A deep sci-fi experience for the right player
Undungeon is an action RPG where you play as a newly reborn god. As the story goes there isn’t much to begin with, but oh boy do things get really confusing really fast. Undungeon is a game that has a strong narrative, and by that I mean there is a lot of text and options to choose from. This is something that happens from the early beginning and carries on straight through. Undungeon has a nice pixelated look which works really well for the type of game it is. As it takes place on isolated planets you will see different Biomes, architects and inhabitants of the world all in glorious pixel graphics. The cutscenes are also done in this way and I really cannot fault how the game looks overall.
The Story of Undungeon is it’s the biggest aspect of the game and for that reason, if you aren’t invested in it early on you may not be completely invested in the game going forward. Being invested also is something that may not happen as the story is complicated and if you find yourself not feeling the story, the gameplay equally may not be to your liking as this also can be very confusing. Undungeon is the sort of game that you really need to put a lot of time in to and if you don’t from the get-go you may find yourself straying away from it. You realise there is so much lore in the game as you explore and talk to all the different denizens of the world.
As you begin Undungeon you find yourself as a God but unsure of what is going on and as the player you aren’t entirely sure either but that is the premise, it is up to you to uncover the secrets in the world and piece together everything as you progress. The gameplay is a mix of exploring the world and speaking to its citizens as well as fighting other lesser beings and monsters that inhabit it. It is a top-down fixed view which is really simple which I like. The gameplay is something that didn’t click straight away and even after hours of playing It is still equally as confusing.
As you start off you do have basic attacks and a charge attack which can hit a load of enemies at once and it does start out pretty simple, however, there are some gameplay gimmicks which play a role later on and have an effect on the difficulty of the game. The first thing to be aware of is that enemies gain a 100% damage boost if they get a hit, this means you are already at a disadvantage if you do get hit and this can stack also meaning you have to have your wits about you all the time in battle, it does not help you are limited to attacking constantly due to a stamina system which recovers quickly but does mean you end up running around a lot. This is not a problem at the beginning but as the story progresses and enemies get harder it can become one. Undungeon is not without its upgrade system however for your god-like avatar but again this only adds more confusing mechanics to its already confusing gameplay. The overall UI is pleasant to look at which due to the nature of the game is a real bonus.
As a god-like being, you do not equip pieces of armour in Undungeon, instead, you swap out your organ parts. Lovely! There are cores to collect which essentially upgrade certain stats but this is never explained properly. The customisation here is really good for someone who really likes to build characters but can be overbearing for some, there are plenty of resources you can collect and use as trade currency with traders in the world. The game also encourages killing enemies in a certain way as doing so will have an effect on what you can get, for example doing an execution will grant an increase in item drop chances and will allow more organs to be harvested. Slicing will not allow you to dissect the enemy however but still allows Item drop chances. Gaining new organs is the key to progression and while levelling might not seem to boost your stats much the game does have a lot of character building although be prepared to backtrack a lot if you die, the game does seem to have rogue-lite mechanics here.
The game also has a day and night system which becomes noticeable as you traverse the world map which is done by moving along routes and entering certain points on the map once you have arrived. There are certain requests that do have timers on and moving does use those precious days up so making sure where to go is essential for getting certain tasks done. The game does have great sound design and mixed with the aesthetics of the world makes for a great atmospheric experience. The game does well to tell its Narrative but it would be great if many of its systems could be explained better or if they could be explained at all. Unfortunately, I felt the game overall was too confusing for my liking and after a few hours I never felt compelled to carry forward due to its various complex systems and harsh backtracking.
A PlayStation 4 Code was provided by tinyBuild GAMES
