Undermine has a lot of potential.
So you start out as a simple peasant forced to do a coward wizards bidding, which is good because it wouldn’t be much of a game otherwise. As you explore the mines below you collect gold and thorium to buy upgrades to help you explore more.
Typical Roguelike fashion right?
Well, yeah. Sorry no plot twist. UnderMine is just that, a Roguelike game. I dabble in the Roguelike genre but I wouldn’t consider myself skilled or familiar with it. That said, I really enjoy UnderMine, the last Roguelike I got into was The Binding of Issac. I know I’m a filthy casual. So what drew me to the game?
Graphics.
Yes I am that shallow. Just a terrible person. I think that the graphics of UnderMine is amazing.
Everything looks so crisp and clean. They are not perfect though. I would have really liked to see upgrades reflect on the character. I know that’s not common for the genre, just a preference thing. Also the lighting I didn’t quite understand. Light would go dim if you hit a lantern but it also seemed to dim randomly. Maybe I’m just missing something. Ah and I would have liked to see the player holding a torch or something to justify the light coming from him. Or no light at all would have been fun. Yes I am nitpicking. Moving on!
Story.
Seems liner. I did not beat the game so maybe there is some great story telling in there I didn’t see yet. But from what I can tell its go do this and that’s pretty much it. The characters you meet on the way offer an explanation of what they are doing there which is nice. But yeah, for the genre seems pretty standard.
Controls.
I see a lot of people commenting on the controls of the game being crappy. I don’t see that. Once I learned that you can strafe with the left shift button, the game seemed a lot more intuitive. Also you can stand still and look around with the left control button. The fact that you can jump seemed to put some people off as well. Personally I cant stand it when I cant jump in a game. Right mouse click is your ranged, left is your melee, though you need to have the weapon in your hands to do a melee. Overall I think the controls are fine, just need to get use to it.
Gameplay.
I really enjoy the game of UnderMine. The little slime feckers that steal your gold add a nice extra stress to your already stressful spelunking expedition.
The monsters are effected by the environment just as much as you are, which I think is a really neat feature.
Traps and holes can both hinder and help you depending on the situation.
Typical hidden rooms opened by bombs is always fun.
However.
There is not a lot of item comboing, I did get one that drops more gold and gold explodes which was neat. But we are still in early access and I haven’t gotten very far into the game.
Difficulty.
The game does not seem terribly hard. I think people are having troubles with the controls, but once you figure out how to move, you should be fine. Also the upgrades you buy in the hub stick with you, making each attempt that much more easier, at least for the first few levels.
So you might have to grind out some gold which might turn people off, but I don’t feel UnderMine is unreasonable.
Verdict?
I love the game, I think the graphics are adorable, music is fitting, has replayability. Game is still in early access which is always a risk. I chose to support them, but I have been burned before. Its up to you if you want the risk, I feel like the game is reasonably priced for what you get. Anything in the future will be a plus for me and as of now I do not have buyers remorse.
Currently in Early Access at Steam for 15 bucks, get it here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/656350/UnderMine/
Check out my other game reviews here
https://www.noobloot.com/game-reviews
Have you played UnderMine?
What do you think about the game so far? Think I’m and idiot and I don’t know what I’m talking about? Please let me know the comments below! Thanks for reading and I will see you guys next week!