The PC version will have all content updates, including the just-released Fortune Grind

Grindstone just won't stop, and with more platforms still to hit, that's for the best. Capybara is updating its monster-mashing puzzle game on Nintendo Switch and iOS today — the Fortune Grind update is out now — and the team is also releasing a PC version of Grindstone on May 20, 2021.

The PC version is launching exclusively on the Epic Games Store, and assuming it has price parity, it'll cost $19.99, ??which is fair. From Ap?ple Arcade to Switch to the Epic Store — it's been a journey.

As for Fortune Grind, it's a new form of the Daily Grind mode in which you'll spin a wheel while strategically slicing through foes and pray it lands on a boon, not a creep. It's not something I plan to engage with, ?but I will probably dip back into the main game to find the newly-added cave with 10 more levels. Capybara has also tucked in a Gold Health Potion and new recipes in the Slöp Höuse.

This game rules. It's very long — to the point where you might not ever fully finish it — but it rules. It's so satisfying to try and master Grindstone. Even once you think you've got it all figured out, and you can get every optional go?al done without relying on items, it'll find evil new ways to push back.

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The iOS version was adapted in all the right ways

If you've played Critter Crunch or Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, you don't need to be convinced that Capybara is capable of making great puzzle games that'll creep into – and slowly take over – your headspace. With that in mind, I'm here to remind you that 1) Grindstone exists and 2) it's fantastic.

More importantly, it's no longer locked down to Apple Arcade. You can get Grindstone on Nintendo Switch as of this week, and if you're an early buyer, you'll save five bucks. $14.99 is the sweet spot.

After reviewing the original iOS version in 2019 and truly loving it – only to let my Apple Arcade subscription lapse a while later and miss out on a few big content updates like Daily Grind modes – I'm happy to be reunited with this gnarly monster-mashing, color-coded-path-tracing puzzler.

The most important thing to note: the Nintendo Switch version of Grindstone has touch controls.

Good touch controls, at that. It's not as inherently comfortable to hold a Switch for a game like this compared to an ??iPhone, but the controls are accurate and well-thought-out. You can go all-touch for the line-drawing gameplay, or use the analog stick (which works surprisingly well), and that also goes for interacting with UI elements on the world map and insi??de the shops. I tend to use a mix of both.

I was also pleased to see that Grindstone looks and runs (and animates) just like I remember. This is a game about mashing little creeps into a pulp, and that ?colorful brutality is so smooth in motion. Capybara also reworked the presentation to better fit the widescreen Switch display – the effort shows.

If you're coming in fresh with the Switch port, you're also benefiting from post-lau?nch iOS content and features like a "gore" slider, more outfits (with unique gameplay perks), more items (that can really help even the odds in sticky situations), and tons of new levels, including new boss battles. It's been refined.

As for what Grindstone is like as a video game in genera??l, it's a content-packed puzzler with a simple but clever and super satisfying central mechanic, plenty of layered gameplay depth, optional high-stakes rewards that o??rganically push you to play at your best, and a not-too-fussy gear progression system.

To sum up Grindstone's hook, on each level, one turn at a time, you'll physically draw a path for your adventurer to chop his way through on a board filled with red/blue/yellow/green/purple creeps, beefier foes with more HP and specific attack patterns to avoid, and other tricky static and dynamic obstacles, some of which are breakable, some of which aren't. The hero, Jorj, can combo his way through creeps ??of the same color in one swoop – an??d use gems (that are added to the board after you achieve big chains) to switch from one batch of colored creeps to another color type in the same long-winded move.

Basically, it's a color-matching game with short- and long-term threats to watc??h out for, a range of directional choices to consider (I always feel like I could've been a bit more efficient), and a nice ebb-and-flow difficulty. It gets more intricate – especially with equippable items that, say, let you jump anywhere on the board, or threats that can't be fully dealt with in one turn, like skeleton-summoning tombstones – but that's the gist. It keeps building and building without becoming annoying to play.

(For extended thoughts on the puzzle mechanics, please hit up my review. It's still applicable.)

If for whatever reason you're skeptical of the price, know that this is a long, long game. That was one of my only complaints with the original, actually. My advice? Take your time??. A handful of levels a night.

On iOS, Grindstone was a brilliant puzzle game minus the usual time-wasting mobile practices that artificially keep players from actually playing. On Switch, it's the same success story. ??Don't skip it!

S?traight up, this is one of my favorite puzzle gam?es ever.

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15 new levels including a new enemy, boss, and mechanic

After dropping out months ago, I'm contemplating resubscribing to Apple Arcade for another month just to play the new Grindstone update – that's how much I'm into Capybara'??s maniacal puzzle?? game.

The "Back to the Grind" update adds 15 new levels to Grindstone – along with a boss, Jorj's rival, who can also combo-chain his way through hordes of creeps – and a new Jerk-Go-Round puzzle mechanic that rotates baddies around the stage. There's enough stuff here to kee??p the format fresh, I think.

There are also more items for Jorj to collect like the OK Boomerang and Throwin' Bombs, plus a new creature called the Jerkameleon who can swap colors based ??on whatever ??creep he just swallowed.

All in all, it sounds like a great reason to check back in. I sincerely hope Capybara can release Grindstone on other platforms – especially Nin??tendo Switch. It's one of my favorite puzzle games in years??.

For now, Grindstone remains an Apple Arcade exclusive on iOS.

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The visuals alone are worth the trek

I hope a lot more people get a chance to play and enjoy Below, Capybara's dungeon-crawling roguelike adventure, once it debuts the far less punishing Explore mode. The free update for PC and Xbox One is scheduled for April 7, 2020, and that's the same day the PlayStation 4 version of Below will debut.

Similar to the prior releases, Below will cost $24.99 on PS4.

