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[LordKano]

Below, the new game from Super Time Force Ultra's developers Capybara games, was announced during Microsoft's presse event 2013. Yeah, 2013. There aren't many games that were announced in 2013 and which still aren't released. What's even worse is that this one don't even have a concrete release date.

It had a new trailer one year ago and IGN got some gameplay six months ago. It's a top-down survival game in which you explore the depths and realms of a mysterious world, with roguelike mechanics. It looked fairly interesting, and were, with Cuphead (still not released) the two biggest ID@Xbox ambassadors.

What happened to it so that, almost four years following its announcement, we still don't know when it will release ?

 

[BananasWithGuns]

Targeting this summer last I heard. Hopefully it doesn't see another delay.

 

[RoKKeR]

Hoping they pull an Inside with it and drop it right after E3 this year.

Same with Cuphead.

And Ashen.

 

[Nirolak]

Presumably the game is not good, but they want to make it good, so they keep delaying it.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Xbone exclusive ?

 

[Acquiescence]

It's down. Deep down.

 

[Burbeting]

It's down. Deep down.

Deep Down Below

 

[Bsigg12]

Xbone exclusive ?

It's slated to be on Steam as well.

 

[eggandI]

A game for ants

 

[TenCentCoast]

It's down. Deep down.

I honestly did always get these two mixed up.

 

[Granjinha]

http://www.capybaragames.com/2016/08/a-short-announcement-about-below/

We told you BELOW would be out this summer. Our team worked hard to make that deadline a reality. But after a strong push, we've decided it isn't ready.

We did a lot of soul searching. We knew we wanted to get it into your hands as soon as possible. We knew the game was there, and we're super proud of it, but we also knew it needed more time to make sure it lives up to our studio's standards, and the quality that you expect from our games. From the very beginning, BELOW has been our most ambitious undertaking, and we're just not quite done excavating its depths, or polishing all of its facets.

Instead of giving you a new, loose release window, we will be going dark while we take the time that we need to complete BELOW without compromise. The next time you see a major BELOW update, that means our game has a firm release date, which we'll share.

Making games is hard but rewarding work. Accepting, even after this long development, that the game needs more time is difficult, but it's important that we are honest with ourselves as creators, and with you, the players.

We're sorry we let you down with yet another delay. But in the end, we need to make certain that the hard work we've put into this game turns into something you'll love, and to us that unfortunately means keeping BELOW in the oven a while longer, until it truly is ready.

Thanks for the continued support, and see you on the other side.

Presumably the game is not good, but they want to make it good, so they keep delaying it.

Eh, i think it's more of a 'this game is really ambitious for a studio of our size so it's gonna take longer than expected' situation

 

[eggandI]

http://www.capybaragames.com/2016/08/a-short-announcement-about-below/





Eh, i think it's more of a 'this game is really ambitious for a studio of our size so it's gonna take longer than expected' situation

I too take generic PR statements at face value

 

[LordKano]

http://www.capybaragames.com/2016/08/a-short-announcement-about-below/





Eh, i think it's more of a 'this game is really ambitious for a studio of our size so it's gonna take longer than expected' situation

To go from "it will release this summer" to "10 months later there's still no firm release date", I have doubts it's just extra polishing time.

 

[oti]

I'm just wondering if the game is any good. Maybe it has already missed its moment.

 

[mr teaspoon]

This is the game I bought an Xbox One for, really excited to check it out.

 

[Dynasty]

I've been excited for this game since Totalbiscuit covered it. I guess they are just taking there time, 9
hopefully it comes out this year. Im expecting it to appear at MS E3 conference.

 

[Plumpbiscuit]

It fell Below expectations.

 

[sturgboski]

http://www.capybaragames.com/2016/08/a-short-announcement-about-below/





Eh, i think it's more of a 'this game is really ambitious for a studio of our size so it's gonna take longer than expected' situation

Deep Down is also too ambitious for Capcom and thus needs more polishing time than expected.

 

[Arkage]

I too take generic PR statements at face value

This made me lul.

I hope this game does come out. I just don't understand how a small indie studios like this can afford to keep running year after year after year without releasing content. That side of the financials is a mystery to me.

 

[Pie and Beans]

I'm a bit confused as to how they're still open really. Maybe there's a secret pay-per-view Indie Dev Snail Race and they're locked in deadly slow competition with The Behemoth.

Winner gets a studio producer who isn't narcoleptic and asleep for all the "do you think we need to ship a game this year?" meetings.

 

[CGwizz]

Its like you are playing with a chracter that have like 20 pixels. Who the hell thinks that was a good idea?

 

[KainXVIII]

I hope devs implement zoom feature all that time.

 

[azertydu91]

Xbone exclusive ?

Isn't it timed exclusive and coming later to Ps4 and Steam?

 

[Gradly]

Xbone exclusive ?

Timed Xbox exclusive, coming to Xbox first

Edit:

Source as well: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-08-08-capybaras-roguelike-below-is-only-a-timed-exclusive-for-xbox-one

 

[brawly]

Hoping they pull an Inside with it and drop it right after E3 this year.

Same with Cuphead.

And Ashen.

:/

Totally forgot about Ashen. Why are these all associated with MS and don't seem to release.

