It's a cold Sunday and I can't tear myself away from the screen. My in game clock says I've played Underrail just less than ten hours. My Steam clock says I've spent over sixteen hours playing. I'm deep under a mutant infested depot in an old warehouse. I've gotten in by sneaking past mutants and their mutated dogs, and believe me, finding the right path and avoiding being detected was definitely not a piece of cake. In this warehouse is a room. In this room are two turrets and two tank drones and a box. I'm sure I need what's in the box. Carefully I place two land mines by the door, like I've done the last five times. I load my gun with armour piercing ammo. I get the right angle and toss a grenade. . . Two weeks later I'm deep in gang territory and there's this room with seven gangsters in it. I'm sure I need to get through the door on the other side (I actually don't. I've walked by the hidden ventilation shaft, but that's another story). I can't sneak by these seven thugs, because of the camera. I lay five land mines and throw caltrops in front of the door and by the train tracks. I hope this time the results are a little better than the last six times. I toss a Molotov cocktail through the door and. . . and I think I'll remember this battle for years to come. I'll remember Railway, the Junkyard, and the crossbow wielding mugger in the slums of Core City. I'll remember Underrail.
                            

Gameplay

Anyone who played the original Fallout will feel comfortable in Underrail. Both games feature a number of character attributes. In Underrail perception helps make an effective ranged attacker. Strength is great for close combat. Willpower and intelligence governs psionics and dexterity is important for thief skills and throwing. There are also a number of skills which let you craft items, get into places that are closed off to you, and talk to others. And of course there are a number of skills which let you neutralize your enemies with extreme prejudice. Which skills and which attributes you invest in unlock certain perks. You get a perk at the beginning of the game and then every even numbered level, which in turn lets you specialize and individualize your character.

Underrail has a variety of perks with which you can tailor your character

There are two big differences between Fallout and Underrail that are immediately apparent. First there is no charisma attribute, but a willpower attribute, which governs speech skills, but also psionics. I think this is the result of the fact that there are fewer chances to use speech skills in Underrail than in Fallout and also that you can't recruit companions. In Underrail you're always alone. I can only remember four quests in some 70 hours of gameplay, where I felt distinctly disadvantaged for not having invested in speech/willpower. In comparison, I felt much, much more disadvantaged for not having taken the hacking skill.  Also there are the psionics themselves, which give you an alternative to armed combat.

The character system though is well tailored to the game. In Underrail you're a killer. You're given the privilege of joining a station, because of your martial prowess. Building a character who is hopeless in combat is possible in Underrail, but I think it is almost completely unplayable. The other skills in Underrail help you explore and scavenge in the abandoned tunnels beneath the earth and build things out of what you may find. This is because Underrail is a game which focuses on exploration and combat. Between the safety of the few human settlements, under the surface are a maze of abandoned tunnels, forgotten warehouses, burrower tunnels, and other dangerous places, where only someone with your character's skill set and job would dare to go. And of course you are given plenty of reasons (quests) and rather vague directions which send you into the dark and the unknown.

Underrail is a decisively old fashioned game. The log book and quest givers give you enough to point you in the right direction and you almost always know more or less what needs to be accomplished. How exactly to get where you are going or what exactly you have to do, are things you need to discover. Some quests offer multiple solutions, some paths are open to those who can hack electronics, pick locks, or sneak by dangerous enemies, but closed to others. There are secret passageways, which only the perceptive can find. There is also no map per say. The levels are fairly small and it's easy to get an overview of them. It's quite possible though to lose your way or orientation after going through multiple maps, especially after the first twenty hours or so of the game, when you're allowed to explore almost all of Underrail's locations, provided you have enough dynamite or a jackhammer. Between the populated stations, which act as quest hubs, and places where you can buy or sell equipment, there is fast travel, by either the underrail itself or by boat, provided you have the funds to afford it. The wastes outside of civilization, however, are only accessible by foot, and like any old fashioned dungeon crawler, you'll need to backtrack to town (often). Not only do you get to pay for the luxury of fast travel, but selling goods is an adventure. Merchants are always looking for certain goods, and they will only buy goods in certain categories. While this refreshes fairly often (I'm not sure if it's after you finish a quest, or if its time based), you'll think twice sometimes about picking up another firearm, when you already have six in your inventory. Also merchants have a limited selection, and equipment gets worn and damaged. This makes one think carefully about what to carry, what to fight with, and when to use such rare and powerful consumable equipment such as high tech grenades or morphine. I personally felt these factors added to the charm and believability of Underrail and gave one the feel of being a survivor in a hostile and decaying world. Obviously this sort of gameplay doesn't appeal to everyone.