The Explore mode update is going to let you poke around Capy's gorgeous tilt-shift world to your heart's content without worrying about hunger, thirst, one-hit deaths, restrictive checkpoints, monotonous backtracking, and some of the other nastiness that made Below such a slog to finish. Meanwhile, the game will still retain its original form with Survive mode, whic?h is where existing save files will go.

It's one of those games I desperately wanted to love, but just couldn't. A lifetime ago, in my 2018 review of the PC version, I wrote that Below "has a masterful command of ambiance, but it comes with too many caveats." I also said that if the torch-lit experience could be "compressed into a tighter six- to eight-hour adventure, I'd confidently recommend it to a wi??de audience." Well, he??re we go.

As creative director Kris Piotrowski noted today, "feedback proved to us that many players were intrigued, and enamored of the game's mysterious underworld, unique art style, and dreamy atmosphere, and loved its haunting and hypnotizing soundtrack by Jim Guthrie, but these players' desire to delve into Below required surmounting a difficulty that made the journey seem im??po??ssible."

I have to commend the te?am for taking those criticisms in stride and making t??he most of them.

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Explore at your leisure

Below was one of 2018's most perplexing, punitive, and challenging games. The premise is simple -- keep going downward -- but the execution is meticulous and frustrating. Jordan's review is dripping with trepidation, like Below is a game that he wanted so bad?ly to recommend but just couldn't.

PlayStation 4 owners get to take a crack at Below, but with one major alleviation to all the agony: Developer Capybara is adding an "Explore" mode to Below. Capybara says Explore is "optimized to encourage exploration," and that it's meant for players who want to see all Below has to offer "without suffering the exquisite pain of [the] original design." It's an overt admission that Below was too tough, probably even moreso than its creator intended. For those who relish a good challenge (or who just want too see Below in its original form), that will still?? be available in "Survive" mode. 

All this happens when Below comes to PlayStation 4 sometime later this spring. PC and Xbox One players a??ren't left in the dark, though. They'll also get the Explore mode update, presumably upon PS4's release. All of the discovery with only a fraction of the tedium.

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Your next obsession

When a puzzle game's central mechanic is seared in your mind to the extent that it vividly flashes before you every time you close your eyes, you know you've overdone it. That's precisely where I'm at right now with Capybara's new puzzler Grindstone, out thi??s month as one of Apple Arca?de's debut titles.

Games like Critter Crunch and even Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes feel like a short lifetime ago, but they still come up when folks aren't fixating on Sword & Sworcery, Super Time Force, and Below.

I fear that Grindstone might be overshadowed – both in the short-term, as players try to sift through Apple Arcade during its first month, and long-term, as Capy focuses its attention elsewhere – but let this gorgeous game serve as a firm rem?inder: these puzzle-makers can abso?lutely still bring it.

Grindstone (iOS)
Developer: Capybara Games
Publisher: Capybara games
Released: September 19, 2019 
MSRP: Part of Apple Arcade ($4.99 a month)

It only took a single tutorialized level for me to be sold on Grindstone. I'm that into the core concept. Basically, it's a mishmash of color??ed gem matching and turn-b??ased tactics, and it's executed brilliantly.

Playing as Jorj, an adventuring dad who's definitely seen better days, you'll try to ascend Grindstone Mountain floor by floor, level by level, turn by turn. My initial read on the game had me thinking I was in for a punishing roguelike (since you need to top up your health between rounds and occasionally grind for gear-repairing resources), but it isn't one. Grindstone can be super tricky, but it's not a roguelike.

Each turn, you'll trace a path between a group of red, yellow, blue, green, or purple monsters in hopes of making the largest chain possible – while also ending your attack ??in a safe spot and, ideally, setting yourself up for future success. It's that simple! (Except, in many cases, it totally isn't.) Like all the best brain-busters, you have to constantly consider micro and macro factors. You can't get tunnel vision.

Jorj can move in eight directions (in other words, diagonals are fair game), and if he takes down at least ten creeps in a single strike, a gem will land on the map that can be used to string together an attack on different-colored monsters – for instance: a yellow group first, then green (or whatever else is in?? reach).

That basic premise – generating enough momentum to clear the board when the time is right – factors into larger foes, who have HP and roam around. The longer your combo, the more damage you'll dish when you bump into a Big Guy. The principle also goes for breakable obstacles, trap-door-opening levers, skeleton-raising tombstones, bosses, and so much more. One of my favorite parts of Grindstone is seeing an enemy? for the first time, working out its quirks, and using them to my advantage.

Most levels require you to kill a certain number of creeps – or in some cases the smarter, non-color-coded creatures – to open the exit door. Here's the trick, though: even the simplest foes can be deadly if you ignore them f?or too long. Every turn, more and more puny monsters will become enraged, a signal that if you end a turn sitting beside them, you'll take a hit. By default, Jorj only has th??ree hearts.

When he bites the dust, you'll lose all of your items and progress in a level. Failure stings when you're deep into earning an optional objective (say, unlocking a treasure chest), or clearing a bonus challenge ("kill three bats in one chain"), or simply trying to depart from a long battle after a job well done. It isn't necessarily enough to win – you have to get out alive. There's a sense of mounting urgency.

In general, Capybara does a good job of introducing wrinkles on a regular basis, whether it's environmental hazards, unique monster behaviors, or new pieces of gear. You can hold three items, some of which are "refueled" whenever you enter a level, and some of which need to be manually maintained in town using various forms of currency earned in battle. Unsurprisingly, the more advanced stuff – like poisonous arrows, or an ability that lets you hop onto any tile – tends to require repairs.

That big-picture aspect of Grindstone feels a touch unrefined. Once I got into the swing of things, I never really needed to consciously grind, but even then, stocking up on item energy and health between levels felt like a slight chore. I could see some of these out-of-level elements needing to exist in a free-to-play game, but they aren't justified well enough here. Do I like the underlying idea of customization? Sure! Did I get by just fine using the same build for most of Grindstone's 150 levels? You better believe it.

