So Below

Before I mention anything else, I want to just talk about how it took me 5.5 hours to finish a playthrough of this game, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.  I'm simply floored by how much narrative there is here!  Truly ambitious scope, especially considering this is a Jam game.

The game beautifully illustrates the weird limbo that people in their 20s just out of college go through: the need to make money, chase your dreams, be away from parents and be grown up and independent.  Friends don't come as easy as they used to for most people, and it's even harder if you were never that good at making friends in the first place.  This is where we first find Anita, perhaps mourning an old life, and now trying to establish a new life and space that feels safe.

But we quickly find that things are perhaps more complicated for Anita than your average person.  She's coming off of a bad relationship, her confidence is non-existent, she's in therapy--evidently for an anxiety disorder, and the real complication: she sometimes sees things that aren't there.  Anita is such a great protagonist.  I rooted for her, winced at her foibles, and wondered often whether her position as the narrator of this story was a reliable one.  The other characters are also well realized and round out the narrative nicely--as a bonus, they are also well designed, helping the in game compositions to pop with life and color. 

Speaking of character design: there are monsters in this game, and they wonderfully designed, and scary as hell.  When things get going, these guys push the tension over the top.

If there's anything to complain about here, it might be that the writing needs an editing pass.  There were some issues with tenses, and in some places the narration probably needs to be cut down a little--but this is all easy to forgive when you consider the breadth and scope of this game in the context of a game jam.  I played through in 5.5 hours, and only got one ending.  Just astounding!  Definitely give So Below a shot!

Where do I even start? 

The monsters are among my very favorite designs in the whole jam. I'm not usually big on outright horror, but I absolutely love a fantastical, otherworldly monster, and these monsters are exactly the surreal sweet spot for me! (Spooky Long Neck Friend, are you by chance cousins with The Pale Man in Pan's Labyrinth...? ✨) I was equally horrified and delighted every time one appeared on screen, and could never land on whether I more dreaded or looked forward to their rare and impactful appearances!

The backgrounds are invitingly warm and organic; I enjoyed the hand-drawn and painterly qualities in each of them, as they add a distinct sense of the personal to each separate setting. The music during tense moments really adds heft to the darker turns of the story, and the phenomenal sound design further fills out the game's remarkable sense for building atmosphere and dread. 

Both character art design and narrative direction are superb: the sprite expressions are dynamic and emotive, and moreover, each of the characters feel lived-in and flawed. This sparkles perhaps the most in the protagonist Anita: her deep anxiety and heavily-etched trauma add a layer of additional alarm and discomfort--as someone with an anxiety disorder and trauma, I relate to her; as a player, I desperately want to protect her; and all the same, given the heavy and ongoing influence of her trauma and self-doubt, I also cannot help questioning how reliable a narrator she is. It's a fantastic set up for a game of existential horror, and still never ever undermines Anita as a character or a person who harbors genuine compassion and kindness. Nothing is a clean good-evil-black-white binary here, and in a story with such high stakes, that is a thrilling choice indeed. 💞

This story showed me a kind of fear that I had never quite seen before in fiction! Namely, Anita's hallucinations and the way her perception is at odds with that of other people, combined with her insecurities around human relationships, making me wonder just how much of an unreliable narrator she might be. It filled even the cozy and relaxed dialogue scenes with a sense of uncertainty and dread. Getting an ending in which she finds peace with herself and has friends she can rely on made this all the more cathartic.

I also want to give some love to the artists because each one did a sublime job at their task: The characters' apartments are filled with personality, the sprites are beautiful and feel like real people, and the monster designs made me jump in my seat when they appeared.

I noticed that the narration switched between present and past tense a few times, which was just a bit of a shame because it pulled me out of the experience when my goal was to soak up the story. It might be worth correcting in a future update, if that is something you have planned for the game?

Big praise to everyone who worked on this, I'm really glad I played it despite being a big of a scaredy cat - The heart of the story made it worth it!

(Copied from Spooktober rating page- pleaseeeee try it its TERRIFYING)

!!SPOILERS!!

Oh my Lord, the creature designs honestly scared the shit out of me! (Don't get me started on the deer thing,,,, bloody hell,,,,) Also poor Tom,,,, he deserved better, but at least void is in good hands now. (I want to spoil her rotten) And the flashlight scenes? I was tense all the way through! 

I think the thing that terrified me the most was the thought of losing these characters that I quickly got attached to. The writing is absolutely *chefs kiss* and the dialogue felt really natural, so it was easy to relate to them! Anyhoo, amazing work team- also VIVIAN AND MORY FOR THE WIN RAAAAHHH!(´꒳`)♡

This was the scariest Spooktober game I've played so far this year! The story and characters felt fully fleshed out. All the twists and turns gripped me effortlessly throughout. The flashlight portion of the game was very cool and effective.

I got two endings, but many of the choices felt significant. I still have to go back and try to uncover what other secrets the story might have.

The designs of the characters, creatures, and backgrounds were dense with detail and always interesting to examine. The soundtrack and sound design kept me on my toes.

This was definitely a roller coaster ride of an experience that I do not regret! Congrats to the team for the excellent work and for nailing this really entertaining and heart-pounding horror visual novel! 

(Note: Copy-pasting this comment from the Spooktober VN Jam 2023 page.)

OMG, I just finished playing this game and it was sooo amazing! The BG in this game is like a fairy tale, so colorful and magical. I can’t get enough of it 😍 ✨ The game was full of surprises and twists, and it never got boring. I loved the characters and their personalities, they felt so real and unique. The art style was also gorgeous, it made me want to hug them all 😭 💝And don’t get me started on the bad ending (no spoilers, I promise). It was so creepy and mysterious, perfect for spooktober. It gave me chills and goosebumps, but in a good way~

I absolutely loved this! The story, art, and soundtrack were all brilliant :3 

I especially adore the character designs (with Vivian being my fave!), and my favorite music track ended up being 'Stay Tough' (though, 'Thoughts' is a close 2nd) cos it was so funky :D I really enjoy listening to tracks that have a sinister but ethereal feel to them ^-^

A very solid visual novel that's both cozy and creepy, with a cast of charming characters, great art and design, a bit of mystery solving thrown in, and some legit music bops. This one made my heart go from clenching in tension to feeling warm and fuzzy several times. Well done, and keep creating!

A friend showed me this one and last thing I knew I was seeing credits at 3 am. Loveable eerie VN, well-made in everything but not without that certain indie flavour. Definitely recommend, happy Spooktober!

Gooooooosto^^

Great job guys! Loved playing through the game, especially the writing and the art. Good way to start the spooky month