Underrail offers you a hostile world to explore. For the first ten hours or so you are sent to deal with small tasks around your station, while your colleagues work on clearing away an earthquake. Then the world gradually open up and after twenty hours you can explore almost all of the vast world, providing you can survive the dangers, open a lock here or there, and blow past the rubble, which might block your path. In the ruins of Underrail there are a plethora of things to find. The sheer number of items of equipment you can find in this game is impressive and it's possible to craft a number of things as well. Underrail also features two separate experience point systems. The first is the oddity system, which gives you experience point for finding unusual items. The second is the classic system, which gives you experience for defeating opponents in combat. Both systems also give quest XP. The oddity system encourages exploration and also avoiding unnecessary combat. The only way to do that for the most part is with a high stealth skill, as very few people who dwell outside of the stations will bother talking with you. Most want you dead. If you don't invest points in stealth, then the classic system is probably more rewarding.

Story and Atmosphere

You are one of the privileged few. You are allowed to live in relatively prosperous and peaceful South Gate Station. The station is small and the individuals who live there are chosen, because they have some talent which can prove useful for the survival of the station as a whole. You are chosen, because you are a problem solver, someone who can go into the dangerous world outside of South Gate Station and further the station's interests, and that usually involves a healthy dose of force against whomever or whatever is in the way. You could have it worse - much worse. Between the stations, the strong rule and take what they want. These are mostly brutal gangs. There are also dangerous mutated beasts, which see humans as their prey.

The world of Underrail is set at an undetermined point in a dismal future. People live underground in old railway stations, because the surface world is too deadly to survive in. The game doesn't present us with a complex history, but as we explore the world we learn bits and pieces about the world which surrounds us. Underrail does a wonderful job of conveying through its graphics, texts, and locations, a broken, hostile, post-apocalyptic world, where only the strong and the lucky can survive. Underrail also presents an interesting story, which only comes together slowly as we travel through its world. The main quest, though, as in all Fallout games, is mostly an excuse to send us to the farthest corners of its game world, and doesn't play a central part in the action, like it does in a story driven RPG. And Underrail's world is huge and there are a lot of interesting places to explore. Unlike many games, one actually feels motivated to explore. Loot seems hand placed. If you explore an old robot factory, you find the sorts of seems you might expect there, for instance. Also though you spend a lot of time in old subway tubes or burrower tug tunnels, you do occasionally find an interesting location of the beaten track. Visually though, Underrail is dreary and dark, just like the old Fallout games were.

Stores in Underrail function on supply and demand, which makes picking up loot something to ponder over

Underrail is also a fully-fledged RPG. There are lots of quests. These aren't always straightforward either. I died multiple times by a particular quest, and then I decided that I need to come back after  gaining some more levels. In the meantime while I was travelling about, I came across a much simpler solution. Another late game quest hints only indirectly at what you have to do to advance, or better said you have to do what seem like a number of side quests to advance the main story. Some quests have multiple solutions and some can be walled off by not having the correct skills or not belonging to the correct faction. The quests in Underrail offer a fair amount of variation. Quests themselves are never worth a lot of experience, and some of them don't directly involve combat, but opportunities for both are usually plentiful on the way.

