Have you ever wondered what happens to failed startups? The answer might surprise you -- it turns out, the entire company sinks into the earth, its employees imprisoned within its ruins, forced to wander them as monsters for the rest of their lives.
Well, at least, that's how it goes in Going Under, which puts you in the role of Jacqueline "Jackie" Fiasco, the newest (unpaid) marketing intern at beverage startup Fizzle. As a startup, Fizzle is routinely attacked by employees of flopped companies that rise from the sunken ruins to cause trouble and steal office supplies. As the intern, Jackie is sent underground to keep the invaders in check.
Jackie explores the failed startups in a roguelike fashion, grabbing whatever items are around in the procedurally generated rooms to fight off their inhabitants. As she progresses, she will find skills that can help her reach the end of the dungeon, as well as money to spend in shops found in certain rooms. It's actually pretty simple as far as roguelikes go, with skills being all passives that can be explained in one sentence and no complex numerical systems. It's all about you and the weapons you find.
In that sense, Going Under is a lot more of a true roguelike than a roguelite, and that's a double-edged sword of sorts. The game is easy to get into and play a few runs casually. Also, since almost nothing is kept between runs, there is no feeling like you're forced to grind to finish dungeons, and when you die, it's almost always your fault and not the RNG's. However, it also means that there's little room for growth for Jackie, and you never reach that critical mass seen in other games of its genre, making it a lot less welcoming to people not used to action games.
In fact, even among people who are used to them, a lot of people drop the game during its second half, or even in the final stretch. It's not that the game gets unfair, but dying while fighting the game's challenging bosses at this point means redoing 10~20 minute stretches of dungeon before getting to try again. I, myself, despite enjoying the level of difficulty offered by the fights, turned to the game's assist options in the final section, as I felt the repetition getting to me pretty hard. Those options are also practically mandatory for getting the platinum, if you want to keep something of your sanity.
Even if you are going to play with assist options always on, though, Going Under is worth checking out for its satire of corporate culture alone. Not only does the game boast a gorgeous art style that mimics corporate artstyles in 3D, with well-defined, simple shapes and vibrant colors, but the writing for the game knocks it out of the park with the references to real world issues and its absolutely brutal criticism of the tech industry. The satire is everywhere, from flavor text to skill design to character dialogue, and it hits so hard, and so accurately, it feels almost personal.
Going Under might not be the deepest roguelike, but it's one with a lot of heart. It's a special game worth checking out.
Working From Home DLC: Since the DLC doesn't have a page, as it was distributed as a free update: Going Under has a DLC called Working From Home, which adds a new dungeon accessible from Jackie's room. It's basically recycled content, it's very long and tedious and you're better off not engaging with it at all. Stick to the main game.
Well, at least, that's how it goes in Going Under, which puts you in the role of Jacqueline "Jackie" Fiasco, the newest (unpaid) marketing intern at beverage startup Fizzle. As a startup, Fizzle is routinely attacked by employees of flopped companies that rise from the sunken ruins to cause trouble and steal office supplies. As the intern, Jackie is sent underground to keep the invaders in check.
Jackie explores the failed startups in a roguelike fashion, grabbing whatever items are around in the procedurally generated rooms to fight off their inhabitants. As she progresses, she will find skills that can help her reach the end of the dungeon, as well as money to spend in shops found in certain rooms. It's actually pretty simple as far as roguelikes go, with skills being all passives that can be explained in one sentence and no complex numerical systems. It's all about you and the weapons you find.
In that sense, Going Under is a lot more of a true roguelike than a roguelite, and that's a double-edged sword of sorts. The game is easy to get into and play a few runs casually. Also, since almost nothing is kept between runs, there is no feeling like you're forced to grind to finish dungeons, and when you die, it's almost always your fault and not the RNG's. However, it also means that there's little room for growth for Jackie, and you never reach that critical mass seen in other games of its genre, making it a lot less welcoming to people not used to action games.
In fact, even among people who are used to them, a lot of people drop the game during its second half, or even in the final stretch. It's not that the game gets unfair, but dying while fighting the game's challenging bosses at this point means redoing 10~20 minute stretches of dungeon before getting to try again. I, myself, despite enjoying the level of difficulty offered by the fights, turned to the game's assist options in the final section, as I felt the repetition getting to me pretty hard. Those options are also practically mandatory for getting the platinum, if you want to keep something of your sanity.
Even if you are going to play with assist options always on, though, Going Under is worth checking out for its satire of corporate culture alone. Not only does the game boast a gorgeous art style that mimics corporate artstyles in 3D, with well-defined, simple shapes and vibrant colors, but the writing for the game knocks it out of the park with the references to real world issues and its absolutely brutal criticism of the tech industry. The satire is everywhere, from flavor text to skill design to character dialogue, and it hits so hard, and so accurately, it feels almost personal.
Going Under might not be the deepest roguelike, but it's one with a lot of heart. It's a special game worth checking out.
Working From Home DLC: Since the DLC doesn't have a page, as it was distributed as a free update: Going Under has a DLC called Working From Home, which adds a new dungeon accessible from Jackie's room. It's basically recycled content, it's very long and tedious and you're better off not engaging with it at all. Stick to the main game.