On that note, there's the matter of the game's length. I don't say this very often, but here goes: it's too long. Capy could consolidate 20 percent of Grindstone and the game would be better off for it. That 20 percent is st?ill fun, to be clear, but when a great game feels padded in any way, it's extra noticeable.

Even with those quibbles, I adore this game. Grindstone's tactical color-matching ???conceit is one of the most satisfying puzzle game mechanics in recent memory. I'm hopelessly hooked, and I regret nothing.

_{[This review is base?d on a retail bui?ld of the game through an Apple Arcade subscription purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Review: Grindstone appeared first on Destructoid.

Headaches and heartache

Capybara's new dungeon-delving adventure, Below, places a lot of confidence in its players. Aside from a few basic control prompts up front, the beloved indie studio offers almost zero explicit instructions. There's a fundamental faith that players will be inquisitive enough to glean all the details they need from v?isual cues woven into lavish world design and a super clean, super minimalist user interface.

Early on, I found this approach totally engrossing. I love it when a game trusts me to figure things out on my own and, crucially, provides me with reasonable clues to help make those connections possible. Below is brimming with a-ha moments as you teach yourself how not to starve, how dungeon floors can (and can't) change from one permadeath run to the next, and what to do when everything goes to hell and you??? need to extract your gear from an inhospitable area that won't ever seem to end.

In retrospect, it's a fairly simple game -- you only need to keep descending, one floor at a time, until you reach the mysterious bottom -- but the real trick is endurance. Below doesn't dem?and fast ??reflexes or a particularly quick wit, but it does require grit. One small slip-up can have devastating repercussions.

Below (PC [reviewed], Xbox One)
Developer: Capybara Games
Publisher: Capybara Games
Released: December 14, 2018
MSRP: $24.99

If you have a low tolerance for tedium in video games, you're probably going to? want to bail.

It pains me to put it so bluntly. As I covered in my review in progress, the first several hours of Below will be audio-visual bliss for anyone who cherishes a sense of genuine discovery. In a year with some truly beautiful games, Capybara's tilt-shift art direction stands out, and composer Jim Guthrie is as on-point with palpably atmospheric tracks as I'd expect after his work on Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP.

It's not just the killer aesthetic that sets a promising tone. Below's light action-adventuring is much more? enjoyable in the opening hours when its survival and roguelike elements don't feel so prickly.

Say, for example, you run low on food. You might feel pressure to move a bit less methodically than you otherwise would in hopes of finding stray mice or plants you can chop up and nibble on. The shadowy monsters who roam Below's early levels only take a swipe or two at most. They aren't much of a threat, even in large groups. You're far more likely to walk into a stray spike trap or make some other critical error in the stifling darkness. If and when that happens, a new adventurer with none of your gear will appear on the island's surface for another attempt. You'll need to navigate back to your former body to find and r?eclaim the all-important lantern, a??n item that's mandatory for progression. The underground rooms will seem familiar but slightly fresh due to procedural generation, so there's added guesswork, and you won't have health or food reserves on-hand unless you make it a point to stock up.

During the first half of the game, this is a setback, to be sure, but you can recover without taking a huge blow to your motivation to continue. Y??ou'll likely have a few shortcuts opened up by then and a basic grasp on the different layouts each specific floor and biome can take. It's trick??y to see without the lantern's guiding light, but it's doable as long as you prepare appropriately and play cautiously.

Later on, once you reach a brutal set of one-way floors with a looming presence following your every step, death can be utterly disastrous. Below morphs from repetitive to outright punitive. With a well-stocked hero, the situation is tense. With a new recruit who has to survive long enough to nab his predecessor's lantern and then keep going until he finds an escape route, it's hellish. I left off my review in progress venting these frustra?tions and w??ondering if the struggle could possibly be worth it.

Nine more hours later, I've not only made it through the gauntlet, but I've since run back through the entire span of the game multiple times to locate the last few collectibles I had missed. Below's ending was about what I expected: gorgeous to look at and packed wit?h more questions than? answers.

Some players will relish the challenge, but I just couldn't. Not in this game. Below puts its best foot forward in its early hours and then never stops losing steam. If the ?experience were somehow compressed into a tighter six- to eight-hour adventure, I'd confidently recommend it to a wide audience. As it stands, the ??game has a masterful command of ambiance, but it comes with too many caveats.

_{[This review is based on a retail build? of the game provided by the publishe?r.]}

The post Review: Below appeared first on Destructoid.

It's dangerous to go alone

Capybara's dungeon-crawling adventure Below doesn't hold your hand. It can be cryptic and at times obtuse, but then again, it's a game about discovery. Some initial confusion and misunderst?andings just come with the territory as you suss out how the systems and mechanics feed into each other.

After chatting with Brett and answering some of his early-game questions about Below, I figured my pointers could also be put to good use on Destructoid. This is by no means a complete guide, and I'm hesitant to overshare since Below revels in mystery, but these tips should help you get started??.

• The game's intro is pretty long. You don't need to press buttons or control anything.

• Once you get on shore, you have to find a lantern before you can begin your journey below the surface. You'll see several dead ends that can't be opened up yet.

• Speaking of which, the first shortcut is accessible super early on. I completely missed the secret my first time through and only discovered it hours after it would've been useful. You'll find the entrance after you climb down stairs and see the first underground bonfire (right before you enter Floor 1). Look for a pool of water and head up, then keep heading up through the top of the screen in the next room.

• Below has permadeath and some procedural elements. When you die, you will start back at the shore with a new character, meaning it's important not to rush things.