I've read complaints elsewhere about the writing in Underrail. I think a lot of these criticisms come from comparing Underrail to Fallout and Fallout 2, which were some pretty well written games, with memorable characters and quirky moments. I'd say the great majority of computer games fail in comparison. Underrail's writing is, with a few exceptions that crop up in the second half of the game, decent. It's certainly better than in a lot of games I have played and in my opinion doesn't detract from the gameplay. Still Underrail has few memorable characters and almost every character you can talk to is either a quest giver or a merchant. That reflects the fact that Underrail's writing is very functional. Almost every piece of dialogue teaches you something about the world, or offers you information about something you can or should do.

Combat

Combat in Underrail is well done. I enjoyed the combat for the length of my play through and there are many reasons for this. First there is the very straightforward (turn based) action point system. Characters have 50 action points to fight or move with, though a high agility can give a character bonus move only points. Each weapon has an action point cost. High action point weapons like a high caliber pistol or sniper rifle can only fire once a round, but are excellent for piercing armour and force fields, and have devastating critical hits. On the other hand, against an unarmored opponent, a submachine gun that can fire three times a round is probably the better choice. Underrail has a huge arsenal, and picking the right weapon for the right fight can be of critical importance.

It is also important to note that after the first few hours of gameplay, battles with multiple opponents are nearly unavoidable. You will lose these battles if you stick to standard attacks, because your opponents often have high powered consumables and are nearly as skilled as you. Facing three or more opponents requires some forethought.

Luckily you are given a number of options. First you get perks if you have high enough skills in combat skills, and these award you with special attacks. One of the few nods to modern computer games in Underrail is the fact that these special attacks function on a cool down system. If you invested in the throwing skill (a notable worthless skill in some games, but not in Underrail!) you can toss grenades and throw caltrops. The former are devastating in the damage they do, but also function on cooldowns, so throwing a grenade at the right time, or caltrops in the right location is critical. You can also lay down a variety of deadly traps with the trap skill, such as landmines, and poison bear traps. You just have to make sure that opponents actually move over them and don't trigger any landmines with you nearby! Then there are drugs which can spike your damage resistance or speed for two or three rounds, at the cost of massive damage or exhaustion when they wear off. It is especially bitter to win a close battle, only to die when your morphine wears off. If you can hide then you can often snipe off an enemy before a battle begins, or pick off stragglers or lone guards. The silent crossbow is the best weapon for this and there are a ton of special bolts, including stunning and poison ones. There is also a variety of ammunition for your firearm.

I have to admit I neither built my character for close combat or psionics, but I was killed enough times by opponents with these skills, that I know how devastating they can be. How often was I dazed by a hammer wielding opponent, having to helplessly watch as he pummeled me to death when I couldn't defend myself? How often was I fried by psionic attacks? How often was I crippled and bled dry by a knife wielder?

The tunnels of Underrail are not only populated by gangs and thugs, but by a variety of nonhuman opponents. These all have their own special characteristics, which make them interesting opponents. For example the game's giant rats, which are some of your first opponents, gain a damage bonus when they attack in groups. Crawlers attack from stealth, sting you with their poison and disappear until their poison cripples you (don't crawl around in tunnels without a vial of antidote!) And dogs, though weak, are especially difficult to sneak around, and often seem to be the pets of nasty sniping bandits.

Items like traps and mine can help even the odds in even the toughest situation. Here it was one against nine

Combat plays out fast in Underrail too. A battle with two opponents rarely lasts past four or five rounds. Either you've killed them by then, or you yourself are dead. While I found the combat enjoyable and challenging, it definitely means that Underrail is not for easily frustrated. I often died the first time I fought through a combat, as I usually only decided to use my rarer and more expensive traps, grenades, and crossbow bolts on especially difficult opponents. Some of the toughest fights required not only the clever use of my arsenal of drugs, explosives, and ammunition, but also a little bit of good luck (such as dodging or delivery a critical hit.)

