An Interesting RPG Ready To Debut With a Demo This Week; in the meantime, let me give you some details.
- Between Radiation and Spirits
- Exploration And Survival
- The Seekers
- Combat System
- Final Thoughts
- General Info About The Game
I follow countless turn-based projects, and my wishlist is practically endless—filled with both released titles and games still in development. Unfortunately, many of these never see the light of day, fading into obscurity. But sometimes, a project takes a lucky turn, and you get that thrilling notification: an update or, even better, a playable demo.
That’s exactly what happened with Dead Underworld, a survival RPG developed by Indiedev Manmachina that I had on my wishlist. A playable demo is going to drop in a few days, and from what I’ve seen and tried, this is shaping up to be a truly exciting project. Let’s dive into the details.
Between Radiation and Spirits
Dead Underworld casts you as a lone adventurer exploring a world that blends post-apocalyptic themes with spirits and esoteric elements. In this hostile environment, you’ll scavenge for resources, gather items, and contend with various factions while navigating a world riddled with danger and radiation.
The demo doesn’t reveal much about the game’s backstory, instead delivering its lore through interactions with factions and enemy units, a storytelling approach typical of roguelites. Now, let’s take a closer look at the gameplay.
Exploration And Survival
Imagine the exploration of Heroes of Might and Magic fused with a survival RPG—this is the core of Dead Underworld. The game strongly emphasizes exploration, drawing clear inspiration from the legendary strategy series. You’ll control your adventurer as they carefully manage their movement each turn, reaching items, points of interest, and enemy encounters across pixel-art landscapes.
Enemies range in difficulty, with a color-coded system marking threats from green (easier) to red (deadly). Radiation zones will inflict damage if crossed, and interacting too much with spirit-related points of interest will raise the overall danger level of the map.
Another key survival element is the spirit bar, which fluctuates based on events such as encounters, rest, and various environmental factors.
Resources
Survival in Dead Underworld depends on collecting and wisely using several key resources:
- Coins: Used to upgrade character stats.
- Alloys: A universal material serving as ammunition for all ranged weapons.
- Supplies: Consumed at the end of each turn (representing a full day) to restore HP and prepare for the next journey.
- Soul Coins: Used to upgrade Party Based Skills.
Once movement points are depleted, you’ll need to set up camp, ending the turn. In this phase, you can choose between boosting your recovery—at the cost of spirit—or taking a simple restorative nap to regain spirit instead.
Stealth and Tactical Avoidance
Stealth plays a crucial role in exploration. Sometimes, it’s better to sneak past threats rather than risk combat. You can also use stealth to set up an ambush and take advantage of special perks. However, be wary of environmental hazards—crows, for example, can alert enemies, drawing them to your position at the worst possible moment.
To progress, you must reach a portal that transports you to the next area. The world map follows a classic roguelite structure, with branching paths and nodes that can belong to specific factions.
The Seekers
One of the game’s standout elements is character design and progression. While you can embark on your journey alone, you’ll also have the opportunity to recruit Seekers—companions encountered during exploration. Having an additional party member (maximum 1) provides clear advantages, not only in combat but also in traversal and resource gathering.
Each character is defined by core stats that influence both combat effectiveness and exploration abilities:
- Strength: which affects melee damage, melee defense and movement.
- Constitution: which affects HP, Heal Rate, and Physical Resistance.
- Agility: affecting ranged damage, ranged defense, and initiative.
- Intelligence: plays a crucial role in awareness, loot rate, and bandage rate.
- Charisma: Influence the spirit, mental resistance, and how you deal with other characters and factions.
Beyond stats, each character has unique traits that shape their specialization and ideal equipment loadout. The default character in the demo, for example, has traits favoring melee combat, making knives, spears, and other close-combat weapons the best choice. Other companions, however, may enhance exploration by unlocking special skills, improving environmental awareness, or boosting resource collection.
Combat System
Battles in Dead Underworld take place on a 2d screen, with engagements occurring across three combat ranges:
- Long-range
- Mid-range
- Melee
Positioning is key. If your Initiative stat is higher than the enemy’s at the start of battle, you’ll get to choose your initial stance. However, movement remains possible throughout the fight, allowing for tactical repositioning.
In battle, you primarily control the frontline character, but you can swap positions with a companion when needed. Combat features a robust arsenal, including rifles, pistols, SMGs, grenades, and a variety of tactical items—an impressive selection, especially considering this is just the demo. Inspecting enemy portraits also reveals vital details like resistances and weaknesses, letting you plan your attacks for critical damage.
Final Thoughts
Dead Underworld is showing a lot of promise. The sheer variety of weapons and items, the depth of character customization, and the strategic flexibility in both combat and exploration all suggest a game with serious replay value. There’s plenty to sink your teeth into, and this demo alone hints at countless hours of engaging gameplay. Give the demo a shot when it launches on February 6, 2025 on PC, and let me know what you think! Below is an overview via Steam Page and trailer.
General Info About The Game
Dead Underworld is a single-player, dungeon-diving, turn-based roguelike set in a fantastical realm of eternal conflict. Gather resources and strengthen your party to endure a harsh world brimming with dangers. Engage in swift, punishing battles where every decision counts. Should a party member fall, recruit a new fellow Seeker to continue your quest. Who among you will escape the Underworld?
- Choose your path and explore a procedurally generated world.
- Gather items and resources to aid your survival.
- Journey through diverse environments.
- Avoid environmental hazards such as shifting radiation clouds and ancient guard towers.
- Investigate haunted shrines and broken machines to uncover the world’s secrets.
- Gain the favor of one of the three major factions to survive until the end.
- Travel alone or ally with another traveler.
- Improve your characters’ skills, perks, and weapons.
- Gain or lose traits based on your characters’ actions.
- Unlock buffs that affect the whole party
- Survive to the end—dead characters stay dead.
- Engage in punishing turn-based battles against relentless enemies.
- Choose your weapons and tactics wisely to claim victory.
- Adapt to shifting combat ranges, status effects, and luck to prevail.
- Equip your characters with weapons and items from hundreds of available options.
