There’s something very wrong with the bunker beneath the mire. The corridors keep changing, strange creatures are wandering around, and whatever’s lurking deeper underground seems determined to make sure you never see daylight again. You’ve brought a few friends along for protection, although their choice of weapons isn’t exactly reassuring. To make matters worse, there’s a ginger cat who expects you to clean his litter tray. Surviving the monsters might actually be the easiest part of this expedition.
UnderMire is a hand-drawn first-person action roguelite from developer Table Knight Games, launching on Steam today. It sends players into a magical bunker filled with shifting environments, dangerous creatures, puzzles, and environmental hazards. You can explore alone or bring friends into online co-op, using unusual weapons and a crafting system called SMUSH to turn discarded junk into something useful. There’s also a rather demanding feline called McClane, who seems to think the entire expedition exists for his personal convenience.
Four Adventurers, Four Questionable Weapons
Combat in UnderMire depends on which character you choose, with each offering a different weapon and approach to fighting. The available equipment includes a camcorder, a piggy bank, a magical tome, and a baseball bat. They’re hardly the sort of weapons you’d expect to take into a monster-infested bunker, but each has its own combat abilities and strategic possibilities.
The camcorder offers a different way to approach encounters, while the piggy bank turns making deposits into a more violent activity than your local bank would appreciate. The tome brings magical attacks into the mix, and the bat provides a straightforward solution for anything that gets too close.
Choosing your character will influence how you deal with enemies, especially when playing alongside friends who have brought completely different equipment.
One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Explosive
Finding better equipment is an important part of surviving the bunker, although UnderMire has an unusual approach to crafting. Its SMUSH system lets you combine discarded junk to create useful items, including healing supplies and improvised explosives. Instead of relying entirely on equipment found ready-made, you’ll be collecting whatever rubbish the bunker provides and finding ways to turn it into something worth carrying.
That adds another consideration to exploration. An object that looks like worthless clutter could become useful once combined with something else, giving you a reason to investigate your surroundings.
Of course, fighting supernatural horrors with weapons assembled from whatever rubbish you found lying around is entertaining in itself. The monsters have an entire magical bunker on their side, and you’re responding with homemade explosives.
The Bunker Has a Mind of Its Own
The bunker isn’t content to sit still while you explore it. Its environments shift and change, introducing different challenges as you descend. You’ll encounter traps, puzzles, hidden secrets, and objectives such as securing generators while trying to avoid whatever creatures are hunting you. The game also features a fear gauge, adding another survival mechanic to manage alongside the dangers around you.
With changing environments and unpredictable encounters, you won’t necessarily be able to rely on memorizing a particular route.
Online co-op introduces another element of chaos. Working together could help you overcome difficult encounters, although coordinating several players armed with magical books, cameras, and improvised weapons sounds like an adventure in itself.
Your Cat Is Not Impressed
Then there’s McClane, the ginger cat who appears to have appointed himself your superior. He’s sarcastic, demanding, and perfectly happy to insult you while you carry out his instructions. Unfortunately, you also need him, which means putting up with his attitude and occasionally attending to such important survival objectives as changing his litter.
It’s an entertaining addition to a game already filled with unusual ideas, giving the horror adventure a sense of humor that extends beyond its unconventional weapons.
UnderMire launches on Steam for Windows, offering solo and online cooperative play. Between its shifting bunker, junk-based crafting, unusual character weapons, and fear mechanics, there’s plenty to investigate beneath the surface.