• To find your deceased hero's body and lost lantern, hit the View button on Xbox One (aka the "back" button) to bring up the map screen. This tells you approximately which floor to look on -- you'll see arrows pointing either up or down until you've reached the correct floor. You can use the left thumbstick on the map screen to scroll through the various floors your current explorer has visited. (Your map resets upon death.)

• While there is randomization to dungeon floor layouts, it can be subtle. Important rooms are always going to look a certain way and be in generally the same spot (e.g.,  "three rooms to the left of the entrance" or "in the middle of the floor"), but the interconnecting rooms do change from run to run. You'll naturally get a feel for it.

• The number-one killer is spike traps, which are difficult to notice without your lantern. You can set them off by attacking them, or you can try and coax enemies into stepping on them. Tripwires are less dangerous. Bonus: you can cut them for materials.

• If you die and are having a hell of a time trying to see without your lantern, find or craft torches. You can't equip a shield and a torch, but you can still wield your sword.

• You can create a warp point at bonfires. It costs 25 bits of light (the glowing things that enemies drop) and if you did it right, the flames will turn blue. Now, when you die and get a new character, you can interact with any bonfire to warp to your blue bonfire -- but it's single-use, so the trip is one-way-only.

• Similarly, you can sleep at bonfires to store valuables. (This is also where marbles go.)

• The hunger and thirst meters start to matter further into the game. If you're running low, keep an eye out for mice and swarming bats -- they're a key source of food in the depths. You can also hunt down foxes, but they're too pure and good to kill. It's wise to stock up on supplies in earlier floors and craft high-value meals at bonfires.

• Warmth is also eventually a factor once you've made it several floors down in Below. You just need to create a fire, and there's usually a spot to do so every few rooms.

• If you suddenly find yourself skipping a bunch of floors, don't panic. This is normal.

• Always keep an eye out for lantern pieces, the main collectible in Below that sticks with you from run to run. When you're near them (with your lantern), they'll become shrouded in a bubble of light. You can break this bubble by focus-shining them.

• Certain enemies block attacks. You can break them with a shield bash (LT + LT).

• If you've sustained damage and your health is red, either quickly apply a bandage or get to a fire so you can cauterize the wound. Otherwise, your health will keep dropping.

• My biggest tip, in general, is to be thorough the first time you explore a floor. Sometimes that means doubling back and potentially dying, but you'll save time in the long run. Having a solid grasp on how floors and shortcuts connect is crucial.

The post Very Quick Tips: Below appeared first on Destructoid.

Are you afraid of the dark?

Below, the long-awaited new adventure from Sword & Sworcery and Super Time Force developer Capybara Games, isn't quite the game I expected it to be. Part of that is on the project's initial secrecy, and part of that is on me for deciding after multipl?e delays that I'd just stop paying attention to any new tidbits coming out and instead simply show up on launch day, ready to be pleasantly surprised.

If you're expecting a pretty little zoomed-out Dark Souls or a Zelda-like romp with a heavy emphasis on combat, you will be disappointed. Some of their best elements -- like a knack for well-placed secrets and a fully-realized, believable world -- make it in. And while you do have a sword, a shield, a bow, and other possible weapons at your disposal, Below is much more about exploration. You're a fragile little survivor, not an unstoppable hero. To that end, the game leans into permadeath. Hard.

I'm not far enough along for a final assessment, but after 11 ho??urs, I've seen some real highs and lows.

Below (PC [reviewed], Xbox One)
Developer: Capybara Games
Publisher: Capybara Games
Released: December 14, 2018
MSRP: $24.99

The first six hours or so were incredible for me. If there's one thing Below nails -- and it absolutely, consistently does -- it's a sense of atmosphere. Not just in the look of the world, which employs a sort of tilt-shift effect to draw your gaze and make you feel like an insignificant speck, but also in the sleek user interface, the convincing sound design, and of course the righteous soundtrack by Jim Guthrie.

I can't say enough good things about Below??'s presentation. It exceeded my high expectations.

That's not to say it doesn't feel good to play, too. It does. The character movement and sword slashing and shield bashing are tuned just right. That said, combat isn't really t??he main draw. After an ominous opening sailing sequence, your nameless wanderer is dumped ashore, compelled by an unknown motive to delve deep below the surface. At first, the island seems full of possibilities. You'll find some basic crafting items, a campfire, and eventually a lantern. The latter is where things get interesting.

The lantern emits an ambient glow that makes navigating Below's dark dungeons significantly easier. It can open up otherwise-impassible barriers. It even highlights spike traps and tripwires. In return, all you need to do is keep the device fueled by killing shadowy?? creatures who roam the dungeon floors and drop precious bits of light. But there's a catch: when you die, you die for good, and the lantern is inaccessible un?til your next would-be hero works their way aaaallllllll the way back down to pick it up.

Sometimes, this isn't a big deal. You can spend 25 bits of light at campfires to create one-time-use warp points, and Below also offers a handful of regularly scheduled shortcuts that permanently connect the starting zone to much deep??er floors. Other tim?es, losing your lantern is absolute hell. When I died in a very inconvenient place about six hours in, my progress screeched to a three-hour halt.

Without getting into spoilery specifics, the area has an unstoppable presence that haunts you in every room, as well as pesky new enemies that never seem to quit coming. Worth pointing out: while Below tells you which floor your lantern and previous body are stranded on, the game uses semi-randomized floor layouts. You don't know which room is the room until you enter it. I should probably also mention that there are hunger and thirst meters that need to be topped up. This isn't a huge hurd??le in and of itself, but the survival elements do necessitate extra planning and preparedness on long treks.

I eventually got out of the jam and have since seen super cool stuff that has rekindled my affection for Below. But man. That incident nearly killed the game for me. If only there were a way to, say, pay a modest fee to fetch the lantern. I would throw so many bits of light into a wishing well.