The Endgame

Normally I would try my best to avoid giving any spoilers in a review. However, the endgame of Underrail has been responsible for a lot of bitterness. If you want to find out why that is, and if it is warranted, by all means read on, but be warned that I can't explain it all with giving away little tidbits of information (which I try to keep to a minimum). Don't worry though, this won't make the endgame easy.

I don't want to know on how many of my Sundays did what was meant to be a two hour play session turn into a four or five hour one. Luckily for me, my wife is a tolerant woman. Underrail's huge world offers a lot to explore and it took me 60 hours to reach the final area, and I tend to play through games pretty fast. It took me less time to finish Wasteland 2, Divinty: Original Sin, or Skyrim than it did to reach Underrail's deep caverns.

First let's give praise where it's due, because Underrail's end game offers new creatures, new environments, and a couple of pretty interesting areas, and these offer a fresh change from the core game. Not only that, but its environment though different, is permeated by the great lore and atmosphere which runs throughout the game. While the endgame combat fits well into the game from an artistic and story standpoint, there are few design decisions, which make the endgame a test of patience in the best of circumstances, and a matter of huge frustration in the worst of circumstances.

There are two factions in the endgame, both of whom you encounter earlier in the game, and both of whom you can really piss off. If both of these factions are hostile to you, well then, you can forget access to a merchant or much in the way of dialogue in the last part of the game. These two factions do only take up a relatively small area in the endgame as a whole, but this was really a missed opportunity to break up the endless number of enemies in the last area of the game.

In most of Underrail, once you clear an out an area, it stays free of hostiles, or may sport relatively small respawns. This isn't true in the endgame. Hostiles respawn constantly, which makes backtracking a tedious chore and makes winning combat feel empty. There is one way around this, and this is the stealth skill. Luckily I built a stealth oriented character and was able to move through the central deep caverns without having to fight, and only had to resort to combat in some areas. I can't imagine the frustration I'd have experienced otherwise.

You're given only one story quest in the last area (and may get a side quest or two), in which you know what you have to do, but not how to go about doing it. Basically you're sent on a scavenger hunt to find what you need, (which turns out to be a large number of items), without knowing exactly what it is you're supposed to find or where. So you have no choice, but to search every nook and cranny of the deep caverns.

The deep caverns are far too big for their own good. With the large number of maps and their endless respawns, combat and stealth become unnecessarily tedious, especially when backtracking. This is a real shame, because the deep caverns feature some really cool, well thought out areas and opponents. Fewer maps and fewer respawns, or more optional levels would have, in my opinion, made a better endgame. There are some really well done levels here, and in between a few which could have just as well been left out. Underrail is a huge game as it is, and I've already played about ten hours in the deep caverns, and I have still a lot to do, and that's with sneaking around a lot of enemies.

The deep caverns can be very frustrating, but also add some very interesting areas

Summary

I'm sure it's clear that if you've read through my article, you recognize that it's my opinion that Underrail is a brilliant game.  Its combat is thrilling and it offers an exciting, if dark world, which is a pleasure to explore. The writing and story might not be its strongest points, but Underrail is not a game which focuses on narrative, but rather on surviving in a bleak world.

When I think of what one developer succeeded in doing which so many bigger and better funded projects have failed to do, namely to capture the feel of an RPG classic, I'm really amazed. Underrail is a love letter to the original Fallout. It takes everything that made Fallout a great CRPG, and doesn't destroy it by trying to add „improvements". I could have picked this game up in the year 2000, and seen nothing revolutionary about it. That means, though, that it is not a game for everyone.

The graphics and sound are functional. You can build an ineffective character, making the endgame unplayable (even if your character was great for 75% of the game). Combat is difficult. Carelessness and bad luck usually result in death. There is a lot of backtracking through the same areas. The late game quests require some trial, error, and puzzling to figure out.

If you considered Fallout and Arcanum to be milestones of their time, but too clunky, tedious, or frustrating to be fun today, you should probably avoid Underrail. If, like me, you've played through these games multiple times and consider them to have a charm lacking in most modern games, then I can wholeheartedly recommend Underrail.