Beneath launch trailer drops: deep‑sea retro FPS horror with teeth

Why this caught my attention

I’m a sucker for underwater horror done right, and that’s a short list-SOMA’s dread, BioShock’s decay, Iron Lung’s suffocation. So when Camel 101 and Wired Productions dropped the launch trailer for Beneath-PC out now, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S landing October 28-it pinged my radar hard. The Steam Next Fest demo drew thousands and solid feedback, and this isn’t just another “retro FPS”; it’s aiming for that crunchy survival-shooter feel inside claustrophobic deep-sea facilities where oxygen, ammo, and sanity are all on the meter.

Key takeaways

• PC is live now with a 15% launch discount (around $16.59); consoles arrive October 28.
• Retro-inspired gunplay meets survival horror: oxygen, scarce ammo, and sanity systems matter.
• Lovecraft-flavored narrative and a nu‑metal soundtrack give it a specific, throwback vibe.
• There’s a cheap Golden Gun supporter DLC—small spend, worth watching for balance.

Breaking down the announcement

Here’s the concrete stuff. Beneath is a first-person survival horror shooter set across submerged research stations. You play Noah Quinn, a diver picking through flooded corridors, hostile squads, and things that look like they crawled out of a late-night Lovecraft forum thread. It launched October 27 on PC (Steam, Epic, GOG), with PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on October 28. At launch it’s carrying a 15% discount hovering around $16.59/€16.59/£13.59—aggressively priced for a single-player campaign the studio says runs 10+ hours.

There’s a day-one patch and a small paid add-on—the Golden Gun Supporter DLC at roughly a buck. It’s a flashy weapon with limited ammo, and demo players reportedly got a free code. That sits better than the usual nickel-and-dime cosmetic packs because it’s optional and cheap, but any weaponized DLC in a survival game deserves scrutiny. If it steamrolls early encounters, it risks blunting the tension the rest of the design is trying to build.

The real story: where Beneath fits in 2025’s FPS landscape

The retro-FPS wave has been booming for years—Dusk, Amid Evil, Ultrakill—and a lot of those games go heavy on speed and arenas. Beneath aims for a different branch: deliberate pacing, resource-pressure, and “oh no, my last clip” problem-solving. That’s closer to the DNA of the scrappier half of the genre’s 2000s survival shooters than to modern power fantasies. If Camel 101 nails the feel of firearms and hit reactions while keeping you counting bullets, this could scratch the itch fans of F.E.A.R. and Condemned-adjacent tension still chase.

I also keep an eye on Camel 101 because they’ve been building toward this. With Syndrome they poked at sci‑fi dread; with Those Who Remain (also with Wired) they leaned into psychological horror. Beneath reads like the studio finally marrying their spooky vibes to confident gunplay. Wired Productions, for their part, tends to champion mid-budget weirdos and give them a proper push, which is exactly how a niche premise like “Lovecraftian deep-sea shooter with sanity mechanics” gets a runway instead of being buried on page ten of the store.

What gamers need to know before diving in

• Survival beats swagger: Oxygen, ammo, and healing are tight. Expect to skip fights, kite enemies through chokepoints, and scavenge like your life depends on it—because it does.
• Sanity isn’t window dressing: Witnessing horrors affects your state, which can mess with perception and performance. If you hated “screen effects = punishment,” heads-up; here it’s baked into the identity.
• Guns and upgrades exist, not abundance: You can customize weapons and build loadouts, but this isn’t a loot treadmill. The pressure comes from scarcity, not rarity tiers.
• Nu‑metal soundtrack is a swing: Partnered via Black Razor Records, the music evokes early-2000s aggression. It’ll land for players who want grit with their gloom; others might find it tonally loud against the creeping dread. At least it’s a defined choice, not royalty-free filler.
• Length and value: A 10+ hour campaign at an indie price is refreshing. If the enemy variety and encounter design hold up into hour eight, that’s great value for horror fans.

Healthy skepticism check

Underwater settings are atmospheric gifts and technical minefields. Visibility, lighting, and traversal can turn tense exploration into disorientation if level readability isn’t sharp. I’m also watching for checkpoint tuning—few things kill horror pacing faster than re-running the same gauntlet because a save was two rooms too far back. The trailer sells human and eldritch enemies, but variety and AI behavior will make or break the loop; if every fight devolves into doorway-peeking, the survival sheen won’t hold.

On the monetization front, the Golden Gun DLC looks harmless, but the line is thin in survival games. If it’s truly high-impact with scarce ammo, fine; if it trivializes early hours, skip it and play as intended. The Next Fest demo’s positive buzz suggests the fundamentals are solid, and the day-one patch hints Camel 101 is paying attention. That’s the right kind of signal from a micro-studio launching across PC and current-gen in a tight window.

TL;DR

Beneath isn’t chasing the boomer-shooter arms race; it’s channeling survival horror through a tight FPS lens, underwater. PC is out now, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S arrive October 28, with a friendly launch price and a loud, specific vibe. If you want pressure, scarcity, and Lovecraft in a diving suit, this looks like a dive worth taking—just keep an eye on that oxygen gauge and the DLC holster.