UnderMine

Pretty fun but runs are very long and tiring

Base game is fun. End game is not. For the cost though, it's still worthwhile.

Undermine is a great roguelike with some roguelite mechanics, very zelda-like and perfect for anybody searching for a dungeon crawler. You have to learn mechanics, so I am very frustrated with the negative reviews with like 1-3h playtime in which you cant learn anything properly. It is not an easy game but once you learn it you can win every run on normal difficulties. For me it gave me 250h of entertainment, has great visuals and vibes. The gameplay loop was very satisfying for me and I hope to see UM2 shine too :)

Played it for a fair bit did a few runs and its good to ok depending on how much you like the core gameplay loop. So far it's decent but like all of these progressive roguelikes it can get way too grindy to keep playing just to unlock better and better equipment so you can incrementally descend further and further into this mine.
Plays well on both gamepad and M&K at least. On a deep discount it's worth a shot if you like action roguelikes with grinding but there's so many great ones nowadays it's hard to find time for any that don't meet a high standard of quality,
This one is a bit on the fence depending on your slant.

Undermine might look like a typical roguelike at a first glance, but there is more behind it. It might even be disliked by roguelike fans. Undermine’s approach is more suitable for RPG fans. The game emphasises stats, potions, earning money, buying meaningful upgrades, having helpers with their own skills and the progression is done in a satisfying way. The game might be perceived as too grindy for roguelike players but it doesn’t really register as such for RPG players. Undermine doesn’t just encourage learning by experience, its meta progression will definitely make you a powerhouse. This ensures you will get something out of every run and you will definitely ‘finish’ the game because it’s very well balanced. I find this far more appealing compared to roguelikes that lack meta progression, make things ridiculously hard/punishing and you need to be incredibly lucky with the right combination to get anywhere.
But that’s not all, the game is incredibly polished and made with care. The graphical style is very reminiscent of Super Nintendo RPG, the music is pretty catchy, the character designs of NPC are memorable, many builds/combinations are different yet viable, some of the achievements are very rewarding, unlocking new artifacts/blessings/curses/etc is fun, you have choice whether you want to add certain artifacts/etc to the pool and the game’s extra mode (othermine) is also a good addition. I find it hard to come up with many flaws but if I must, I will mention two. The game crashed a couple of times when I closed the game after reaching the main menu. You don’t lose any progress out of it but it is weird when it happens. One achievement is too grindy, it requires the player to increase the challenge 30 times after completing a run. 15-20 would have been fairer even though it would have still been quite the challenge.
I absolutely adore Undermine. I didn’t expect much from it initially, I was worried it would be like the other roguelike games that I tend to dislike. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say this might be my favourite roguelike. I highly recommend the game to players who want meta progression and enjoy grinding with a good structure. I got the game when it was on deep sale once but it’s one of those games I can confidently say it’s worth the normal price of around €17. I’ve played it for more than 110 hours and got all achievements except for the one that is too grindy. The sequel is currently in early access, I hope it will be as good as Undermine and I hope it will keep the same approach with progression. I’m definitely following that one!

Not a fan of roguelikes, and never have been. Something about spending hours getting to a point, only for it to all be lost. But this game man, I love this game. I don't know what about it makes it so appealing but it IS appealing. It was one of the first games I got on my computer, then I bought it again on steam. For four years, I've had this game, and it still hasn't gotten old. Recently 100% it, not because I was close, but because it was just fun enough to keep going. Can't recommend this enough, it's a crime it's so poorly known. (also seed 13812176 for a consistent potion loop)

