The Land Beneath Us

About

The Land Beneath Us is a single player role playing shooter game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by FairPlay Studios and was released on May 13, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

The Land Beneath Us is a turn-based rogue-lite action dungeon crawler. Use powerful skill combos and stylish weaponry to battle your way through the Underworld known as Annwn. Defeat the Seven Lords and rescue The Creator and her vital Soul-Tech.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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90%

Audience ScoreBased on 135 reviews

gameplay30 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

The game features an interesting combat system that encourages experimentation and enhances replayability.
It has a fun and engaging gameplay loop that is easy to pick up but challenging to master, making it enjoyable for both casual and dedicated players.
The art style and overall aesthetic are appealing, contributing to a unique and immersive gaming experience.

The game suffers from grindy achievements, particularly the Hidden Secret Sword, which can leave completionists feeling frustrated and disappointed.
There are issues with item pool limitations, leading to repetitive gameplay and a lack of viable weapon options as players progress.
The inability to save mid-run can be frustrating, especially for players who may need to exit the game unexpectedly.

gameplay
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
49%
5%
The gameplay is generally praised for its solid mechanics, engaging turn-based roguelike elements, and a well-designed progression system that introduces new challenges and strategies as players advance. While the game starts strong, some players note frustrations with item pool limitations and difficulty spikes in later levels, which can lead to moments of unfairness. Overall, the combination of intuitive controls, diverse weapon options, and unique gameplay mechanics creates a compelling experience that keeps players hooked.
- “The turn-based roguelike gameplay is absolutely excellent and it makes this game 100% worth the asking price.”
- “With its intuitive mechanics and versatile gameplay, whether you're into exploration, strategy, or simply seeking a comfortable gaming experience, this game delivers on all fronts, making it a must-play for anyone looking for a unique and rewarding adventure.”
- “Gameplay is flow and smooth.”
- “Starts off strong, but gets incredibly annoying later on as it starts sticking you on smaller cluttered areas with more and more enemies with larger and larger attack patterns where the gameplay breaks down, while their health growth outscales your damage, and you run into rooms where there's literally nothing you can do to survive.”
- “Even when you already got the hang of the gameplay, some maps will just kill you out of bad RNG.”
- “I only put 30 minutes in and ended up putting it down because I just wasn't enjoying the style of the gameplay rhythm very much.”
story
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
60%
11%
The game's story is generally seen as a mixed bag; while some players appreciate its interesting themes and character conflicts, others find it lacking depth and often skip dialogue. The narrative is compact and serves more as a backdrop to the gameplay, with some praising its aesthetic and branching elements, but many agree that it doesn't captivate or engage deeply. Overall, the story is considered serviceable, with a few standout moments, but it may not be the main draw for players focused on gameplay mechanics.
- “Great aesthetic with a very cool branching story.”
- “There's a lot of depth with this game and the roguelike elements are well implemented in both the gameplay and the story.”
- “Amazing game, great & fun mechanics, wonderful story.”
- “The story isn't much, but it's really easy to skip over.”
- “While there's a story and some mystery around it, I wasn't captivated; the writing is not to my taste and I did find myself skipping a lot of the dialogue.”
- “Character emotions are portrayed vividly, but it seems there's a slight lack in the pacing and narrative tools, which hinders the storytelling from reaching its full potential.”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
The game's graphics feature a charming pixel art style complemented by smooth animations and a unique blend of cartoon hand-drawn elements for cutscenes, creating a visually appealing experience. While not cutting-edge, the aesthetic is vibrant and enjoyable, enhancing the overall gameplay without the need for high-end graphics. Reviewers appreciate the distinctive art style, noting its refreshing quality and the intriguing combination of 2D and 3D visuals.
- “The graphics, while first looking pixelated, are extremely smooth and nice to the eye, and are basically a full sprite high-res with some filter over it.”
- “Art/visual style: the game has pixel art for its main gameplay with a cartoon hand-drawn art style for cutscenes and dialogue, giving it a Wizard of Legend look.”
- “The graphics, while first looking pixelated, are extremely smooth and nice to the eye and are basically a full sprite high-res with some filter over it.”
- “While not groundbreaking, the visuals have a distinctive style that enhances the game world's vibrancy.”
- “Pixel art style and its combination with 3D scenes and VFX with pseudo pixel art looks good and unique at the same time.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with a nice soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere and complements the gameplay. While some users noted inconsistencies in sound effects, the overall musical experience is described as enjoyable and fitting for the game's themes and mechanics.
