Undergrave - A Pixel Roguelike with Infinite Potential
Undergrave is one of those hidden gems you don't see much. I went into this game as someone who's quite bad at turn based games so I didn't think I would last for more than 30 minutes. I tried my first run and from the beginning the old school ABY type control scheme caught my interest. Usually mobile games just use buttons with symbols after all. The gameplay loop of Undergrave is simple, you take a turn and then the enemies will take a turn, it's all about being efficient and smart with your space.
Back to my first run, needless to say I died and then tried again and again, till I got the hang of the mechanics and once you reach that point you see the untapped potential this game has.
Once you're able to learn how to outsmart the enemies then the real fun starts, it gets much more intense knowing how much a wrong move can cost and it is such a fun dynamic.
Once you complete the main game, you get to play through an Infinite Dungeon
Currently Undergrave feels like just a demo, a taste test if you must, and so there's no content after the final boss. To make up for it, you get to play in an infinite dungeon with ever-growing number of enemies. It may sound boring but I did massacre a lot of zombies in it for about an hour, it's quite addicting once you experience it yourself.
What content does the game currently have?
Undergrave currently only has 3 enemy types and 1 boss.
1st type are just zombies that move 1 tile/move
2nd type are zombie dogs that are able to move 2 tiles/move
3rd type are zombie brains that are able to 1 tile/move but take 2 damage to defeat
Then the boss is an annoyance which I won't spoil about since he's a true experience.
What about the story?
If you're a lore nerd like me who looks for the story in every game, then unfortunately you'll be disappointed in that aspect. In the current version its nothing more than just turn based hack & Slash. Though it does seem that Undergrave will have a story in the future judging by its opening cinematic.
So why play it now if it's not complete?
Simple, it only takes about a hour and you still get a fairly decent game for what it is. The full version will likely be paid so trying this demo version to see if the game style suits you isn't a bad idea I'd say. It also gives the developer a good way of gauging interest so that's a plus
In Conclusion
Undergrave in its current state is a pixel roguelike with infinite untapped potential, its combat is a ton of fun and it's got some decent tunes. The graphics style is also great so that's just icing on top of this already tasty cake. It's got about an hour worth of content currently depending on how fast you can learn the mechanics, it's nothing complex but it does lack a tutorial so some things have to be picked up from trial & error alone.
Undergrave is also released on Steam if you prefer gaming on PC more so that's another plus and considering that mobile demo is already looking like an untapped goldmine, PC should really add to its credibly.
Final Thoughts
If you're a fan of games like Shattered Pixel Dungeon, or turn based rogue likes in general then I'd suggest to keep Undergrave on the radar. Try it if you've got an hour or two free with no games in the backlog or wishlist it on Steam/give its Twitter Account a follow for updates!
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