It might sound like I've made up my mind about Below, but I haven't. Yes, it's too harsh for its own good and that can lead to far too much repetition, but until I reach the end, I won't know if my struggles were ultimately worth it or not. If you happen to be an Xbox Game Pass su?bscriber, I'd implore you to play t??his -- but only until you've had your fill. The opening hours are magical and rife with discovery.

_{[This review in progress is based on a retail build of the game provided?? by the publisher.]}

The post Review in Progress: Below appeared first on Destructoid.

Asleep in the Deep

It has been a long time coming, but Capybara's Below will finally be releasing next week. Originally announced during E3 2013, Below wi?ll be coming on December 14, 2018, for Xbox One and PC. The game still looks quite pretty and should be a good time for anyone that has been waiting these past five years.

I'm mostly looking forward to the soundtrack by Jim Guthrie. I still routinely play the Superbrothers? OST, so I hope the aural soundscape is up to? snuff.

The post Below will finally surface next week appeared first on Destructoid.

Curiosity killed (in) the cat(acomb)

Ask someone why they chose something, anything - from what type of sandwich to eat, to who they voted for in the ?last election - and chances are their reasoning will boil down to one statement "It felt right." We may like to th??ink that we're rational, logic-driven animals, with full access to free will, but fact of the matter is, we're largely directed by an emotional compass that points us towards doing whatever makes us feel good. 

Below is designed to make our various internal compasses point in m??ultiple directions at once, without us even being aware that we're being psychologically drawn and quartered. The urge to survive, to dominate your enemies, to hunt and gather for cool stuff, to see what kind of bizarre monstrosity might be hiding around the next corner are all ??at play at the same time. Committing to one of those drives while abandoning the others will surely lead to regret. Balancing them all, while being prepared to start all over again at any time, is the only way to make it to the end. 

Creating Below has led its developers to walk a similar path. In 2013, they were committed to the game's?? flat 2D art style. That's where their compasses pointed them, and they were confident it was the right direction... until some time passed, and they began to further chisel away at what they wanted from their work. As they changed? as artists, so did their feelings about what they were making, which led their compasses to point them toward a deeper, 3D look, as well as further changes to the underlying systems at play in the treacherous world they were building. 

Now, many iterations later, Below should be ready to release this year. It's a game that took years?? of patience, hard work, and a leap of faith to create, it asks the player to do the same at every turn. 

Like Capy's Sword and Sworcery, Below stars an initially faceless protagonist who comes adorned in plain, but fashionable, garb. The game also has a soundtrack by Sworcery's Jim Guthrie. I asked Capy is the two games were related. They told me that at one time they considered adding a direct connection between the two games but, in the end, they decided to keep a??ny relationship between them unspoken. 

So while it's not an official spinoff or sequel, I'm 100% certain that Below fits more into the Sworcery side of Cap's library than the corners set aside for Super Time Force or Critter Crunch. Both games are methodically paced, have sword and shield combat at their core, and work to make the environment the secret star of the show. If anything, Below feels like an outgrowth from Sworcery, with Capy asking themselves "How can we make a game that fills players' minds with even more mystery, danger, and an authentic sense of place than Sworcery did? How can we let people get even more lost in our world?"

In fact, Lost might have been the perfect name for Below, had it not already been taken by another cryptic adventure story from a few years ago. That said, you always have some concept of where you are. The game is largely procedurally generated, though every run will share some key landmarks with others. This leads the player to feel like they almost know where they are, most of the time, without ever letting them feel completely sure. That feeling only makes you hungrier to fully explore everything in Below, as ?it always feels like you're maybe almost the?re, even if you have no idea what "there" is. 

That excitement to see what's in the next room is what ?killed me the most. "Just one more room!" my brain would shout, totally drowning out the "Hey, that red crystal monster just stabbed you, don't you think you should find a fire to cauterize your wounds before you go forward-flipping through that mysterious doorway?"

Part of this lack of concern for my personal well-being is inspired by how little Below focuses on the player character. They take up about 1/30 of the screen most of th??e time, and that's being generous. The user interface is almost totally clean, with just a heart showing your health, or a crystal showing your collection of currency. There are hunger, thirst, and blood loss meters running at all times too, but you won't notice them unless you make the effort? to.

Instead, your eyes will be drawn to the beautiful world around you. The deeper you go into Below, the darker that world gets, with many hidden treasures and traps potentially wait?ing in the darkness. When asked to choose between lighting up that world or stopping by a local fire to mend your wounds, it's easy to be sucked into the myst??ery, at the expense of more responsible pursuits.

Sometimes the game feels like a cautionary tale, tempting the player to look before they leap, then comes crashing down on them with severe consequences for not planning ahead. After working on the game for more than five years, it's certain that Capy has been plenty cautious with their own approach to Below.

With the resources they've put into it so far, they could have released two or maybe even three versions of the game along the way. But they didn't. They took their time, stayed reflective, and did what they thought would help them meet their long term and short term goals at the same time. If you're interested in playing a game that asks you to do the same, then you're going to love Below. 

The post Below could make you forget that you’re bleeding to death appeared first on Destructoid.

And yes, Below is still coming along

Fans of Capybara Games have been patiently waiting for Below, the studio's mysterious cavern-exploring action-adventure roguelike, for years. It's still coming, though! And co-founder Nathan Vella tells Engadget that Capy expects to ??announce two new game projects around August.

"The big studio focus is shipping Below, but we also have a couple other titles," he said. "We're super interested in getting on all kinds of platforms, like we've always been rea??lly big into doing stuff on everywhere. So, some of the new stuff is not necessarily the same platforms that we've been working on in the recent past, which is really?? fun for the team."

As for the timing of the August reveals, Vella said he believes "pretty strongly in waiting for the right time. As proven by a game that'?s, like, three yea?rs late."

The last Capy title I played was Super Time Force all the way back in 2014. I'm here for this.

