for free. Plus, with each dungeon completion, they give you an extra heart to start. So what gives? Why are HALF of all players ducking out?
The core of this game is, of course, its combat loop. Find weapons, fight, dodge roll, break weapons, find more weapons, and repeat. In a sense, if we had to boil it down to commonly referenced games, it plays like Dark Souls and Breath of the Wild had a baby dressed in a corporate art style. I found it to be an engaging loop, and because of the wide variety of skills, I never thought it got stale, but this would be my first guess as to why players stop playing, I think they get tired of it. But, while I think Going Under does a good job of staying fresh, my issue with it, is that combat lacks balance. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed by large numbers of enemies.
There’s a great variety of enemies in Going Under, and they’re all themed incredibly well to match the dungeons they’re in, (and can I just say, the theming all around is absolutely stellar), but there’s a tendency for enemies to completely overwhelm the player starting in the WinkyDink dungeon. Two of the game's biggest moment to moment challenges is dealing with your own weapon's durability, and focusing down the heavy class enemies. But when the game wants to put more heat on you, what happens? It spawns in MORE enemies. For most games, this makes sense. But in Going Under, the combat system relies heavily on “one on one” combat, so as a player it’s very difficult to force the “one on one” system to work when fighting large groups. When this happens, you have two options: flailing wildly with determination, or Z-targeting one enemy at a time in the hopes you can kill them fast enough to move through the group before you get mobbed. Either option is unforgiving and largely out of your control, and without an animation cancel during some attacks, you just have to hope you can land a killing blow in while mashing the dash key to potentially escape danger coming at you from all sides. Dying in these situations always feels cheap.
Despite this, beating Going Under is not insurmountable. I enjoyed finding new skills, absorbing witty writing, and interacting with the characters in the office space. My desire to continue the plot greatly pushed me to the end of this game, and from other reviews I’ve read, I might guess the same, as it seems the writing is universally praised. And if you are trying to lap up all the dialogue, you’ll also probably complete all the side quests, and level up all the mentors, which in turn, gives you significant advantages. Not to spoil anything, but it was one of those buffs that helped me get into a groove and finish the game, which, in total, took about 15 hours. Was bummed to see that in post-game completion (and after all the side quests) you can’t talk with the characters anymore… they all just stand around ominously…
Quick tangent, but I loved the music all throughout the game. Some of the battle tracks haunt me in my sleep. Sometimes they even haunt me when I am awake, because they’re just so catchy! Really enjoyable, excellently done.
If you’re still interested in the post game, you can try and complete “Impostor Mode”, which I personally believe is actually “Impossible Mode”. This game mode strips the “lite” out of roguelite, smashes all the dungeons together, adds a new final boss with three phases, and then expects you to beat it. No additional hearts from story mode. No pinning endorsed skills. You don’t even get mentors at the start of the run, either. It is truly for the masochists. Impostor mode is so brutally difficult that I can’t fathom it was ever play-tested. Jackie becoming stronger over time via the story and her experiences in the main game is what lets you overcome Going Under’s overarching balancing issues. So by removing those, and having no alternative way to become stronger, you don’t stand a fighting chance. After 20 attempts of vanilla impostor mode, I turned on assists and that was the only way I was able to beat it ONCE. The developers think you want challenges on top of this? Unbelievable!
My groaning aside, I really want a sequel! I want more witty dialogue and funny references to the sadness of the modern world's working class. I want to talk more with those characters, and I want to pet Éclair more. A sequel would be a great opportunity for the team at Aggrocrab to make adjustments to the combats balance. With that tweak, and maybe a few more minor adjustments, I have no doubt that it could be a total smash hit. I truly hope I live in the timeline where that happens. But for this game, right now, Going Under is an incredible game that I ultimately recommend to you, even though its few minor gripes irk me a bit. Pick it up and try it for yourself, when you see it hit the right price.
Originally published at https://backloggd.com.