My Trip to the Bottom of the Ocean in 'Beneath' Was a Glorious, Broken, Lovecraftian Mess

There’s something about the deep ocean that’s just fundamentally wrong. Add a dash of cosmic horror and a sprinkle of corporate conspiracy, and you’ve got a recipe for a damn good time. That’s the cocktail Beneath is serving, and I’ve just had my first taste.

I jumped into this new survival FPS from the two-man team at Camel 101. The setup is simple: you’re Noah Quinn, a deep-sea diver on a job that goes sideways in the most spectacular, dimension-bending way possible. One minute you’re looking for a lost sub, the next you’re fighting for your life against mutated crewmates and shady mercs at the bottom of the goddamn ocean. It’s a concept that feels ripped from the glory days of single-player shooters.

The Drowning Ambience

Let’s get one thing straight: the atmosphere here is top-notch. The game absolutely nails the claustrophobic dread of being trapped in a metal can miles beneath the surface. The lighting is moody, the level design is surprisingly varied for an industrial setting, and the distant groans echoing through the corridors are genuinely unnerving. It’s got shades of that classic Half-Life tension, and when you’re just soaking it in, it’s brilliant.

That said, the whole thing feels a bit washed out. I had to dive into the settings and turn off a few lens effects to get a cleaner image. It’s a preview build, so I’m willing to give it a pass for now, but the visuals could definitely use a bit more punch.

Bring a Crowbar, Not a Gun

The game makes it clear very early on that you are not a superhero. Ammo is so scarce it feels like a currency. I spent most of my time hoarding every single bullet, opting instead to get up close and personal with my crowbar or, my personal favorite, a well-placed fire extinguisher.

Those things blow up real good. Luring a crowd of slow-moving "zombies", your former colleagues, by the way, into a chokepoint and popping an extinguisher is a special kind of satisfying. The combat feels weighty and desperate, but the fun takes a nosedive when the mercs show up. They’re faster, smarter, and carry grenades. This is where the game’s biggest problem rears its ugly head.

Aiming Through Molasses

The aiming speed in this game is, to put it mildly, a fucking travesty. It is infuriatingly, soul-crushingly slow. I cranked the sensitivity up to the absolute maximum on both my mouse and my Steam Deck, and it still felt like I was trying to turn a battleship in a bathtub.

In a game with fast-moving enemies and limited ammo, having controls this sluggish is a death sentence. I died countless times not because I was outsmarted, but because I simply couldn't turn fast enough to face a threat. It’s a baffling design choice that single-handedly drags down the entire experience. It's jank that reminds me of some of the worst offenders in the horror genre, like my time with Before Exit: Gas Station.

A Diamond in the Rough

Beneath is a game at war with itself. It’s a brilliant concept with a fantastic, oppressive atmosphere. It has the bones of a great old-school survival shooter. But the preview build is riddled with technical issues, from inconsistent voice acting and disappearing waypoints to the game-breakingly slow controls.

I’m hopeful that Camel 101 can iron out these kinks before launch. There is a genuinely cool game here, screaming to get out from beneath a layer of bugs and questionable design choices. For now, it’s a promising, beautiful, and deeply frustrating glimpse of what could be. I’ll be watching this one closely.

Disclaimer: NLM Received a key for this game - No, it didn't affect the article. My soul isn't that cheap.