The Nun of St. Philips Church.
Gear up hunters! We’ve been working like crazy these past months and we are proud to present a whole new experience in So Below.
New entity: The Nun.
The Nun of St. Philip Church is the most dangerous entity in the whole game, and she is currently haunting a new map, St. Philip Church. She is the most aggressive and powerful entity to date, able to spawn creatures from the underworld and a relentless hunter. For this entity we created a whole new map and a set of new mechanics and experiences, which also impact and improve the rest of the game.
New map: St. Philip Church.
Get lost within the walls of St. Philip Church, the holy seat of the Church of the Ascending Mind, an extinct cult that delved too deep into ancient knowledge and was mysteriously disbanded years ago. Traces of the cultists and their practices are still present throughout the Church. The place is thoroughly haunted by the Nun, as the locals know her. However, the intel team believes that she might be the former leader of the complex and prominent member of the Ascendants: Agnes Montrose. This new location is filled with secrets and danger, we advise going in teams.
St. Philip Church features:
Go deeper: St. Philip’s Church sits above two catacomb systems, one of which has several entrances through the Church, and a second, deeper catacomb that can be accessed through a special entrance. Be mindful, after going below, there is no turning back.
Explore the home of the Ascendants: Discover the secret rituals and practices of the Church of the Ascending Mind, learn their history, and unveil their downfall through the devastation they left behind.
Reimagined Lore to fit an over-arching cult narrative.
Symbology and new devices and puzzles: The Church of the Ascending Mind was a very symbol-driven cult, they used a few writing and symbol systems to control different rituals and challenges.
New Mechanics:
Enhanced enemy behavior.
The Nun uses different fear tactics depending on the player’s behavior. The fight can be fierce and unpredictable, or tranquil and mysterious depending on the player.
New Sanguine Cross.
New cross item to fight off entities. This crucifix cannot be destroyed by enemies as the wooden crosses. Instead, it consumes the blood of the user to refill its power. Use it wisely.
New curse mechanic.
The Nun can curse the players based on their behavior, harassing them, causing paranormal activity to rise around the player, and even teleporting them to the spirit realm. The curse of the Nun can be undone by approaching the new healing stones scattered throughout the Church. This cursing system will be implemented on past and future entities, enhancing the paranormal experience.
Enhanced ghost mode.
New improved ghost experience. Ghost players can now hold gear and objects, as well activate objects around the maps, open and close doors, drawers, and more.
Additional features:
New contract system.
New game selection system by contracts. The new system allows the player to select contracts both by location and by entity, as well as special urgent assignments. Future updates will also enrich the information provided by the contracts, as well as difficulty-to-payment balance.
The blue contracts are always free to pick, but the player cannot select the type of entity and their payment is subject to performance. The beige contracts are identified by the type of entity, but they do have an in-game cost. The new Nun contract is available through the black contracts.
Journal redesign and functionality.
The player journal is now easy to read and with more information and details regarding the entity. Further updates will improve the quality of information and also provide deeper lore.
User interface improvements.
New UI for interaction with certain world objects (doorknobs, candles, light switches, etc.)
New place mechanic implementation. Now the player can see the objects to be placed in certain expected locations (for example the burning pits in the crying lady ritual).
In-game voice chat system improvements.
Now the radio mechanic is fully functional. This is the way the dev team intended it to work. The voice used in-game exist physically in the world, meaning that it can be heard by players and ghosts. Use the radio to communicate over long distances and to listen for paranormal activity.
New colab with Random British Dude.
New skin and voice lines made by our friend Random British Dude. Available now as a playable character.
