UnderMine went under my radar and took me by surprise. Sometimes you discover a game that clicks – and when I say click, I’m talking about games like Shovel Knight, Binding of Isaac, and a handful of others I mention when talking about genres in my reviews. Compare it with your favorite brand of chocolate or beer – and which you use to compare other stuff too. Undermine is such a game, or at least, aiming to be like said games.
Even in 2021, we get the new Rogue-Lites. Luckily, they aren’t all the same and mix up genres or concepts to keep things fresh. If you ever felt disposable, try UnderMine; you’ll feel a lot better, trust me. Delve deep into the UnderMine and discover its secrets, one peasant at a time! UnderMine is an action-adventure roguelike that blends combat and dungeon crawling with RPG-like progression.
Undermine the UnderMine!
It’s time to mine gold, die, upgrade yourself, and try again! Discover hundreds of items, including relics, potions, blessings, and curses that all combo and stack for a new experience every run. Challenge dangerous bosses and rescue helpful characters that provide new upgrades for your adventure. DecipherUndermine’ss’ cryptic messages residents cryptic messages and unfold the mystery at the heart of the dungeon.
Sure felt like reading about Isaac’s plot – the only difference is Mom <> Wizard & Child <> Miners. Why change a winning combo? Well, don’t. UnderMine uses the formula of Isaac but adds a medieval mining feeling. Each time one of your Miners dies on the run, the obituary informs you about what happened with their loved ones. This can range from fighting over their stuff, taking revenge against the one thing that killed him/her (and showing up as the next miner). Instead of a complete reset (like in Isaac), the game offers you a carry-on principle, in which you carry over some of your gold to the next su- Uhm, miner. This helps with upgrades, getting some items to help you on your run, etcetera.
‘Git Gut’
Does this make UnderMine an easy roguelike? No sir, it’s hard – really hard. I died almost 50 times before beating the second floor’s boss (and a friend of mine just replied with Git Gut, yeh thanks buddy). But that’s how the game works. I missed a certain aspect of the game, which made my run easier. Once I discovered said part and got some extra items, I breezed through both floor 2 and 3, only to die at the boss of floor 3 (but the road towards it was without too much hassle). It’s this system of dopamine drops that makes you come back for more. Each time you die, you upgrade your stuff, buy a potion, craft a new relic, etcetera; and back into the Mine, it is. And here lies its power and makes it different from other roguelikes.
When I discussed UnderMine with the Git Gut buddy, he told me he binged UnderMine on PC when released last year and called it the next best thing, comparing it to Isaac. I compared it with how the supermarket works (I worked in retail for >13 years before going back to the government/teaching combo). A supermarket offers the A-brand stuff (for example Coca Cola), a B-Brand (Loca Loca), and a household Brand (AH Basic, Freeway, etc.). If we use this logic, Isaac is the A-Brand stuff, a game like Demon’s Tier+ would be the household brand, and UnderMine would be the next best thing. It has the magic, it has the flavor, but it’s just not as good as the original. Isaac has an insane amount of replayability, and that’s what is missing in UnderMine; once you’re done, you’re done.
Pixelated Magic
All of this is backed by a 32-bit art style that’s masterfully executed. Environments are rife with all sorts of fine details, like the somewhat warped real-time reflections of objects near pools of water, and the sprite-work and animation are full of expression. Pixel art may be seen as a kind of trite these days, but it’s abundantly clear that the developers were anything but lazy in going with this direction. Look at UnderMine as the polished version of every RogueLite out there that’s not Isaac (sorry for mentioning it so many times).
Conclusion
UnderMine is a straightforward game to recommend and is high among my list of game of the year material. If you are at all a fan of rogue-lite games, you owe it to yourself to pick this up at your earliest convenience. UnderMine demonstrates clear mastery in its overall design, controls, upgrade systems, and presentation, which all come together to make for a thoroughly engrossing experience. If you don’t want to play another rogue-lite, I get it, it’s been a lot (and I reviewed a lot), but you will be missing out on one of the better examples of the genre. Otherwise, I’m giving UnderMine the seal of approval; this is absolutely worth your time.
