Going Under Review | Screen Rant
Team17 has gone from primarily being known as the developer of the Worms series to an indie publisher with a diverse portfolio of interesting games. Over the last few years the company has funded and distributed games like Overcooked, The Escapists, Neon Abyss, and Yoku’s Island Express. The latest release from the publisher is Going Under, a roguelite-inspired dungeon crawler title developed by Aggro Crab that features some new unique twists.
Going Under starts with the player taking on the role of an unpaid intern at a company called Fizzle. Rather than working in the marketing department as promised, though, promising up-and-comer Jackie is thrown into the deep basements of Fizzle. That’s because the depths of the headquarters are home to dungeons filled with the tattered ruins of various failed tech start-ups. Of course, these dungeons are not just empty caverns either. The three different areas have their own unique theme that genuinely make them look very different, and play host to former employees who once worked there and have since mutated into hideous monsters. It’s the protagonist's job to get rid of them and clear the dungeons.
To do this, Jackie can use pretty much anything she comes across as a weapon. It doesn’t matter whether it's a computer keyboard or just office trash, nearly everything can be used to battle enemies. Each new weapon that Jackie picks up also has a limited number of uses before it will break. This adds a frantic and chaotic element to Going Under, forcing the player to constantly pick up different items, but it’s a lot of fun and encourages experimentation. Fortunately, the controls are simple in nature, with a single button to lock on to enemies along with two other buttons for melee and ranged attacks. That stops things from getting overcomplicated and keeps the combat flowing nicely.
Going Under also has a nice array of different skills that can be acquired in each dungeon. While they don’t necessarily change the gameplay in any significant way on their own, skills do offer nice perks. Some will make Jackie more powerful so that attacks deal extra damage, while others let her earn more cash as she takes down enemies. However, it’s the culmination of having multiple skills that really switches the gameplay up and makes the combat in Going Under a blast to play.
As is the case with the weapons, skills are not permanent. After all, Going Under is a roguelite and so every death or completed run sees the player sent back to the start. Yet, completing tasks and collecting skills has a lasting benefit, as once Jackie has used a skill enough to become proficient in it, she can equip it at the start of a new run. Meanwhile, doing tasks for her co-workers can unlock special abilities to use. All of this helps to make it feel like progress is always being made in at least some small way. That is essential in a roguelite like Going Under as it means that no run feels completely meaningless.
Along with a joyous array of colorful environments and quirky characters, Going Under is also pretty funny. NPCs are often stereotypical office workers but with their personalities taken to the extreme. Even the failed start-ups can elicit a smile just from their names or descriptions. Take Joblin for example, a gig economy firm that ends up being haunted by goblins. The presentation is topped off with a zany art style and pleasing soundtrack that syncs up with the manic gameplay well.
Although it may lack the depth of games like Diablo 3, Going Under is a great entry point into the genre. It’s a far more casual experience that puts style over substance to great effect. The silly fun of smashing mutant goblins with office furniture just never gets old. In fact, the fast-paced action means that as soon as one run ends, jumping straight into another one always seems like the right choice, creating the kind of satisfying gameplay loops that melts hours of a day away without feeling like more than a dozen minutes have gone by.
Going Under released September 24 on Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Screen Rant was provided with a digital Xbox one download code for the purposes of this review.