Below Rusted Gods

Below Rusted Gods is a game that I've been waiting a VERY long time to finally talk about.

I originally discovered it almost a year ago when I saw it sitting in the "Coming Soon" section on Steam. Something about it immediately caught my attention, so I threw it on my wishlist and started waiting for a release date.

And waiting...

And waiting...

Eventually, so much time had passed that I actually removed it from my wishlist. I genuinely started wondering if development had stalled or if the game simply wasn't going to happen.

Then, a few months ago, it suddenly appeared again.

We finally had a release date.

Obviously, I immediately added it right back to my wishlist.

I'm telling you all of this because I want you to understand something before I get into the actual review: my expectations for this game were HIGH.

And somehow...

I LOVED THIS GAME.

But I also know that not everyone is going to love it as much as I did, and I'll explain why.

Below Rusted Gods takes place in the late 1970s, and the entire game commits to that setting. The equipment, technology, bunker, and overall presentation feel like they belong in that era.

You play as an Operator stationed inside an underground bunker, and at first, you're given very little information about what exactly is happening. As you explore and begin piecing things together, you learn that you're overseeing a mission investigating a massive cavity that has been discovered deep underground.

But here's where the game immediately hooked me.

You're not the one going down there.

There's an entire team doing the actual exploration while you remain inside the bunker.

Your job is to monitor them, keep track of their vitals, handle communications, give directions, make decisions, and slowly piece together what they're discovering from the information being relayed back to you.

I absolutely LOVE this concept.

So many horror games would put you directly inside the hole, flashlight in hand, wandering through tunnels while something chases you.

Below Rusted Gods doesn't.

You're sitting somewhere that's supposed to be safe, listening as other people encounter whatever is down there.

And somehow, that makes it even creepier.

Because you're experiencing everything secondhand. You're listening to your team describe what they're seeing. You're watching their information. You're hearing their communications.

And then strange things start happening inside the bunker too.

Suddenly, you're beginning to realize that maybe you're not quite as separated from whatever they've discovered as you originally thought.

From there, things get chaotic.

But there was another layer to this game that made me love it even more—and this is also where I think my experience may be very different from someone else's.

I'm a huge nerd when it comes to ancient texts, mythology, religious folklore, and stories like the Book of Enoch. So as certain pieces of the story started falling into place, I began noticing some very interesting parallels.

The game never comes right out and tells you, "Hey, this is what we're talking about."

And I actually LOVE that.

Instead, there are clues.

There are certain discoveries, pieces of information, and ideas throughout the story that may point toward some very old stories involving the Watchers, fallen angels, and what supposedly happened when they came to Earth.

At least... that's how I interpreted it.

And apparently I wasn't completely alone, because even people in my chat started putting two and two together as the story progressed.

That added an entirely different layer to the experience for me. I wasn't just playing a horror game anymore. I was digging through the story, recognizing possible references, making connections, and trying to figure out exactly what the developers were hinting at.

And THAT is probably why I loved Below Rusted Gods more than some people will.

If you're looking for nonstop jumpscares, constant chase sequences, or a traditional horror experience where you're personally exploring whatever horrible place has been discovered, this may not be the game you're expecting.

But if you love mystery, lore, slow-burn horror, piecing together clues, and stories that don't immediately explain everything to you, I think there's something really special here.

The entire concept felt fresh. The late-'70s bunker setting worked incredibly well, experiencing the expedition through the people you're communicating with was such a cool change from the typical horror formula, and the deeper story gave me exactly the kind of mystery that I love obsessing over.

After waiting almost a year for this game, it easily could have disappointed me.

It didn't.

I absolutely loved Below Rusted Gods.

I will happily recommend it to anyone—but I'm also going to give that recommendation with the warning that this is probably one of those games where your experience is going to depend heavily on what you enjoy about horror.

For me?

It checked practically every box.