A Below release date has been revealed by developer Capybara Games. The long-gestating PC and Xbox One roguelike will release next week. The date was revealed today alongside a new trailer. Below will release on December 14, 2018. The game is releasing on Xbox One and Steam for an undetermined price.
Below was revealed at Microsoft’s 2013 E3 event with a moody, atmospheric trailer that showcased its beautiful world. The game has been described as having roguelike gameplay, and it features permadeath mechanics. Capybara put the game on hiatus in mid-2016, as the company shifted to polishing the title. In the meantime, Capybara developed and released OK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes for Cartoon Network.
/// Take a solitary journey through the haunted depths of a forbidden isle. BELOW launches on Xbox One & Steam on December 14th, 2018. Explore. Survive. Discover… Soon.
Wishlist BELOW on Steam here: https://t.co/ND7glN9FR4 pic.twitter.com/P3GuonY6Wl— CAPY (@CAPYGAMES) December 6, 2018
Capybara calls the game a “roguelike-like,” and have said the game is about exploration more than anything. Capybara’s Nathan Vella, in 2013, said, “You’re a tiny warrior, exploring the depths of a remote island. The first goal is to explore it, but really the key part of exploration is surviving.” At the time, Below was set to feature multiplayer of some kind, although the game’s Steam page lists it as only supporting one player.
The Below release date comes over five years after the game was announced. Capybara has been demoing the game over the years, including most recently at PAX West in September. We previewed Below in 2016, while it was being demoed at PAX East.
Capybara Games was founded in 2013 by several Toronto IGDA members. The studio rose to prominence with Critter Crunch, a puzzle game released in 2008. The studio co-developed Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP with Superbrothers. The studio released the time-traveling side-scroller Super Time Force in 2014 and was positively received by many.
Jim Guthrie composed the soundtrack for that title and is also composing the soundtrack for Below. Guthrie has won a number of awards for his music, soundtracks, and collaborations.