Ah, yes, rogue -lites and -likes. I don't usually play them, as I said in a previous review. This thing about dying and losing everything is kinda bothersome, even though the -lites diminish the losses when compared to the -likes. Nevertheless, I saw UnderMine on sale years ago and decided to purchase it because, frankly, it looked cute. Now, after playing this title for a while and seeing most of what it offers, I think I can provide a reasonable opinion about the product. I'm giving it a thumbs-up in goodwill, but consider this a mixed analysis — I found way too many nagging problems that disappointed me greatly. It can be alluring to some people, though. Let's take a look.
First, a basic summary. UnderMine revolves around completing a randomized dungeon that is divided into five major areas, each containing a boss at the end. Every run takes perhaps 90 minutes, if you're fast and lucky enough. A successful full run increases the difficulty level of the next. This mode is the -lite facet of the game, and you're expected to improve your character before facing further matches. After you complete your first run, the final boss arena is unlocked, but the story only requires you to kill him once in order to "finish" the main campaign. Although there's this optional slime boss that can be accessed through a door somewhere in this dungeon, reaching and defeating it is too much of a pointless hassle. For the masochists out there, the developers created a secondary dungeon designed to function like a true -like experience, forcing players to start each attempt basically nude. I didn't waste much time on this one, honestly, due to its unforgiving nature.
Now, UnderMine's gameplay is quite simple. The camera's perspective is top-down, à la A Link to the Past. Your little dude has a pickaxe for a weapon. It can be swung in close range or thrown in the direction of your mouse pointer. He can also jump, which serves not only to cross chasms, but also to dodge harmful attacks and traps. Aside from whacking foes with your Trotsky killer, you can use it to mine gold from certain rocks and walls. This money can be brought back to the main hub after beating (or dying in) a run, to be exchanged for consumable items and permanent stat upgrades for your adventurer. There's also a special currency, a purple crystal, which is seldom found and mined in the main dungeon. It is used to purchase tickets to the secondary dungeon and to acquire special recipes from select NPCs. These characters are encountered as you go spelunking in the mines, and they usually move to the hub after you complete their sidequests.
Three major elements influence your combat effectiveness and survival capabilities during a run: relics, potions and familiars. The first two are usually looted from chests and cannot be carried over to future runs, so you'll have to find them again constantly. Your familiar, on the other hand, is picked before starting the dungeon and stays with you until it is replaced with another. Relics, found in special containers, bestow special abilities or passive skills that are either extremely handy or practically useless. Potions show up in common chests, but can also be dropped by certain monsters or even looted from the special boxes. These are, obviously, consumed to provide a specific boon or temporary effect. Familiars may level up during a run and become more proficient at their job — their progress is reset in subsequent runs, however. The recipes that I mentioned earlier must be acquired before their respective relics and potions start showing up in the dungeon.
Not to be forgotten, you'll be constantly graced or punished during your runs by blessings and curses. Both are obtained in these altar rooms scattered throughout the dungeon, but they might also come from containers or be inflicted by enemies. Unlike the previous elements, these two are actually cumulative, meaning that you can get multiple blessings or curses of the same kind, potentially unleashing catastrophic outcomes. Blessings tend to stick with you until the end of a run. Curses, however, may be removed at altars for a health cost. Well, except the major ones, which really cause a lot of pain. This is where the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of this game begins, ladies and gentlemen, so let's talk about my gripes with it.
As you probably imagined, one of my complaints here is the accumulation of curses. Depending on the circumstances, enemies may flood you with them. This becomes a major issue when you are unable to find good relics and potions to counterbalance all the bad mojo. The compounded negative effects will severely cripple your character, making your life excessively hard, especially after completing many runs and increasing the difficulty of the dungeon to a significant level. Moreover, some of the major curses are so debilitating that catching them effectively ends the run, so you have to be extra careful not to get afflicted. This imbalance highlights another problem: the usefulness of each item and the chances of them spawning.
See, this game has a gigantic amount of relics and potions, and they all provide specific benefits. As you perform runs, lots and lots of recipes show up. The urge to unlock them all will overcome you. Unfortunately, this isn't exactly the best idea, and I only realised this later in my playthroughs. In reality, some boons vastly outperform most of the others. The more you unlock different relics, the rarer it will be to find the ones that really matter. In other words, you might eventually put yourself in a position to be constantly overloaded with crap that won't contribute much to your survival, as the shoddy items end up taking the place of the good stuff. This problem is even more pronounced regarding potions. I saw myself finding loads of highly situational and impractical drinks, when all that I needed at those moments was a health elixir. Still, this isn't the issue that annoyed me the most.
Enemies in UnderMine come in many different varieties and may be quite dangerous. There's definitely no shortage of strange creatures to fight here, and you'll have to quickly adapt yourself to each new threat. Foes almost always hit hard and some can take a beating before perishing, forcing you to purchase those health and damage upgrades as soon as possible. Bosses, at least, become more manageable as you memorize their patterns, thanks to their methodical nature. Ordinary creatures, though, behave more erratically. Your poor adventurer, I'm afraid, will eventually find themselves struggling in general combat for two main reasons.
First, your repertoire of abilities is, as I implied earlier, rather limited. Get used to swinging that pickaxe, since it's basically the only weapon available. Sure, dropping bombs could help dispatch your foes, but the explosives might easily obliterate your character in the blink of an eye — you'll want to save them to remove obstructions anyway. Yes, you may find that good stuff and gain some handy powers, but good luck with that. Second, it is not unusual to enter a random room and suddenly get swarmed by an army of critters unloading a barrage of relentless attacks against the protagonist. Rest assured that your little jump maneuver often won't be enough to dodge them. I should emphasize this: expect the game to unabashedly pack small rooms with hordes of enemies. Because screw you, that's why. I lost count of the runs I failed due to this ridiculous design choice.
Wrapping this up, I should mention that UnderMine's graphics are reasonably appealing. I enjoyed looking at the colorful sprites and fluid animations, but the randomized dungeon layouts sadly became somewhat drab and repetitive as I progressed in the game. I noticed no audio issues, and while the soundtrack is serviceable, it's largely forgettable. So, if you enjoy rogue games, keep in mind the issues I exposed here.