Going Under

Going Under

Game Introduction

Going Under is an action roguelike game developed by independent studio Aggro Crab and published by Nexon, officially released in September 2020. The game plunges players into an absurd yet authentic corporate world—you assume the role of "Jackie," a newly hired intern who must delve into the cursed sub-levels of an office building, battling various "mutated" colleagues and enemies to reclaim the occupied workspace.

The game's unique appeal lies in its seamless fusion of traditional roguelike dungeon crawling with workplace comedy elements. The enemies players face are manifestations of real-world workplace grievances—angry receptionists, irritable programmers, manic baristas, and more—each with unique attack patterns and weaknesses. Through dark humor, the game satirizes various phenomena of the modern workplace, allowing players to experience absurd fun amidst intense and thrilling combat.

Game Features

Office-Themed Weapon System: One of the game's most creative designs is its weapon system. Players can only wield everyday office supplies as weapons, including enter key keyboards, staplers, coffee mugs, file folders, computer mice, and even trash cans. These seemingly harmless mundane items unleash surprising combat potential in the player's hands, with each weapon boasting unique attack styles, damage values, and special effects.

Procedurally Generated Dungeons: The game utilizes procedural generation technology, ensuring that each descent into the sub-levels presents randomly generated room layouts, enemy configurations, and item distributions. Players must adapt flexibly to the ever-changing battlefield environment, unable to rely on memorization to progress, significantly enhancing the game's replay value.

Diverse Characters and Skills: Players can unlock and play as multiple characters, each with unique starting attributes and exclusive skills. As the game progresses, players can acquire various passive skills and items, further enriching build diversity.

Witty and Humorous Narrative: The game's text is filled with satire and commentary on the modern workplace—from overtime culture and office politics to eccentric colleagues and pointless meetings. Various workplace phenomena are exaggerated and presented in absurd ways, eliciting knowing smiles from players as they progress.

Gameplay

Going Under employs a top-down action combat system where players must explore various floors, engage in combat, and complete mission objectives. The core gameplay loop is: Enter the sub-level → Defeat enemies to earn coins and items → Clear the floor's Boss or complete specific objectives → Proceed to the next floor → Ultimately escape the sub-levels.

In terms of combat, the game emphasizes fast-paced action. Players can perform various actions such as standard attacks, dodges, blocks, and charged heavy attacks. Dodging is particularly crucial, as it not only helps players evade enemy attacks but can also trigger a "Perfect Dodge" mechanic, granting temporary attack bonuses and invincibility frames. Additionally, the game introduces a "Stamina Gauge" system, requiring players to balance offense and defense to avoid becoming vulnerable due to exhaustion.

The game features multiple themed floors, each with unique enemy types, environmental mechanics, and final Bosses. Players must adjust their tactical strategies based on the characteristics of each floor, making effective use of environmental traps and pick-up items to gain an advantage.

As a roguelike game, Going Under retains the permadeath mechanic. Upon death in the dungeon, players lose their current progress and return to the surface but retain some permanent upgrades to aid in subsequent attempts. This design preserves the tension inherent to roguelikes while allowing players to gradually grow and experience increasingly smoother gameplay progression.