Thorium Entertainment has announced that it is bringing its action-adventure roguelike UnderMine to Nintendo Switch next month.
The game has already been downloaded 600,000 times on Steam and Xbox Game Pass, and places you in the role of a "foolhardy peasant" who will stop at nothing to find their fortune in a dark and dangerous mine.
It's an interesting premise, and one which is made all the more appealing by the fact that UnderMine's creators clearly owe a small debt to the classic 2D Zelda series, at least in terms of presentation.
As you can see in the trailer, some of the characters sport Link-style outfits, they perform a familiar pose when collecting important items, blow up walls with bombs and even sport an eerily similar animation when they fall down a hole. It's all done with tongue firmly in cheek, of course, and the presentation in general looks fantastic. The loot-grabbing gameplay and roguelike elements make it stand out from Nintendo's famous series, even if it does share some technical and visual similarities.
Derek Johnson, founder of Thorium Entertainment, had this to say about the news:
“Ever since we released our first Early Access version, the question our fans kept asking was ‘When is it coming to Switch?' Releasing a game on a Nintendo platform is a dream come true, and we look forward to new fans joining the horde this February!”
UnderMine currently holds a 9/10 rating on Steam, which certainly bodes well. Our pals over at Eurogamer went hands-on with the Steam version and described it as "a distilled version of Zelda on SNES... if Zelda were confined to a dungeon". It launches on Thursday, Feb. 11th on Switch, and will cost $19.99.
Here's the PR:
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – January 28, 2021 – UnderMine, the action-adventure roguelike brimming with secrets from developer Thorium Entertainment, strikes it rich with a release on Nintendo Switch on Thursday, Feb. 11, after more than 600,000 players enjoyed the game on Steam and via Xbox Game Pass.
With pickaxe in hand and bravery in heart, control a foolhardy peasant bent on delving into a mysterious mine in search of untold riches. Fight for life against the dangers awaiting in the dark depths. Venture through the lowest reaches until that commoner meets their doom, then send the next unfortunate soul to retrieve their gear and plumb further into the caverns.
Use bombs to blow up walls and rocks to unearth secret passages, collect precious gold before the slimy Pilfers claim it, and rescue potential allies deep within the mine. Fight against the devious dungeon denizens all the way to the end of each level where room-filling bosses stand between the fearless miner and their objective.
Get creative with each new run, desperately scavenging ability-granting relics, potions with magical effects, treasure, and other items, hoping that the next run goes more smoothly than the last. Make the difficult choice to either hoard gold for the subsequent descent or spend the hard-earned cash on useful items or helpful upgrades.
Master the mines, then seek new challenges in the true roguelike Othermine, starting fresh without any upgrades, for nearly endless replayability. After five major content updates during Early Access, Thorium will continue to expand the mine’s operations with post-launch updates arriving on all platforms in the coming months.
Comments 39
I will check it out looks like a great time.
@PBandSmelly I agree with you buddy but I gusse thats the case when your on a nintendo website.
@PBandSmelly Fair comment, but this is clearly inspired by Zelda, in visual terms if not the complete mechanics. We're not the only site to make that comparison, either - Eurogamer picked up on it, too.
Given that lots of people who visit this site are familiar with Nintendo properties, it's only logical that we use those properties as a point of reference.
A Zelda without an overworld, towns, etc., and roguelike? Uhmm... Just because it´s a zenithal action adventure doesn´t make it a Zelda, imo (even though the characters look similar). From what I´ve seen, it´s just another dungeon crawler, more like Gauntlet, Diablo, etc.
Not my type of game at all, I must say.
@PBandSmelly All feedback is important!
Roguelike?
No thank you. Hades and Dead Cells are enough for me for a while.
I really don’t enjoy roguelike games ive tried several now and no not for me.
When it comes to indies I’m firmly in the camp of celeste, hollow knight and Steam World Dig 2. Crafted levels with traditional progressional structures.
I bought Enter the Gungeon and tried Dead Cells this week for free and I just can’t stand starting from the beginning.
It is like the hate I would feel when I lost to a boss in Hollow Knight 15-20 times and had to spend 30 seconds getting back to the boss room from the checkpoint. Only in rogue lites it’s infinitely worse.
Kudos for making a trailer that goes straight into gameplay footage.
Another case of marketing seemingly the main thought process used to make a computer game! Such a shame the industry does this so often, it makes me view so many games as cash grabs that I probably miss a few gems.
@Yanina that's a very good point, although as far as strategy goes I'm not so sure because as soon as I saw that I knew I didn't like it. Maybe a little intro might have been an better idea
@Friendly Is dead cells that good I mean I played some of it on PS now but dam alot of people talk about it.
I tried it on Game Pass for Xbox, but I am so tired of all the roguelikes/lites.
Just make a game with a start and an end with progress that does not reset...
Actually, this game is not on my radar, even though I like Zelda games, especially the NES ones.
"Zelda-like" and "rogue-like" are definitely overused. Put them together and I will take a look.
@Snatcher if you like roguelikes, dead cells is a must play.
It’s not a genre I really like, though.
I hope they put local coop in it.
@PBandSmelly Yeah I personally prefer the term Rogue-Like. /s
I've never heard this one but I really like rogue-like, love 2D Zelda and I am digging the whole artstyle
No doubt I will have to check on this one
@PBandSmelly So, taking your current sentiments into account, how do you feel about the label 'Metroidvania', then?
@liverpoolvk I agree. There must be a market for these games. I never played a rogue like game but wonder if these games have an ending?
@Snatcher
Your response is PBandSmelly-like.
This game is fantastic... put 80 hours in on Xbox and I’ll be double dipping for the switch release. Someone mentioned hades and dead cells... this is nothing like those to games.
The name reminds me of: "Behold, the Underminer! I'm always beneath you, but nothing is beneath me! I hereby declare war on peace and happiness! Soon, all will tremble before me!"
Ungph, so. many. games
@Daymonkey that’s too bad, what separates this game from Hades and Dead Cells? Both are god-tier games.
@PBandSmelly metroidvania is another one
Physical for 2021 common....
Had my eye on this one for a while, but my PC really ain't cut out for running games. Glad to see it come to Switch!
@nerdface Sorry, didn’t mean it was inherently better, just very different. Cross between binding of Isaac and classic Zelda really. But has really good progression and you can “finish” the game. Honestly if you’re remotely interested in it it’s well worth the purchase!
@Daymonkey I know what you mean with how enemies are sorta bouncy with the physics. That sounds really good. I’m looking down the barrel of Blue Fire as well.
I might have to quit my day job just to get caught up.
@PBandSmelly No, I’m glad the reference is made. In most cases it’s not exactly necessary because it’s so obvious that it’s similar to Zelda (the guys in this game are almost literally wearing Link’s outfit), but it’s still true so it deserves to be reported on.
@Friendly K thanks.
Liking the look of it. I'll keep my eyes open for a review.
Not feeling the zelda comparisons.
It’s alright. I got it for free on Steam but it’s just a little slow paced for a roguelike.
Similar to Moonlighter, but personally I think Moonlighter is better or maybe I just had enough of these types of games.
They don’t even try to hide it anymore.
@meeto_1 I completely agree, friend! I beat Celeste (5000+ deaths!) and beat Dig 2, both great games. I played Hollow Knight for a good 20 hours. But I stopped playing for the reason you said. I can't imagine every getting a rogue like.
@dugan it’s a shame for me because a lot of these games look like they have really tight combat mechanics and the pixel art is really good. I just have to keep telling myself they aren’t for me because I almost get caught up in the hype and waste money buying them.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...