Below, the upcoming “rogue-like-like” from Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP c0-developer Capybara games, has been officially pushed back until 2016. The game was expected to launch by the end of 2015, but as the year winds down without an announcement from the developer, it has seemed increasingly unlikely that the studio would release the game in their targeted window.
Capy Games co-founder Nathan Vella confirmed what fans might have assumed to Game Informer Wednesday.
“Below is indeed coming in 2016,” Vella said. “Past that I can’t share much, yet. We’ll certainly have a lot more content to show and news to share in the new year.”
Obviously that’s not a lot of information. Without any insight into the nature of the delay, it will be difficult to say whether fans will have to wait weeks, months or until holiday 2016 to play Below.
Below is a top-down action-adventure game with roguelike “permadeath,” which, when combined when with the game’s reportedly high level of difficulty, should lead to some extremely intense combat. Creative director Kris Piotrowski named The Legend of Zelda, Spelunky and Dark Souls among the team’s chief influences in a 2014 interview with Polygon. The game also features a minimalist pixel-art aesthetic reminiscent of Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, as well as music from that game’s composer, Jim Guthrie.
Announced as a console-exclusive before the Xbox One launched, the Microsoft-supported indie maintained a high profile in 2014, garnering nominations for best in show award nominations from many outlets at E3, including the conglomerated Game Critics’ awards, and announcing the game’s 2015 release target at Gamescom. Though several outlets published Below‘s opening minutes earlier this year, the game has largely kept out of sight in 2015.
Earlier this month, Capy Games announced they’re also developing Don’t Starve: Shipwrecked, an expansion for Klei Entertainment’s rogue-like. The expansion is currently available on Steam Early Access.