The unique stress o?f running a successful indie studio [Engadget]

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'We're not quite done excavating its depths'

Earlier this year, Capybara Games announced that Below would release this summer. It was substantial news because Below felt as if it were one of those games that has? been talked about forever but was never any closer to coming out. Finally, there was a li?ght at the end of the tunnel.

Five months later and Capy has reversed course. The developer posted on its site that Below is being delayed again. "We did a lot of soul searching. We knew we wanted to get it into your hands as soon as possible. We knew the game was there, and we're super proud of it, but we also knew it needed more time to make sure it lives up to our studio's standards, and the quality that you expect from our games. From the very beginning, Below has been our most ambitious undertaking??, and we're just not quite done excavating its depths, or polishing all of its facets," Capy wrote.

This delay is indefinite, and, as Capy says, the final one. "Instead of giving you a new, loose release window, we will be going dark while we take the time that we need to complete Below without compromise. The next time you see a major Below update,?? that means our game has a firm release date, which we'll share," Capy commented.

It's hard to argue with delays, especially when they come as a result of the developer seemingly not feeling comfortable with the game. Waiting is fine and that's extra true when the final product makes the waiting worth it. Hopefully Capy gets Below into a state tha?t it's pleased with. If the past tells us anything, this isn't a studio that'?s content to rush something out the door.

A Short Announcement About 'Below' [Capybara Games]

The post Below delayed again, no new date given appeared first on Destructoid.

Probably by design

Maybe my Bad Journalist seams are showing a bit here, but I cannot pin down exactly what I think Below is. When I saw it at PAX East in 2014, it looked Dark Souls-esque in both combat style and its unforgiving nature. Despite writing a lengthy preview, I was uncertain as to what it reall??y was.

Having seen it again -- this time at GDC last week -- I'm still unsure about it. In fact, I'm possibly more unsure than I was two years ago. All I know is that I want to sit in a ??dark living room with the final build, and I want to do that as soon as possible.

Talking with Capy creative director Kris Piotrowski did little to enlighten me. He re-explained Below's systems to me (one hit point, slow bleeding out, need to heal or cauterize the wound, respawn as an ancestor), but none of that truly feels like what Below is at its very core. That all feels like a smattering of bullet point?s on a useless fact sheet.

No, Below is about the shroud of mystery, and the player gradually shining a light on that. Working their way ever-downward, there's something to uncover -- whether that be a monster, a ph?ilosophical meaning, or the Fountain of Youth. (Ponce de Leon is going to be mad jealous if it's the Fountain of Youth.) Piotrowski already dispelled my theory that ??you're going to hell, so don't lean on that.

In all parts of the game, Below relies on the unknown and the process of discovery. There are no text boxes or dialogue for guidance. Instead, it's trial and error --?? testing things out to see what works and what doesn't. At one point, Piotrowski showed me how to make soup; I have no idea what the soup did or how the various ingredients affect the soup, but it was made and consumed, presumably to my benefit.

The one glaring correction that Piotrowski had from my previous assumption was that Below isn't necessarily Spelunky or Dark Souls levels of difficult. He likened it to Zelda in a lot of ways and commented that it's more accessible than those other games are. It seems as if those who are dedicated to unraveling what Below has to offer won't be held back? entirely by lack of skill as long as the desire to proc??eed is persistent.

Our other talking point was a less comfortable one. Nearing three years since the initial reveal, people were starting to loudly wonder why this isn't finished yet. Capy just recently announced that it's launching this summer. Piotrowski was in no hurry to apologize. "That's how long it's taken," he plainly said. Apparently Below is re?leasing in the coming months less because it needs to release soon and more because it's ready to release as Capy feels it's done.

Leaving my appointment with Piotrowski, I felt hardly any wiser about exactly what Below? actually is. That's because Capy doesn't want me to know until the game's out and I can move through it at my own pace. As a reporter, that'??s frustrating; but, as a player, that's exciting as all hell.

The post I’ve seen Below twice now, and I still have no idea what to expect appeared first on Destructoid.

Watch your step

Below was one of my most anticipated games last year, but it was delayed into 2016 at the last moment. We won't hav??e to wait for it much longer though, as Capy's new roguelike adventure wil??l be coming this summer to Xbox One and PC.

The newest trailer is looking lovely. The sense of sca?le and the slight vision blur around the edges of the screen create a neat effect, perfect for the massive caverns and dungeons that seem to swallow up the tiny explorer. I can't wait for more of those magical Jim Guthrie tunes either!

For more information about Below, be sure to check out our preview here.

The post Capybara Games’ Below drops in this summer appeared first on Destructoid.

More news in the new year

With just a couple weeks remaining the year, Below is not going to hit its previously announced 2015 release window, developer Capybara Games has confirmed with Game Informer.

"Below is indeed coming in 2016," Capy's Nathan Vella told the magazine. "Past that I can’t share much, yet. We’ll certainly have ?a lot more co??ntent to show and news to share in the new year."

You can find more information on the upcoming Xbox One and PC roguelike in our preview here.

Below delayed into 2016 [Game Informer]

The post Capybara Games’ Below delayed into 2016 appeared first on Destructoid.

Coming soon to PS4 and PS Vita with Cross-Buy

Be honest: if you were putting together an intergalactic team of time travelers to help save the universe and also destroy it a little bit, you'd enlist Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida. His Twitter game is that on point! He's confirmed as a playable character in the upcoming PlayStation 4 and PS Vita versions of Capybara's silly run-and-gun Super Time Force. No, really.

Two other characters are joining the PlayStation-exclusive crew: Sir Galahad from The Order: 1886 and the, uh, whatever the scarf-wearing protagonist of Journey is named. That thing.

See some skinny-legged artwork and in-game shots of the three characters be??low.

