Underlevel Review: Skele-ton of Fun!

Rattling onto PC comes Underlevel. In this 2D Indie action game developed and published by Stepford and AndyL4nd you must lead your skeleton minions to safety from a rampaging Knight. All the while being sure to stop the Knight from levelling up so that you can get your own back on them! Originally made as part of the Game Maker’s Tool Kit Game Jam this is a release version of it for your playing pleasure.

Underlevel is a fun little slice of arcade-flavoured action. With a simple but effective gameplay loop and fun art style which Underlevel makes for a great little experience. Sure, it might not be long enough or feature complete enough for some. But for those who are looking for a manic fantasy game with a sprinkle of strategy thrown in this might be for you. But with that said let’s get to the review.

Underlevel is available now as a “Name Your Price” on Itch.io.

Story – A Bone to Pick

Unlike most titles I have reviewed here during my time here at KeenGamer Underlevel has no baked-in story. Whilst there is a splash screen at the start of the game it is mostly delivered to the Knight you are facing off against. Rather than to you and who you play. And beyond this, there isn’t much to communicate the story or backstory of the game to you. The closest I’ve come to playing a game quite like this was with Zombies Ate My Neighbours. And that was a title from the 1990s when most games’ story was still being told in the manuals. Is the absence of a story a bad thing? Frankly no.

This is as close to story as you get in Underlevel.

This is very much an arcade-style game. A fine short slice of quick-fire action. So whilst it may have a name that evokes the spirits of Undertale and Underhero, Underlevel is not a deep narrative experience. This is not an exploration of tropes and traditions in its chosen subgenera. Nor gaming more generally on a deeper subtextual or meta-narrative level. And quite honestly it is all the better for it. What little text there is here is delivered and written well enough for what it needs to be.

Picking Your Fight

It would have been very easy for the developers to overcook things here by throwing in a story which, whilst I’m sure it would have been decent, would have interrupted the core gameplay loop too much. But more on the gameplay itself in just a few moments. Beyond the story, or rather lack thereof, the text within Underlevel is easy to read for the most part. I will grant that your mileage may vary when it comes to stylised text. Personally, my issue was less about not understanding the text and more about not understanding what it meant.

I’ll admit that I feel a dummy for not realising it at first.

See, the HUD is from the point of view of the enemy Knight. When it refers to “enemies” it means you and your buddies. When it refers to “Loot” it refers to loot still in the level, not loot they’ve acquired. Not a deal breaker to be sure. But still, something that takes a little while to better understand. Truth be told the only area of criticism that I have as far as the writing more generally is that the tutorial text could be better. I don’t feel it needs a tutorial level. But I still think more could have been done to explain the controls.

Gameplay – Rattle Them Bones

As explained at the start of this review, in Underlevel your goal is to lead your boney buddies (or minions depending on your point of view) to the level exit. All the while avoiding the Knight and smashing up loot in the level. To prevent the Knight from levelling up enough to defeat the final boss. The core loop of the title is simple and easy to control. It is all done with your mouse. And is responsive enough for you to clear your goal. Or at least attempt to. More generally imagine Underlevel as a mix between Pikmin and Sheep from 2001. However with far more obstacles for your crew to get stuck behind.

In Underlevel you must lead your crew to the nearest level exit.

When I say that Underlevel is arcade inspired I don’t just mean that in vague marketing/gaming critic speak. I mean that rather literally as far as the difficulty is concerned. You are unlikely to clear the game on first try. And as a whole, the title is built around a cycle of “trial and error”. Sure, you might bungle this playthrough, but you might do better on the next having learnt a thing or two. And given how quick and short the title as a whole is, even if you fail at the last hurdle it still won’t be long till you’re back there.

Bone Zone

A small in-picture display shows you where the Knight is. As well as a glowing path that will show you where they are going when you get close to them. Both are useful to help you plan your way around the maze-like levels. As well as add a certain level of fear factor to the game. For clarity, Underlevel is not a horror game. However, seeing the Knight bounding towards your team sword drawn as your skeleton leading trips over like a character from an 80s slasher movie does cause no shortage of yelps from this particular reviewer.

Well, there goes Bob…

If I am to be fair I do feel there are a couple of issues that do hold the game back. Firstly is that for a game about leading NPCs to a goal the pathfinding is rather iffy at the best of times. And whilst some of that is on me for moving too quickly. Other times a skeleton will just start walking the wrong way rather than following me down a path and then get stuck behind something. And given how in that final stage very boney body counts it can be infuriating to lose narrowly because one of the goons under your control suddenly forgot what they are doing!

Bone Storm

Of course that can always be patched out. And it can just as easily be blamed on player error as well as it can be blamed on dodgy pathfinding. As mentioned earlier, trial and error is very much at the core of the gameplay. If you can clear all of this on the first attempt then fantastic. If not then you always can learn and improve. There are no extra gameplay quirks to worry about. There is a jump button, but there is nothing that seems to need jumping over. Aside from the Knight. But I personally wouldn’t risk it. 

Do well enough and you can end that Knight in no time!

I will admit that it is hard to sing the praises of a game with gameplay this simple. This isn’t because it doesn’t deserve praise, as I feel that it is fantastic. But what you see in that opening level is what you get for the remainder of the game. So whilst I do like it I will admit that it is lacking a level of depth that some players may desire. However, I feel it is challenging enough to make up for that. And is a ton of fun from start to finish.

Graphics & Audio – Doot!

Underlevel has a cute art style and design. Whilst being somewhat retro-inspired (The Knight does feel like a nod to the cult RPG Moon from 1997) the pixel art is full of character. Which is further enhanced by some neat animations for the game’s characters. I wish there was more variety in the minions you lead. Goodness, I’d even take skeletons of different nominally different designs to add a little more flare to things. But as I say, they are still rather full of personality. Which helps to add to the charm of the design and art of the title as a whole.

You could say that Underlevel’s soundtrack is SMASHING!

When it comes to Underlevel‘s soundtrack it feels perfectly in tune with most pixel art aesthetic indie video games. It is peppy and full of energy which helps add to the tone of the adventure. And features odd flourishes of percussion to add to the skeletal feel of it. You know, because the musical instrument that best evokes skeletons is xylophones or marimbas. It is a scientific fact! Or something. Either way, I like it. It adds a cartoony charm which really gives the game more character.

Underlevel was reviewed on PC. The video featured is by Itch.io on YouTube.