Underkeep Review

Underkeep is a first-person, grid-based dungeon crawler with turn-based combat, a party you assemble, and a fully handcrafted world. It is very good at what it sets out to do, and what it sets out to do is remind you of Might & Magic, Eye of the Beholder, and Lands of Lore. The pixel art is the immediate hook, and the exploration is generous and clever. The biggest problem is the gear system, which players describe as needlessly punishing, and a handful of design decisions that can leave you stuck. With 90% positive from 939 reviews, the game clearly works for its audience, but that audience is specific.

Core loop

The loop is classic: roll a party, map the dungeon tile by tile, solve puzzles, fight turn-based battles, loot, level up, and push deeper. Players say it captures the old-school feel without the old-school friction. One review calls it a textbook blobber, and another notes that modern conveniences like an automap and quicksaves make the crawl feel respectful of your time. The result is a game that pulls you forward. Players mention losing entire mornings and feeling like they have barely scratched the surface after fifteen hours. That momentum is the game's strongest asset.

Combat and character building

Combat is quick and readable, and the turn-based pace lets you think instead of click-fighting. That said, character building has a clear flaw: the UI only surfaces one active skill, so players report defaulting to passives and maxing a single active skill per character. It works, but it narrows the tactical space. The bigger issue is gear. Almost every notable item has stat requirements, sometimes several, and players complain those requirements often make no sense for the item's purpose. One reviewer describes finding armor that boosts healing but demands stats their healer could never meet. That is not a challenge; it is a tax on experimentation.

Exploration and puzzles

Exploration is where Underkeep shines. The dungeons are handcrafted, the puzzles are clever without being punishing, and the map supports player notes, which reviewers single out as a small but vital feature. Outside the dungeons there is a handcrafted overworld with weather, crafting, and mining, and players describe it as a pleasant surprise that broadens the scope. But the level design is not flawless. One player describes an opening area built as a connected hub where you keep falling to lower levels and then have to walk the long way back, with unclear exits between floors. That kind of friction can sour the first few hours.

Length and pacing

This is not a short game. Players report finishing around twenty hours, with one at nearly fifteen hours still feeling like they had only scratched the surface. That is a lot of dungeon for $19.50, and for fans of the genre it reads as value. The pacing stays brisk because you can save anywhere, which players repeatedly call a quality-of-life win. But the same openness exposes a risk: if you wander into a one-way door or an irreversible route without a recent save, you can soft-lock your progress. Players warn about this, and it is the kind of thing that turns a good session into a chore.

Art and presentation

The pixel art is the game's calling card. Reviewers call it insane, cute yet serious, and note that the dungeons feel cold while the outdoors are colorful and consistent. The UI is dense but clear, and players appreciate that all the information they need is visible at a glance. The presentation is not trying to be a 3D space, and one player notes you end up relying on the minimap to orient yourself, but that is par for the genre. Sound is described as okay, not remarkable. The visuals do the heavy lifting, and they hold up.

Onboarding and accessibility

The game does not hold your hand, and for veterans that is the point. Players say it feels like the old RPGs with no guidance, but the first chapter loops back on itself so you rarely get lost for long. Still, one player did not reach the village until after the refund window, which suggests the opening can be slow or confusing for newcomers. The bigger barrier is language: the store lists seven languages and no Chinese, and a Chinese reviewer calls that baffling in 2026. If you do not read one of the supported languages, this is a hard pass until that changes.

Technical and price

There are no widespread technical complaints in the sample, though one negative review questions the system requirements and dismisses the game as slop, which reads as an outlier rather than a pattern. On price, players are split. One calls $19.50 a bit pricey for a game with up to thirty hours of content, while another says it is more than worth it for old-school fans. That is a fair summary: the value is there if you are the target audience, and questionable if you are not.