Super Ti??me Force Ultra: Jo?urney & The Order Characters Revealed [PlayStation Blog]

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Live now

Despite the fact that it was announced yesterday, developer Capybara Games noted that Super Time Force would be getting the PC's Ultra update for free. It's actually available right now, and adds in 50 new challenge levels, Ultra Force mode, ?and new ach??ievements.

I'm loving the free content updates to select Xbox One indies lately. It's a perfect excuse to jump back into Super Time Force for at least an afternoon.

Free Xbox One Ultra Update [Capybara Games]

The post Super Time Force on Xbo??x One will get a free Ultra Update appeared first on Destructoid.

Super Time Force is only free on Xbox One

Next month's ??G?ames with Gold lineup is among the service's best yet.

Xbox 360 owners who are subscribed to Xbox Live Gold can nab Monaco: What's Yours is Mine for free from September 1 - 15, followed by Halo: Reach from September 16 - 30, while Xbox One owners will have all of September to download Super Time Force.

Shame about the Xbox 360 version of Super Time Force not being included here, but if you're thinking of playing it there I'd recommend going for the Ultra PC release instead.

Games with Gold Has Your Back in September [Xbox]

The post September Games with Gold: Super Time Force, Halo:?? Reach, and Monaco appeared first on Destructoid.

Pyro, Saxton Hale, and Zoey

Zoey. It was Zoey!

I would have never guessed she was the third mystery character teased for Super Time Force Ultra following Pyro and Saxton Hale from Team Fortress 2, but it makes sense in retrospect. The Left 4 Dead star brings her dual pistols and?? propane tanks to the action.

Beyond these characters, Ultra adds 50 Helladeck challenge levels that look worthy of that name and the Ultra Force power mode. Read up on those additions here and prepare for August 25.

STFU ON STEAM ADDS TF2, L4D CHARACTERS! [Super Time Force]

The post Three Valve characters are playab??le in Super Time Force Ultra appeared first on Destructoid.

Fisting powers activate!

Well, looks like I'll be playing Super Time Force all over again when it hits Steam. Why? Well aside from the new challenge levels and alternate-dimension powers, there's three new playable characters. Two of which are from Team Fortress 2. Well from the looks of it at least. One is ??the Pyro, and t??he other is the manly Saxton Hale fisting his enemies to death.

Fisting all over the place he is. 

The post Some Team Fortress 2 characters join?? t??he Super Time Force Ultra team appeared first on Destructoid.

More characters, levels, and music

Capy Games is bringing its previously Xbox-exclusive Super Time Force to PC on August 25, according to Joystiq, and this is far from a mere port.

Extra content for this Ultra version of the time-traveling run-and-gun game was teased before, but I wasn't expecting there to be too much new stuff for Steam. Turns out I was wrong! There's going to be 50 new challenge-based levels, three additional characters, and the ultra force -- alternate-dimension versions of all existing ch??aracters who are more po??werful (and more limited in supply) that blow up when they die. They'll be usable after beating the game.

Capy's Nathan Vella says the team has "added more art to it, a bunch more sounds, [and] an entirely secondary so??undtrack to the game now which takes place during slow motion ... we kind of went a litt??le crazy." Great news, and console players aren't going to be left out either.

Super Time Force Ultra flies to Steam on Aug??ust 25 [Joystiq]

As shown in this IGN demo, the new levels look like a terr??ific use of the time-rewind mechanic.

The post Super Time Force Ultra hits Steam this month with lots of new conte??nt appeared first on Destructoid.

Also important: 6955's soundtrack is out now

"STFU." Heh.

Capybara implied that Super Time Force wouldn't remain an Xbox exclusive and it's true: a new and improved Super Time Force Ultra version will release on Steam this summer.

There's promise of "some very cool (but presently very secret stuff)" being added for PC players, but that's all Capy is saying for n??ow. The original release was one of ??the rare few titles I felt compelled to review, and the game turned out as I had hoped. Novel time-travel mechanic, great art, nice tunes, fun writing -- yeah, I'll be down for double dipping on Steam.

In the mean time, the chiptunes soundtrack by 6955 is on Bandcamp and iTunes. Go go go!

SUPER TIME FORCE ULTRA ON STEAM + SOUNDTRACK! [Capy]

The post Super Time Force Ultra set for a s?ummer Steam relea?se appeared first on Destructoid.

KOOKABUNGA!

Super Time Force is officially out today for the Xbox One and the Xbox 360. YES YES YES! We loved the game, ??it's a ton of fun, and you should just go?? buy it already what is wrong with you hurry up.

Capybara is celebrating the launch by unleashing ALL the gifs. Ther??????????????????????????e's so many gifs that you can basically communicate in gifs to your friends. Also here's a brand new trailer. It's pretty messed up.

The post Celebrate Super Time Force’s launch with A TON OF GIFS! appeared first on Destructoid.

Army of one

Capybara Games has been demoing Super Time Force at trade shows for years now, offering players a chance to become acquainted with i?ts neat take on side-scrolling shooters but not enough time to truly dig in. The people hovering behind you in line have stuff to do too, after all.

Here we are, at last. We can play Super Time Force in the privacy of our own homes, spending as much precious time as we'd like to perfect runs without?? feeling guilty. Life ?is good.

Super Time Force (Xbox 360 [reviewed], Xbox One)
Developer: Capybara Games
Publisher: Capybara Games
Release date: May 14, 2014
MSRP: $14.99

What sets Super Time Force apart is undoubtedly its time-travel theme and the ridiculous situations that ensue, but it also manages to pull off something many gam??es struggle with: humor.

Stages are all based on different time periods and your organization's reasons for altering history are often laughably selfish. You'll save dinosaurs from extinction "because an integrated human-dino society is cool, enough said"; travel to a Max Max-esque wasteland in which your boss' daughter is no longer a boring, unfun baby; and journey to the?? future to bring back all of the updates and plug-ins needed to view a "must-see" cat video.? Dialog is similarly lighthearted and ranges from smile-inducing to laugh-out-loud humorous.