- “The music is also pretty good in specific instances and atmospheric most of the time.”
- “Nice soundtrack and visual style.”
- “The background music is excellent, perfectly complementing the gameplay, but sound effects are inconsistent.”
- “The music was just alright.”
- “The theming and music are adequately developed, but they don't elevate the game experience.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have mixed feelings about grinding in the game, with some achievements being described as excessively grindy and frustrating, particularly for completionists. While general progression is considered manageable, the effort required for certain secret achievements, especially those that feel disconnected from the game's content, can lead to disappointment and a sense of wasted time.
- “I worked so hard to get to this point, this fabled secret achievement, and instead of something interesting or exciting, it's grinding one thousand counters, where you have to let the enemy hit you but only while attacking them in the reverse of the direction they're attacking you, which is incredibly difficult to do naturally and almost requires you to make a setup for it.”
- “For a regular player this may not seem like a problem, but especially for a completionist, even a new one like myself, grindy achievements are never fun, but they're even less fun when they're made to seem secret and rare, and even rug-pull a cool hidden boss by being locked behind him yet not relating to him at all.”
- “Yes, but nothing quite tops the rage I felt at learning that the rarest, coolest-sounding, and final achievement for the game was nothing more than wasted hours of my life grinding out counters.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers high replayability due to its engaging combat systems and the freedom to experiment with various strategies and builds. Players can enhance their experience by revisiting zones with increased challenge levels and mastering different weapon and relic combinations, reminiscent of the Dark Souls series. Overall, the potential for diverse gameplay styles and challenges contributes significantly to its replay value.
- “It has some pretty interesting combat systems, and the ability to experiment and try wacky things greatly increases the replayability.”
- “Gameplay is very fun and easy to learn; enemies have attack patterns you can learn and overcome, similar to Dark Souls, with a variety of weapons and relics (perks/items) to create different combos, leading to huge replay value with different builds.”
- “I don't know about replayability yet as I haven't beaten the main story, but it seems to be oriented around increasing the challenge level of a zone and beating it multiple times.”
- “Gameplay: very fun and easy to learn, enemies have attack patterns you can learn and overcome similar to Dark Souls, with a variety of weapons and relics (perks/items) to make different combos leading to huge replay value with different builds.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players find it excellent and well-integrated into the gameplay, others feel it falls flat and fails to resonate, with specific criticisms aimed at its reliance on certain styles of humor, such as the repetitive use of "uwu."
- “The humor and gameplay are great! 10/10 game.”
- “The witty dialogue and clever puns kept me laughing throughout the game.”
- “The quirky characters and their hilarious interactions made for a truly entertaining experience.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Character development is highlighted through engaging character design and compelling NPC dialogue, particularly noting the appeal of a "mach-boy" protagonist and a nurturing in-game "mommy" NPC.
- “The character design and NPC dialogue really draw me in, especially the dynamic between the protagonist and the nurturing NPCs.”
- “I love how the character development unfolds throughout the game, making each interaction feel meaningful and impactful.”
- “The depth of the characters and their evolving relationships keep me engaged and invested in the story.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonist.”
- “NPC dialogue is often repetitive and uninspired, which detracts from the overall experience.”
- “The protagonist's journey lacks meaningful growth, leaving players wanting more from the character arc.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game's optimization is enhanced by the ability to reroll chip patterns, which introduces tactical depth and strategic options for players during each session.
- “The ability to reroll chip patterns allows for tactical optimization, adding depth to each session.”
- “The game's optimization mechanics provide a satisfying layer of strategy, making each decision feel impactful.”
- “I love how the optimization options let me tailor my gameplay experience, ensuring that every session feels unique.”
- “The game suffers from severe performance issues, making it frustrating to play even on high-end hardware.”
- “Optimization seems to have been an afterthought, as the game frequently drops frames and stutters during critical moments.”
- “Despite the interesting mechanics, the lack of proper optimization leads to long loading times and crashes that ruin the experience.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that stability issues primarily manifest as bugs and glitches, which tend to appear towards the end of the game.
- “Primarily bugs and glitches, which only really turned up near the end of the game.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is generally well-received, with users noting that the music enhances the experience, being atmospheric and effective in specific moments.
- “The music is also pretty good in specific instances and atmospheric most of the time.”