Game: The Land Beneath Us
Genre: Strategy, RPG
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam (Windows), Xbox, PS4 and PS5)
Developer|Publisher: Fairplay Studios | Dear Villagers
Age Rating: EU 7+ | US Everyone 10+
Price: US $14.99 | UK 13.49 | EU €14,99
Release Date: May 13th, 2024
A review code was provided, and many thanks to Dear Villagers.
The Land Beneath Us As Stylish and Entertaining
The Land Beneath Us is an exciting turn-based action rogue-lite dungeon crawler. What immediately stood out to me about this game is its stylish pixel art style. What I was somewhat cautious about is that this is another rogue-lite game coming out in 2024. The market is exceptionally bloated. But just a few runs into The Land Beneath Us, and I felt this game did more than enough to distance itself from the crowd. Playing more of the game, and I can comfortably say this is easily my favourite game in this genre this year.
Into the Underworld
You play as a mechanical-looking character tasked with exploring the underworld to collect souls and learn about its inhabitants. As is the case with any adventure into the underworld, its residents are not exactly welcoming, including fiendish enemies and deadly boss battles. But with the assistance of your AI companion and an unusual Deer NPC, you will gradually upgrade your abilities, making each run more manageable and enticing to take on.
As far as the actual plot goes, the game wastes very little time, putting you straight into the action and pausing for snippets of the story following major boss encounters. Dialogue between you and NPCs contains the familiar witty banter I’ve seen many times in this genre. The game advertises itself as being based on Welsh Mythology, something else that drew me in when reading the description, since I can’t think of many games that touch on this niche topic. While it’s probably woven into the game’s narrative, it would have added further to the experience to include some form of codex, allowing the player to learn more about the game’s lore. For most players, The Land Beneath Us lands in the most important area, which is its addictive and entertaining gameplay.
Make Your Move
The Land Beneath Us presents as a more traditional dungeon crawler rogue-lite. When you enter a run, you move floor by floor on grid-based levels with the goal of dispatching every enemy on the board before progressing. Controls are easy to pick up, even for total beginners. You simply use the D-pad or analogue stick to move and attack enemies on screen. Each time you move your character, the enemies will make a move, making the game feel a bit like fast-paced chess. You can take your time and plan things out, but if you prefer, you can go in more action-heavy and see what happens.
Helpful prompts on the grid will give you an indication of your attack range and whether you are in enemy attack range. So, you can choose to evade attacks or press on with the attack and risk damage. A feature I found very useful is that by pressing the right shoulder button, you can highlight objects on the board to gather more information. This includes stats on enemies, hazards, chests and upgrades. It is a useful tool to help you get a lay of the land and assist in learning about the game.
Weapons
One of the biggest stand-out features for me was the game’s weapon system. There’s a huge amount of weapons to discover and even unlock as you work your way through the game, each with its own perks and attack ranges. You have spears, swords and even guns to experiment with. When you collect a weapon, you equip it to one of the four directions on the D-pad, meaning that the weapon’s attack is locked to that direction of an attack. If you find the same weapon again later in the run, rather than discarding it, you can actually use it to upgrade your already equipped weapon to make it stronger.
With clever weapon placement, you can pull off some incredible combos. For example, using one weapon to attack an enemy and throwing it behind you allows you to follow up with a deadly attack from another weapon. It adds an impressive amount of flexibility to the combat system, making each run fun even when a run doesn’t go according to plan.
Random Generation
This is a rogue-lite game, so expect a lot of random generation. Each run attempt includes several floors and three boss fights, all of which randomly generate each attempt except for the final boss conflict. Enemies and items you find are all random each time, making each run feel fresh and new. But as is the way with games of this genre, sometimes the gaming gods are in your favour with your drops, but often not. Do not worry; with each defeat, you accumulate souls, which can be traded for upgrades back at the main hub world.
What’s interesting is that when I first played this game, I found the trickle of upgrades and unlockables very small. But once I struggled past the first boss, the game really opened up. Suddenly, a hefty number of upgrade options appeared. New moves present themselves like the ability to teleport, and you can even cast spells by moving in a specific direction, a bit like an old cheat code. Except here, the instructions are clearly indicated on the screen. On top of that, you can also complete these mini-objectives to unlock further weapons and item drops in the game. This, to me, made the cost of entry more than worth it. The only downside is the high difficulty curve may put off some players at the beginning.
Another feature I liked is that, unlike most rogue-lite games, you don’t need to begin the game from the first level. Once you have conquered a main level, you return to the base and unlock a new level entirely. You do start from scratch again, losing all weapons and upgrades from the previous run, but it reduces repetition, playing the same themed levels over and over.
Visuals
Graphically, the game has the familiar pixel art style but gives a stylish mechanical flair to it. It’s hard not to be drawn in by the premise of a robotic warrior taking on demons in a neon-drenched underworld. Additionally, the soundtrack really adds to the immersion of the mysterious depths you explore. Performance-wise, the game runs well on TV and on a handheld. I found myself favouring handheld for this game since it was a great game to dip in and out of in short gaming bursts.
Conclusion: A Land Worth Visiting
The Land Beneath Us ended up being a wonderful surprise for me. It is a clever mix of gameplay that plays like a classic dungeon crawler but adds clever mechanics to make the formula feel fresh and new. It has a great weapon upgrade system, a hefty amount of new moves and upgrades to unlock and addictive gameplay that’s very hard to put down. If you absolutely detest rogue-lite games, then maybe this won’t be the case for you. But if you are new to or experienced in this genre, then The Land Beneath Us gets a thumbs up from me on Nintendo Switch.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot
Still unsure? A free demo of the game is available on the eShop.
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