Strategy, planning and adaptation are the real weapons with which to face The Land Beneath Us. A truly fascinating pixel art roguelite.
Already from the demo I tried some time ago The Land Beneath Us caught my attention. Basically there were 2 reasons: the captivating albeit unrefined pixel art and the gameplay. The strong strategic approach, the turns and a not to be underestimated difficulty (sometimes unbalanced and I’ll talk about it later) are the strong points of the game.
Let’s start now with an analysis of the plot, the game and its structure.
Let’s Start From the Basics
I will not dwell much on this aspect because it has already been covered in a previous article. Just know that the protagonist of this game is called U.S.H.001. The Central Computer activated it for the first time, and then explained its mission. Descend into the world that lies beneath where we are: the land of Annwn. For some this place is also known as hell and there, we must save the person who built us: the Creator.
The land of Annwn is made up of 4 areas. Each divided into two zones except the fourth and last where we find 3. One zone is made up of 30 rooms, every 10th there is a mid boss and at 30th the final boss. Once a room has been completed we can choose between different portals, each with its own reward and symbol. Each symbol represents a reward: weapons, relics, event rooms, money and souls.
Worthy of mention are the references to Welsh mythology, on which the game’s lore is built. Although the plot is a pretext for the substantial gameplay, there are choices and upgrades capable of changing the ending of the story.
Finally the Gameplay!
Let’s now talk about what makes The Land Beneath Us a little gem. The protagonist moves on a terrain divided into squares, once done he passes the turn to the enemy. Several variables must be taken into account: enemies, environmental traps and destructible and non-destructible objects. The enemies, even the simplest ones, have very distinct and varied patterns and are carefully studied. Especially the boss and mid-boss fights become increasingly complex although fun and almost never frustrating. Learning patterns and reading the enemy becomes fundamental to being victorious.
Their pattern is represented by the yellow color of the boxes. Needless to say that if we find ourselves in that area at the end of the turn, we will take damage. The player can move in the four cardinal points of a single square and if in range he can attack his opponents. The function of passing the turn is fundamental. You can leave your opponent’s turn to get him closer or to put yourself in an advantageous position for the next one.
Two Fundamental Elements
The Weapons together with the Relics are the two fundamental elements to bring your adventure to a successful conclusion.
The Land Beneath Us offers a truly enormous quantity of weapons and relics: both are more than 50 units. Continuing with the adventure, completing challenges and in-game objectives will increase the arsenal and relics at your disposal. Obviously at the start of each match we will be bare-handed.
The Weapons of The Land Beneath Us
During the game we will find different weapons to choose from, both sidearms and firearms. We can equip up to 4 weapons at the same time, each on the cardinal points of movement. Each weapon has a unique range, damage, and active and passive abilities that activate under certain conditions. If we enter the weapon’s range while moving towards the opponent, it will attack automatically. There are cases where we want to be able to move and not hit, this often happens with weapons with more range. To help us we have the option of being able to move without necessarily attacking. Weapons can be upgraded in two ways: by spending money with the Blacksmith in an Event Room, or by finding an identical one which, superimposed on ours, increases its level for free.
The Relics of The Land Beneath Us
These items can really make the difference between victory and defeat. In fact, from the fourth area the difficulty peak of The Land Beneath Us rises considerably, revealing some balancing problems. As with weapons, relics will also have to be dropped during the game. Relics have different power levels, marked with classic colors ranging from gray to gold. They can only be evolved in game once, as long as we find the right NPC who will evolve a relic of our choice for free.
Initially we have 5 slots to contain the relics, which can then be increased by spending soul (the game currency). The abilities and upgrades granted by the relics are very strong, but you will need them because the game becomes merciless towards the end. For this reason it is better to have more slots available for relics and also to choose wisely which relic to evolve. The right choice can really change the fate of the battle.
Chip
As if The Land Beneath Us didn’t already present a remarkable depth and degree of challenge, two more fundamental mechanics arrive.
