2nd Anniversary update

Happy spooky season hunters, it’s been a while!

Time flies when we do what we love, and with so many new things we have been doing to SO BELOW, almost 8 months went by very quickly. But alas, here we are, happy to share a gigantic update with you, our brave hunters. Expect new enemies, new maps, new mechanics, new lore, and new thrilling horror waiting to be discovered.

New enemies

The Wendigo is the most dangerous beast-type entity in the entire game. Its new AI system handles two coordinated wendigos that use joint attacks and luring tactics against the hunter. Solve the puzzles while holding the Wendigo menace, claim back the new Greenwood Forest map.

Adepts are slow and very dangerous undead entities that were once human worshipers of Zultar. They are all-knowing creatures, so hiding is meaningless against it. With the Adepts we are proud to introduce our new insanity mechanic. Don’t stare into the Eye of the Adept for too long!

The Revenant is the first immortal entity in SO BELOW, so defeating it is a matter of agility and luring tactics. You can still use crucifixes and other holy objects to slow it down. Don’t be a hero, if you get ahold of his severed finger, run for the portal!

Watchers are a brand-new Shadow-type entity that can be defeated solely by the power of the flashing guns and photo cameras. However, looking directly into it will drive you mad, quickly. Avoid direct eye contact and you’ll be fine.

New maps and old map improvements

The HEXA headquarters (the game lobby) has been completely redesigned and overhauled. With three main areas and dynamic music, the whole feel of the place has a new vibe.

The brand-new warehouse contains an item workshop, hidden areas, and overall a lot of hidden content waiting to be discovered.

We renovated the trophy room and implemented a new inspection mechanic to learn more about your findings during hunts.

We implemented a research area with a working cinema to study the history behind all those haunted locations.

Finally, a company history room, so you know who your employers are.

Get ready for our first map outdoors. Get lost in this beautifully haunting forest filled with secrets. Take a break from the oppressive interiors of the buildings of old and dive into the oppressive darkness of the Greenwood Forest. These woods are home to the Wendigo, don’t trust your ears.

Reworks

Every map received new treatments to adjust the new mechanics, so we took some time to fix a lot of tiny mistakes and weird situations in every map. We also added new cleansing stones for later updates related to the insanity and course mechanics. Speaking of new mechanics…

New hunting tools

Crucifixes and holy objects

We expanded the Crucifix rooster with new holy objects: The good-old crucifix, the best all-round option for new hunters.

• The cross of Brigid, a handcrafted crucifix best suited against Banshees and other ghost-entities.

• The Egyptian cross, weak against shadows and banshees but powerful against undead entities.

• The Palm Leaf cross, best against beasts like the wendigo and the revenant, but weak against spirits.

• The Eye of God, a traditional cross from Mexico that’s best against the Banshees and weak against physical beasts.

• The Bagua Mirror, best against shadows but weak against physical entities.

Lure Machine

We are happy to introduce a brand-new hunting tool, the Lure Machine. This device emits sounds specifically designed to attract specific entities. Just select the entity type and fire. The Lure Machine can “Aggro” the entity for a time, so use it to plan your hunts.

Player inventory rework

New item animations and player controllers

For a long time we struggled with many hand objects and the ease of use of some of the hunting tools, so we revisited the whole controller and player animation systems. The renewed controller scheme is intuitive and responsive, but you have to try it yourself to see what we mean.

New in-game store

Although having all the tools available from the beginning is one of the staples of SO BELOW, we are aware that sometimes you just need extra gear (like a different crucifix or extra defibrillators). That’s why we implemented an item bundle store before each hunt, as well as a gear vending machine once the hunt has started. This will allow you to adjust your strategy accordingly.

Event logger and text chat

We got tons of feedback regarding the clarity of the game loop and in general how to do things in SO BELOW. That’s why we implemented a logger system. It provides live feedback from all that’s happening during the hunt. It shows relevant information regarding entity activity, cursed objects and tools, game objectives, map information, and more. This system also allows the players to chat with text, in case you are not ready to use the voice chat of the game. The color of the text can be chosen in the character selection menu.

Lore

We implemented a new focusable object system that allows us to expand the lore of SO BELOW like never before. Now you can explore the haunted locations and learn more about the secret history of the Ascendants, their beliefs, and how it all relates to the entities haunting the many buildings acquired by HEXA. We also revisited the entity information at the beginning of every hunt. Our early design principles of keeping it ambiguous and mysterious backfired on us, so we made it as plain and simple as possible.

New insanity system

We wanted more than a life bar, so we implemented a whole additional insanity system. Certain entities, objects, and even areas, can drive you insane and push you further into the dark corners of the mind, where you should not trust your senses. Of course, you are professional hunters, so just avoid situations that increase your insanity and you will get better overtime. Just, if you hear your own heartbeat, we recommend you to run and hide.

Item reworks

We reskinned and reworked some old hand objects, such as the spectral microphone, the flashing gun, the torch, and the papyrus, to name a few.

Papyrus

The new Papyrus is now very easy to use. As a part of the whole controller rework, we realized that placing the papyrus was real trouble, so we made it easier than ever: just click to place.

Flashing gun

The flashing gun also changed skins, but more importantly, is operating controllers and its range has improved over past iterations. Now you can hold the trigger to ready your attack, and it no longer triggers itself automatically in the presence of an entity. This allows for better gameplay and strategy.

The torch is now a powerful weapon against beast entities (like the wendigo and the revenant). You just need to keep the fire on and you can swing it as you would in a movie. Be careful though, they can also be broken by the entities.

Spectral microphone

The spectral microphone received a brand new skin and UI, prettier than ever.

Bug fixes

Broken tutorial

We got rid of the old tutorial level. It was confusing, it sometimes crashed the game, and it was very outdated. We decided to improve the overall information availability instead of implementing a tutorial. Frankly, we also hate tutorial levels to the bone, so yeah.

Voice chat

It might not seem like a big improvement, but after many months of struggle, the in-game voice chat is now working as we want it to.

We revisited the contract table. Now, if the generated contracts are too much for you and your team, or if the map you wanted to explore is not available, you can refresh them (for a fee) and tend to other contracts more in line to your taste. We also improved the contract information, so you can make better decisions.

Additionally, we implemented weekly contracts that will be updated regularly from the HEXA headquarters.

Collaborations

We have been working with local artists and creators to enrich the lore and atmosphere of SO BELOW.

Special thanks to our friends:

Luis Augusto García Nevárez, Gleis 11, Josué Villagrán and Mike Hance. Thank you friends, we love you.