GOING UNDER Review for Xbox One

Tech companies burst onto the scene with the most overpriced stock market in history (spoiler alert, it busted) and the hype never slowed down. Frequent TV shows, news coverage, and senate hearings add to the mystique of the Silicon Valley story. Going Under, by Team17 and Seattle-based developer, Aggro Crab Games, pokes fun at big tech culture under the guise of a beautifully animated adventure where you start as a marketing intern with a tough assignment, clearing goblins out of the basement. 

Usually you have to make it past the first loading screen to have an idea of what a game is about, but Going Under sets the tone early with bright colors and whimsical animated figures that could look right at home in an animated commercial for a cloud storage start up. I even found myself gawking at the environment later in the game when goblins were chasing me. Needless to say, my run didn’t last long that round. Going Under starts in a tech style office complete with a Fizzle bar and a host of quirky characters, including an AI that runs the office. Each character serves as a trigger for the challenges in the game like installing 10 apps (these were character perks) or buying a cappuccino machine for the office. The character whose challenges you complete becomes your mentor and helps your character develop game attributes. Though dialogue can often take a back seat in video games, Going Under does a great job of creating interesting characters and dropping some very funny lines that really add to the experience.  

Going Under really gets started when your new office manager gives you the assignment to take care of the goblins in the basement, even though you definitely applied for a marketing internship. You walk over to a tube that goes down into the basement and it drops you down into a room full of office supplies or weapons in this game. These weapons range from office cacti to pencils to hammers and maces you find in boxes later in the game. You then fight your way through offices filled with different classes of goblins.

Going Under really shines in their fight mechanics. The controls were easy to pick up and the animations really incorporate a cartoon feel as the word “critical” and dollars fly out as you land solid blows on the enemies. The added difficulty of diminishing weapons added another level of difficult and ended up being my favorite part of the game even though I found myself breaking a sword halfway through fighting an enemy more than once. 

In a game with such great mechanics and gameplay, the throwing mechanic was just off. I tried a few times to get it right, and I just couldn’t get it to work for me. It was hard to aim and nothing I threw did much damage when I did hit something. This could be a useful tool in the game, but it was tough to use. However, it’s certainly not a dealbreaker and I was able to do just fine not being able to throw anything effectively.   

Overall, Going Under is a great game that really executes its concept well and makes it very easy to sit and play for hours. Do yourself a favor and add Going Under to your Xbox One. 

9/10 

Check Out the Going Under Trailer:

To keep up to date with all the information on Going Under please like on Facebook, follow on Twitter, and join on Discord. Going Under is also available now for PC via Steam.

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Taylor Tyler

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My first console was the original Playstation and I would play Twisted Metal every now and then but games didn't hook me until I played the original Halo at my friend's house. As soon as I picked up that controller, I knew I needed an Xbox and I had to have that game. Since those early Halo days, I've branched out and played any game I could find with a great story and memorable characters but Master Chief is still my favorite. @thenotoriousTGT on Twitter

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