A New Contender in Co-op Horror
In recent years, the gaming scene has been flooded with unique and slightly wonky co-op horror games. Titles like Phasmophobia, Forewarned, Lethal Company, and Content Warning have all captivated players, alongside a surge of Backrooms-inspired experiences.
Now, a fresh challenger has emerged—Underward, a Japanese-developed horror game recently launched for Western audiences on Steam. It blends familiar survival horror elements with a hefty dose of absurdity, making it a standout in the genre.
The Premise: Hazmat Investigators in a Nightmare
In Underward, you and up to three friends don hazmat suits and step into eerie, derelict hospital-like corridors. Your mission? Secure tube-encased test subjects and transport them back to the elevator, all while navigating a labyrinth filled with unspeakable horrors. Each level increases the difficulty, pushing you and your team to strategize and survive.
Terrifying Monsters Lurk in the Shadows
The nightmare is real. Throughout Underward, you’ll encounter a variety of grotesque creatures, including:
- Vent-dwelling blobs that drop down to devour your head.
- Mimics that disguise themselves as everyday objects, only revealing their true nature when it’s too late.
- Distorted nurse-like creatures—a haunting fusion of BDSM aesthetics and The Thing, lurking in the dark, waiting to strike.
With flickering lights and a warped visor perspective, Underward creates an immersive horror atmosphere—until it suddenly doesn’t.
The Absurdity of Co-op Chaos
Unlike many horror games that take themselves too seriously, Underward leans into the inevitable silliness of co-op play. Need to transport a heavy test subject? Instead of a logical carrying system, players stack up in a conga line, gripping each other’s hips and careening down hallways like a runaway train.
And if the fear starts to set in, don’t worry—one tap of a number key, and your character will break into a ridiculous dance, instantly undercutting the tension.
Yes, You Can Fight Back (Sort Of)
Unlike many survival horror games, Underward lets you defend yourself. Armed with whatever you can find, you can:
- Hurl mugs, plates, and grenades at approaching monsters.
- Use a toilet plunger—which may be useless in combat, but perfect for sticking onto your teammates’ visors, just to mess with them.
A Polished Take on Co-op Horror
While I’ve only had time for a handful of runs, Underward already feels more refined than many Backrooms-style games flooding Steam. It’s terrifying, chaotic, and laugh-out-loud funny—a perfect blend for horror-loving friend groups.
If you enjoyed the likes of Lethal Company or Content Warning, Underward should definitely be on your radar.
👩🚀 What is Underward?
In Underward, you and up to three teammates become hazmat-suited investigators sent into a dark, derelict facility. Your mission? Retrieve tube-encased test subjects and return them to the elevator to meet your quota.
Sounds simple, right? Wrong.
👹 The Horrors That Await You
The facility is crawling with terrifying creatures designed to keep you from completing your mission.
🔺 Vent Dwellers – Blob-like monsters that drop down from the ceiling, eager to munch on your head.
🔺 Mimics – Seemingly normal objects that transform into deadly creatures when you least expect it.
🔺 Silent Hill Nurses x The Thing? – Horrific, twisted humanoid figures lurking in the shadows, ready to strike.
Add to that flickering lights, an eerie soundscape, and a visor-distorted perspective, and you’ve got a horror experience that keeps you on edge… until you realize you can break into a dance mid-chase.
Yes, Underward understands that co-op horror is always a little ridiculous, and it fully embraces that chaos.
🔥 Features That Set Underward Apart
✅ 4-Player Co-op Mayhem – Work together or mess with each other in true multiplayer horror fashion.
✅ Terrifying Yet Hilarious Gameplay – One second, you’re screaming in fear. The next, you’re conga-lining through a haunted hospital.
✅ Unique Monsters & AI – Adaptive AI means no two runs play out the same.
✅ Interactive Environments – Use the world around you to escape, defend yourself, or just prank your friends.
✅ Weapons… Sort Of – Throw mugs, plates, grenades, or even toilet plungers (mostly useless, but fun).
✅ Endless Replayability – Randomized scares, different objectives, and evolving strategies keep things fresh.Underworld: The Eternal War (also known as Underworld: The Game) is a 2004 top-down shooter video game inspired by the 2003 action film Underworld. Originally intended for release on Xbox and PC alongside the movie, both versions were ultimately cancelled.
Plot
The game’s storyline centers on the unending conflict between vampires and lycans. Players have the freedom to choose their allegiance by selecting a side, with options including the film’s main character, the vampire Selene, the lycan Raze, or a range of other vampires, lycans, and even a hybrid option.
Tasked with venturing into vast battlefields, players undertake various missions—ranging from protecting allies, eliminating enemies, retrieving specific items, to indiscriminately attacking all opponents. The gameplay is action-packed, as players utilize an assortment of weapons to dispatch foes in a relentless, top-down shooter format.
Reception
Upon its release, The Eternal War received mixed to negative reviews. For instance, Hyper rated the game at 12%, while Jeuxvideo.com gave it a score of 6/20.
- Edge described the game as an enjoyable experience overall, praising elements such as the supportive AI, a robust upgrade system, and a variety of weapon types. However, they also noted that the restrictive 3D camera could hinder the overall gameplay experience.
- Daniel Wilks of Hyper dismissed the game due to its “dull and linear” level design, “poorly animated and incredibly stupid” enemy characters, and visuals hampered by “dull textures,” “limited polygons,” and “uninspiring effects.”
- Jeuxvideo.com criticized the game as a whole, pointing out issues with the character models, special effects, a subpar aiming system, an awkward camera, and levels that felt overly confined.
Overall, while some aspects of Underworld: The Eternal War showed promise, the game’s execution ultimately left many critics disappointed.
