Going Under
Since first seeing the Going Under announcement trailer, we were eagerly anticipating release. We’re both big fans of rogue-lites, and this one seemed to tick all of the boxes. Developed by Aggro Crab (who you should definitely follow on Twitter!) and published by Team17, you play as Jacqueline (Jackie), a new-hire at Fizzle, a soft-drink company within a rather shady conglomerate of various failing start-ups owned by Cubicle.
Each one of these companies have been overrun by monsters that management simply don’t want to deal with, so that’s where you come in! You must work your way through the floors of each company, utilising all of the office equipment and enemy weaponry you can find against your foes. Being a rogue-lite, there’s plenty of stuff to be found, from weapons to little cars(!) and curses. These can all help or hinder you on your journey to the basement. If you find yourself wondering what certain items, skills or curses do, feel free to check out our Going Under Guide! It’s currently a work in progress, so feel free to keep checking back!
The art style is very unique, and I love the whole take on the different themed dungeons and enemies for each arm of the business. Character design is great, with each character in the office’s design portraying their roles in the company. As the story progresses, some interesting changes happen in the main headquarters, both to the office itself and the staff, which is pretty cool to see too. There’s a whole butt-load of humour injected throughout the game, which pairs well with the end boss designs for each dungeon, including hilariously stereo-typical office staff such as The Caffiend; a boss who is all about that productivity, to Hover Hands; an overly personal boss who is just a bit too friendly.
As mentioned above, the humour is absolutely perfect. There’s lots of self-deprecating and very authentic feeling comedy in all aspects of the game, from the dialogue between characters and the office gossip, all the way through to the descriptors and titles of various items and skills. Everything feels very relevant to the current place and time that we’re in, so I wonder if this will be like a treasure trove of 2020 meme culture years from now. Avocado Toast, anyone?
The soundtrack to Going Under is fantastic. The composer, King Felix, has done a magnificent job of creating some really amazing tunes that are weirdly soothing. The synth-wave vibe is perfect throughout, and each dungeon has its own themed music. Even the music in the coffee shops are so well-fitting, and really allow you to just have a wee breather before you get back to business. Boss music is also well suited to each individual boss, with the amped up beats creating more of an urgent, dangerous vibe.
Controls feel tight and responsive, so you never feel like you are unfairly punished when taking damage. Dodging is a life-saver, as some locations are pretty small and/or narrow, so scoping out a room to ensure you don’t box yourself in is key. You can crawl under tables to get out of the way of enemies, and each room comes with an abundance of weapons that can be used against them. Some of the skills that you pick up along the way will even give you interesting abilities, such as chucking tables as you emerge from under them; cause weapons to be much bigger than normal; or even intimidate enemies upon entering a room, leading them to fall over! Various challenges are available in some of the rooms, requiring you to wipe out enemies within a certain time or without taking damage, and these will reward you with Cubicle boxes that can drop anything from skills, weapons or even little bouncing burritos to boost your health.
As with many rogue-lites, Going Under has a tonne of replayability. With each death comes an urge to do another run, as Skills will level up as you progress, becoming “Endorsed” when the meter hits 100%, á la LinkedIn. This allows you to improve with each try, as improved skills will be available for you to use. There are two types of in-game currency, coins and Cubits, that can be used to improve your chances of success. Coins allow you to purchase items from the coffee shops within the dungeons, including health based items or weaponry; whilst Cubits can be redeemed against new skills from the main company headquarters. These newly acquired skills will then be added to the item pool for finding throughout each run.
We had a lot of fun with Going Under, and it’s definitely a game we can see ourselves going back to regularly. And at just £15.99 on the Xbox Store, it is the perfect price as it’s cheap enough to give you plenty of value for money.
In the end, we decided to give Going Under the Collecting Asylum rating of 9/10.
Have you played Going Under yet? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to Team17 for the Going Under Xbox One review code!