 

[Alpha Phoenix]

There must be like two people working on this game. It was announced alongside the Xbox One in 2013 and has yet to show up.

 

[VlaudTheImpaler]

Hoping they pull an Inside with it and drop it right after E3 this year.

Same with Cuphead.

And Ashen.

From the Ashen Facebook page,

Facebook denizen "I remember this! How's it going?
February 15 at 12:57am


Aurora44 "Hi. Thanks for asking! Things are going really well. We are secretive for now but we are extremely excited to show more of Ashen!
February 15 at 1:01am!"

I think you may be right about your E3 predictions. At least I hope so because all of these look awesome to me.

 

[Bioshocker]

Hoping they pull an Inside with it and drop it right after E3 this year.

Same with Cuphead.

And Ashen.

Oh, Ashen! Haven't heard or seen anything from that game since it was revealed.

 

[Dabanton]

Looking forward to this one. I'm hoping for an Inside style drop a week after E3. Best way to do it for these kind of games imo.

 

[singhr1]

They had live gameplay demos at last E3 IIRC. It's gotta be soon.

 

[zashga]

Been interested in this one since it was first announced. Capy is one of my favorite indie studios, so I have high hopes. I'd be lying if I said all the delays don't have me concerned, though. Fingers crossed.

 

[InsaneTiger]

So is it a race between Cuphead and Below to see which comes out first?

 

[Ran rp]

:/

Totally forgot about Ashen. Why are these all associated with MS and don't seem to release.

paging cboat

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

Presumably the game is not good, but they want to make it good, so they keep delaying it.

Yeah my suspicion is that market tastes are shifting far faster than Capy can get a game out which may be causing them to keep changing the game.

Nathan insists it's all good. But I dunno.

 

[Haunted]

The scale of your character is so small, it's a really bold design choice.

It didn't always work out perfectly gameplay-wise for Jotun (which tried something similar) but managed to convey a sense of scale usually not possible for 2D games.


Still have faith that they can create something interesting and polished here, really happy they're in a position to delay a game without wrecking their studio financially.

 

[Theslammer]

There must be like two people working on this game. It was announced alongside the Xbox One in 2013 and has yet to show up.

It reminds me of the 2014 Microsoft E3 show: Fable Legends was shown. It was cancelled. Scalebound was announced. It was cancelled. Phantom Dust was shown. Still not out. Crackdown 3 was shown. Still not out. Cuphead was announced. Still not out.

I know Sony announced things way ahead of time, and honestly, MS is usually better at showing you what you'll be playing that year. But damn, 2014 seems like a lost E3 at the moment. I'm sure it won't once some of the non-cancelled games finally arrive, though.

 

[WESMAN]

I'm a bit confused as to how they're still open really. Maybe there's a secret pay-per-view Indie Dev Snail Race and they're locked in deadly slow competition with The Behemoth.

Winner gets a studio producer who isn't narcoleptic and asleep for all the "do you think we need to ship a game this year?" meetings.

At least Behemoth finally got their game out of beta....

 

[Miniature Kaiju]

Phantom Dust was shown. Still not out.

That PD reboot announced in 2014 was cancelled. The one coming out (maybe, possibly, who knows) is a re-release/remaster kinda-sorta-ish.

 

[Outrun]

paging cboat

NTKRL is who you need to track down.

 

[Dee Dee]

They had live gameplay demos at last E3 IIRC. It's gotta be soon.

I played this at Gamescom in 2015, so playable Demo doesn't mean it's coming out #soon.
I wasn't sure what to make of it, but it looked awesome. And it felt great, if not a bit aimless still.
I'll never get how people can hate this art style. All the people ganging up on Swords & Sworcery for the lanky pixel dudes. I'll cry heavy pixel tears if they end up redoing the art for this game. It's magical.

 

[RoKKeR]

NTKRL is who you need to track down.

I can't decide whether or not I want something like that to happen again... that was batshit insane, but also did dull some of the surprise of that year.

Good times.

 

[Wozman23]

People who enjoy indie games quickly learn a lesson in patience. I can't find the quote, but someone once said something like take the number and double it, then up the unit. In other words, something that seems feasible in 2 months will take 4 years.

The Witness was in development for 7 years. Cuphead is in year 7. Owlboy took 10.

These times also tend to skew higher for a small team, or if it's a passion project worked on on the side.

 

[OdysseusVA]

It... never came back up

 

[Majima Everywhere System]

I heard it was a problem with the small guy. You can't play it.

 

[Teeth]

Cuphead is in year 7.

Lol what?

Also, Below is still in development and it's awesome.

 

[mollipen]

Its like you are playing with a chracter that have like 20 pixels. Who the hell thinks that was a good idea?

I've had a chance or two to go hands-on with the game over the years, and I'm very worried about it for this reason. I'm not saying that's the reason it's taking them so long—hard to get that design decision done right—but I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

 

[Nightengale]

Ambitious games.

They take a long ass time to make.

Even more so when they're by only a few people.

 

[gigantor21]

It... never came back up

Seriously, though, really hope this makes it out this year.

 

[Final Verdict]

Been excited about this for a long time.

I have seen a big improvement from the first time they demoed it to the most recent footage they showed. I think that they really want to get this one just right.
Hope it turns out to be amazing!

 

[Deadpool_X]

It's been burried...you know, Deep Down.