Below cover art

Below

Careful descent through procedural depths balancing survival systems against permadeath.

Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION5 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE6 /10OPTIMIZATION6 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    5/10

    Stamina-based combat punishes sloppy dodges and swings

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    0/10

    Creatures and the Darkness follow rules, not minds

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    6/10

    Procedural floors, traps and loot reshape every descent

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    6/10

    Survival crafting and trap knowledge converge with experience

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

Compare with

Similar games

see all →

Ranked by shared genre first, then by how closely the cheat-test profile matches - a cross-genre tag means a pick matched on skill profile alone.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl cover art

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

Practiced Mastery · survival FPS

E
R
V
O
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
Rogue Legacy cover art

Rogue Legacy

Practiced Mastery · platformer roguelite

E
R
V
O
Rogue Legacy
Risk of Rain cover art

Risk of Rain

Practiced Mastery · roguelike shooter

E
R
V
O
Risk of Rain
Darkwood cover art

Darkwood

Systems & Chaos · survival horror

E
R
V
O
Darkwood
Once Human cover art

Once Human

Practiced Mastery · open-world survival shooter

E
R
V
O
Once Human
Hand of Fate cover art

Hand of Fate

Systems & Chaos · card-driven action RPG

E
R
V
O
Hand of Fate

Game details

Released
2018
Developer
Capybara Games
Platforms
PS4, PC, XONE
Modes
Single player
IGDB critics
66/100
IGDB users
72/100
Role-playing (RPG)AdventureIndieActionFantasySurvivalOpen world