Below Announces Release Date For PS4 Version And Explore Mode Update For Easier Adventuring

Below, Capy's unrelentingly difficult 2018 roguelike exploration title, is coming to PlayStation 4 on April 7 for $25. As previously announced, it'll come with a new mode that will make the game more palatable for players who did not enjoy the level of challenge offered up in the original release, and Xbox One and PC players will get that mode as well in a free update.

Explore mode will lower the game's difficulty without eliminating it, so players should still find it challenging--just not quite as difficult as the default mode (now called Survive mode).

Here's the full list of changes in Explore mode, as outlined on Capy's website:

Changes to Survival

• No Hunger or Thirst
• Can’t drink puddles or bottles
• Bottles still need to be filled with water for cooking soup
• Soups restore health
• Death’s door teleport to island
  • Avoids the issue of jumping down without enough lamp juice to open the door

World Entity changes

• Fire Pillars
  • Chance to drop embers
  • Fires don’t burn out until you die
  • Invincible, can’t be broken with bombs
• No one-hit deaths
• No iron maiden

EXPLORE Damage Changes

• All damage is bleed damage, giving the player time to stop the bleeding
• EXPLORE Checkpoints/Campfires
  • Don’t clear after use
  • Still only one active at a time

Mode-specific Saves

• New Save slot for EXPLORE
• New SURVIVE mode on main menu (original mode)
  • Existing progress saved as SURVIVE mode slot

Below received a 6/10 in GameSpot's review, and it was criticized for the way it will "eventually turn into a slog for all but the most committed of players." Explore mode has the potential to mitigate some of these complaints. It was initially available on Xbox Game Pass, but has since left the service.