#Undermine game review trial#

Whether it was due to the right combination of items or just playing well, it was very satisfying that once I knocked off the second boss, the third and fourth fell on the same run. Each run felt meaningful and like I was making progress. It’s not an easy game per se, but I never felt like I was stuck. It seems almost inescapable that when a new game comes out in this genre that it will be compared to games like The Binding of Isaac or Gungeon, but what makes a game successful is how it uses the systems that have been offered by its predecessors.įor me, Undermine really falls in a sweet spot.

#Undermine game review trial#

Of course you could also see Neon Chrome when you get a free trial of the new relic you’ve just crafted, Rogue Legacy in the way you spend your gold, or a number of games with the familiar that accompanies you on each run. There are different unlockable characters for the main hub that you’ll have to rescue in multiple trips to the mines, bombable walls will sparkle with certain upgrades or if another bomb has gone off in the room, and the gameplay of each have a similar difficulty. If there’s one game already on the market that it’s most similar to, it would be Dodge Roll’s spectacular Enter The Gungeon. This creates another dynamic where you’ll need to decide whether or not to spend your money on items that will only help you on the current run, or if you’ll try to hoard your gold to unlock global upgrades after the run. You’ll bring back a portion of the gold that you collected on your run to the main hub after you die. Once a boss is killed, it’s gone for subsequent runs (but can respawn once the player clears the entire game). In the early going, it can be an interesting decision to accumulate more gold on lower levels rather than take on a boss you don’t think you can defeat. In a clever twist though, the boss fights can be skipped in favor of curses, a payment in gold, or defeating waves of enemies.

You’ll explore through five different areas of the mine, each consisting of four procedurally-generated floors that culminate in a boss fight. Jumping is what provides the crucial invincibility frames in a game like this. The pickax can be swung or thrown and to avoid damage, you can jump.

The cadre of miners that the player controls get a pickax and bombs. While it’s not pushing the boundaries of innovation, it’s a polished experience and one that stands out in an increasingly crowded genre. Undermine is the latest game in what’s starting to feel like a flood of roguelikes (or really, ‘roguelites’) hitting the market.