92) Going Under (2020)

Released in 2020, Going Under is the first game developed by indie studio Aggro Crab, and follows the tumultuous unpaid internship of Jacqueline "Jackie" Fiasco. Having earned her degree and hoping to enter the working world, she lands a "job" working for Fizzle, a beverage company subsidized by the much larger conglomerate company known as Cubicle. Though eager to get firsthand experience and hopefully being hired to a paid position, any dreams of a normal job are dashed almost immediately as she's sent to clean-up the office dungeons, which are infested with various monsters and other hazards. So, your typical first day.

Thus begins the gameplay loop of going into one of three themed dungeons and proceeding through a randomly generated run. As you progress, you collect various items that serve as weapons of varying usefulness, as well as skills that will drastically change the way in which your run unfolds. Some skills might make it so you can regain health if you attack the enemy that hit you, while others may cause various effects such as making your weapons larger or allowing you to use heavy weapons with one hand. Each of the three initial dungeons culminates in a boss fight against the leader of the failed startups that each dungeon represents. Oh yeah, as you later learn, the dungeons and monsters you face were once small companies bought up by Cubicle until they proved unprofitable, changing the employees into monsters.

When not tackling a dungeon, players can explore the Fizzle office space and interact with the colorful cast of coworkers, all of whom can take you under their wing and, providing you complete a series of side quests for them, grant you some pretty valuable perks that change how you tackle dungeons. This can range from collecting more money per run, getting free items from the shop, or even starting a run with the boss's car. This also allows you to get to know the characters better, and while they're a bit odd, they're all charmingly written and fun to interact with.

After completing the three dungeons, you'll unlock new, remixed versions of each one. These are considerably harder, and will really put your skills to the test. Everything leads up to a final challenge, in which you must make your way to and confront the board of directors, and it's here that every single skill and ability you have is put to the test. The final stretch is a brutal slog, but deeply rewarding to conquer.

Going Under is a deceptively complex rougelike, using its simple visuals to mask layers upon layers of depth and challenge. Each run can vary drastically depending on the choices you make, and the moment you become complacent is when you'll be hit with a curveball that puts you in your place. The story is a bit predictable, with giant mega-corporation Cubicle serving as a thinly veiled proxy to a certain package delivery company, but the fun cast of characters and the inherent humor in the goofy visuals help to make the game stand out. While I normally have trouble really getting into the roguelike genre, everything here from the amazing soundtrack to the stupid humor worked together to draw me in and keep me glued to the very end.