By Chris Picone, 13 October, 2025

Beneath is a "survival" First Person Shooter, which I took to mean that it might be a little slower than your average run-and-gun, with maybe more emphasis on ammunition management and possibly stealth. In any case I enjoy a thoughtful shooter, and the game's "Lovecraftian" theme is always a winner, so I thought I'd give it a go. I must confess I didn't get too far into the game, which I'll explain a little down below. 

Aesthetics

The graphics are pretty decent, if a little dated.  The bigger picture is usually pretty decent; there's plenty of value-add details like sharks and fish swimming past while you're underwater, and of course the clouds and waves while you're on the boat.  Every now and then you'll catch the lighting just right and it's photo-worthy - just don't look too close.  Once inside the lab, however, things can start to feel a little samey, but the lighting effects through the glass windows is pretty cool.

Gameplay

I played through about an hour or so - enough to get through the underwater intro/tutorial, the introduction to the story on the boat as the tranquil scene was suddenly interrupted by zombies at first, and then some mysterious government agency.  These early sections of the story were developed well and definitely had me engaged. The intro to combat was good too; there weren't too many zombies initially, but having a slow-loading pistol, only a few rounds of ammunition, and the close confines of the boat preventing any sort of effective egress did add some challenge.  The first level of the laboratory, once apparently teleported to some new realm, was weirdly empty and sterile.  No enemies, but a little bit more lore found through things like emails on computers, a little bit of crawling around, and a simple "puzzle." I reached the end of the level but either missed something or hit a bug because I was directed to progress to the next level but the door to the stairs was shut and wouldn't open.  Soon after, my review key was mysteriously revoked, so I never got to explore any further.

Verdict

I don't feel like I was able to play enough to give a solid verdict here.  The premise was promising.  The graphics were decent if not amazing and the story was engaging but the combat and puzzles were a little clunky.  However, it was the start of the game and I felt like it was still really just setting the scene up and was still finding its feet so hopefully the rest of the game continues to build on those foundations. 

Links: 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1593230/Beneath/