Time travel can be a messy, confusing mechanic when poorly implemented but that's not at all the case here. Super Time Force plays like a traditional, well-made 2D?? shooter featuring a large cast of characters up until you get hit by a stray bullet, or you decide to press the B button. Enter time-out mode. The game pauses, and you're able to rewind all the way back to the beginning of a level, if you'd like, or to a few seconds prior. You'll then return to the action as a new "you," either playing as the same character or a fresh one better suited for your current situation.

So, say you got hit, and you'd rather that fact didn't make it into the history books. Just rewind, and kill the enemy in question before it can fire off the shot. Your past self is saved! And now the two of you can combine to give your current self an extra hit poin??t and an improved charge attack.

Imagine this and similar scenarios pl?aying out about twenty more times over the course of a single level. It sounds crazy on paper, and it is, but in practice the chaos is manageable while you're in the thick of it -- you're only ever actively controlling one character at a time. Past versions of yourself will go about their busi??ness, killing foes and collecting items as you did moments ago.

The logic powering the game may not make perfect sense as far as time travel is concerned (does time travel ever truly make sense?) but this makes for a better, more enjoyable videogame. Long story short, Super Time Force's brand of time travel is there to benefit the player first and foremost,?? which is especially important when it comes to collectibles and?? the like.

That said, you start off each level with 30 total rewinds (though more can be earned) and you're always racing against the clock to make it to the end, beat the boss, or both. This res?ults in a game that feels fast-paced, but not nerve-wracking; challenging, but not unfair.

As much as time manipulation is at the core of Super Time Force, it would be a waste without solid running-and-gunning action to go along w??ith it. Thankfully, the game is also a blast in that regard. While you'll start off with only a few characters -- each with a normal and special charged attack -- there are a bunch more to earn. There's someone for everyone.

My favorite can charge her sniper rifle for a concentrated blast that pierces through multiple enemies, often one-shotting them. Another starter has a shield, which?? is useful for protecting future versions of yourself. Others include a skateboarding dinosaur with acid spit, a random dude from the future who essentially wields a lightsaber, and "Dolp?hin Lundgren."

Several of them aren't practical for most situations, meaning you'll likely fall back on using the same few characters over and over again, as the game rarely if ever forces you to do otherwise. Which is disappointing. Some of the collectibles require you to plan ahead, making sure yo??u're standing in the right spot at the right moment, but other than that you're allowed to brute force your way past enemies to your heart's content, particularly when it comes to bosses.

Even if you aren't required to go for the full cast, unlocking everyone will be an extra motivating force, all the same -- not that one is needed. At several hours in length, Super Time Force does not outstay its welcome and there's plenty of room for replayability built in, too. 

A significant part of that lasting appeal is due to commendable art and sound design. The chiptunes by musician 6955 fit in nicely with Capy'?s wonderful pixel artwork. After beating each level, you'll get to see a replay and I often watched these to completion -- there's so much to take in while playing that you can't fully appreciate it all. In particular, Rick, the blue-skinned, purple-bearded god responsible for keeping Atlantis above water, deserves a shout out.

A separate hardcore mode opens up after clearing the game for the first time and you're able to access it and vanilla Super Time Force from the main menu at any time without worrying about progress in one mode overwriting the other. In hardcore, once a character dies, you're locked out from p??laying as them again in that level unless you prevent their death from happening. You can't be reckless, in other words, which is a habit some players will have to lea?rn to break.

All told, Super Time Force is a satisfying run-and-gun game made even better with a fun?? (and funny!) take on time travel. It's as enjoyable to play as it is to look at. You'll likely be able to burn through ?the game in a few hours if you're not going for full completion, but it has such a winning personality that you'll find yourself coming back for more.

The post Review: Super Time Force appeared first on Destructoid.

It's also slow motion shooty-shooty-bam-bam mayhem

Capy released a new trailer for Super Time Force today, and it shows off some of the slow motion aspects of the game. Every level contains three mysterious inter-dim??ensional power-ups called Shards. Shoot them and time will slow down to ??a crawl, giving you a chance to unleash more mayhem, and avoid enemy fire with grace.

Super Time Force is out on the Xbox One and Xbox 360 on May 14. ?Except I'm playing it right now. Neener neener neener! Look out for our review next week.

Oh, and the music here is by 6955. Sweet jams, man.

The post Super Time Force isn’t just crazy shooty-shooty-bam-bam mayhem appeared first on Destructoid.

May 14 for Xbox 360 and Xbox One

"Prepare To Die DIE DIE D?IE DIE DIE DIE DIE D??IEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

It's true. There will be plenty of death when Super Time Force drops on May 14, 2014 for Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Capy Games has a shiny new trailer to accompany the release news, though you should be familiar with this time-rewinding run-and-gun game by now. It's gonna be gooood.

I feel like I'm always changing my mind but, right now, in this moment, STF is my most anticipated game this year. I thi??nk. Here's hoping it won't be too much longer for a PC version.

The post Super Time Force has a release date and it’s soon appeared first on Destructoid.

All dinosaurs should spit acid while skateboarding

I've run out of fresh things to say about the time-rewinding run-and-gun game Super Time Force, so apologies if this all sounds familiar and you find that bothersome. It still l??ook?s great!

Capy doesn't have a clear release date yet -- it's sounding like May or June for Xbox 360 and Xbox One -- but the studio does? have screensh??ots to share. You'll want to see those in full resolution.

And if like me you missed out on Rev3 Games' super-in-depth, 50-minute playthrough, seek that out too. It'll do more to convince you of Super Time Force's radness than anything I could say.

The post Super Time Force screenshots to pass the time appeared first on Destructoid.