Our protagonist can wear up to 3 chips which can, once activated, have different effects. Some strengthen attacks, others heal and remove negative statuses, others are direct attacks or debuffs towards the opponent while others have utilities such as resetting cooldowns. Chips are also numerous and can be obtained by unlocking objectives and completing challenges. The only difference is that the player chooses which chips to use in the Central Hub and then they are not changed during the game.
Still in the Central Hub we can act in two ways on the chips: increase their power and change their “path” by spending soul. As clear as the concept of increasing the power of chips is, the “path” is less obvious. The chips, which are visible at the bottom right of the screen, have a certain number of arrows that make up a sequence. The player must repeat the same sequence to activate the ability he wants to obtain. Wrong direction implies not activating the chip and starting the sequence all over again. For this reason it is possible, still in the Central Hub, to reroll the chip pattern by spending soul. If we are lucky, among the many arrows we might find a star: a bonus that allows us to go in any direction without losing the sequence.
Teleport
Our opponents will become more and more aggressive and the mere fact of moving one square at a time will not be enough to save us from enemy attacks. This is where the teleport ability comes into play. The protagonist can teleport within a certain range within the terrain to get out of trouble. This option must also be chosen and used with care because the skill has a cooldown. I assure you that being without teleport when you have no way out is not a pleasant feeling at all. This ability can be enhanced in the Central Hub by working on decreasing the cooldown and the width of the movement area.
The Roguelite Element of The Land Beneath Us
Beyond the predominant tactical element, The Land Beneath Us presents a textbook roguelite and dungeon crawler soul. The loot, the choice of the best rooms and the randomness of the items lead the player to create a build on what he finds during the game.
There are two ways to end the game: defeat the boss at the end of the area or be defeated. In both cases we return to the Central Hub and from there we can choose the upgrades we will bring to the next run. Still in the Central Hub we can choose to move between two portals, each of which gives access to different upgrades. The Soul Technology portal improves the abilities, skills and characteristics of our protagonist. Furthermore, it is in this area that we can improve the chips. The other area that leads to spirit improvements (I won’t add anything else to avoid spoilers), improves the characteristics of the world of Annwn. In essence it serves to mitigate the random element by giving more options and more choice to the player during the game.
Once the boss at the end of the area is killed, it will drop a core. By spending a core we will unlock special upgrades. Both zones have these upgrades, but be careful! They have a very specific order in which to be unlocked. Depending on which ones we unlock, we will influence the story and the ending. Furthermore, you have to choose carefully because the number of cores is finite, as is that of the bosses.
My Two Cents
FairPlay Studios developed an incredibly engaging and fun game. An unrefined but captivating pixel art, with music and effects that do their job well. The Land Beneath Us presents itself with an almost chess-like tone where the strategic element is predominant.. Figuring out which skill you need, when to activate it, and planning your route considering all the environmental obstacles and enemies is no easy task. All this adds more depth and requires the player’s attention and long-term vision of the match. Overall, an excellent job. The game is not free from flaws. You can replay the old areas by increasing the difficulty, but the replayability is not very high.
The Boss fights are well characterized and well done, with very original and never frustrating patterns. It’s a shame that the mid-bosses are a bit repetitive even in the creatures. The balance, especially in the fourth area, can create serious problems for the player. There are rooms with a number of very aggressive enemies that resurrect as soon as they are killed, which can put even those with a “broken” build in difficulty or end the game. On the contrary, there are rooms, again in the fourth area, of disarming simplicity. Despite these solvable little things, The Land Beneath Us doesn’t have any huge critical issues. Even if it comes down hard on the player, it is almost never “dishonest” towards them. If you like challenges, you will find something for you.
The Land Beneath Us released on May 13, 2024. Is available on PS5, XBOX SERIES X|S, Steam and Nintendo Switch.
Version reviewed: Steam.
The Land Beneath Us
PRO
- Good pixel art and sound
- Very challenging and deep Gameplay
- Many items to choose from
- Good Boss fights
CON
- Balancing problems
- Mid boss fights too repetitive
- Low replayability
8/10
