I was the navigator for my wife as she played through Undernauts, a role that had me digging around the internet until I finally found a Japanese guide site that could help us with the various stopping blocks we knew we’d come across from our time with other Experience games. At some point in our playthrough, I wandered onto the page with frequently asked questions, hoping to gleam some small tips that might help us. At the top of the page, though, it was impossible to ignore a certain question, nestled right under an explanation of what type of game Undernauts is. It asked, bluntly, “Is it the usual Experience game?”

Just as bluntly, the answer given was, “You wouldn’t be mistaken in thinking so.”

It’s a harsh assessment, but a fair one, and one that I’m sure isn’t given with any sense of malice, considering I doubt anyone would want to make such an extensive resource for a game they didn’t have at least some affection for. As for myself, I can’t find much to disagree with in the guide maker’s sentiment, at least as far as the game’s mechanics go. I don’t think there’s much new Undernauts does at all to expand on Experience’s prior works outside of some quality of life changes, and I truthfully found its dungeon aesthetics to be a bit repetitive due to later areas reusing assets from earlier ones. As someone who has played a fair few of their games, it really was nothing new, almost bordering on underwhelming.

Ultimately, though, I can’t say I dislike Undernauts. In fact, I really enjoyed it, because all of the gaps left by its weaker aspects are nicely filled in by its amazing vibe. I love the concept of corporate slaves in the Japanese bubble economy diving into a fantasy hell-mine to get some inexplicable super-resource managed by an obviously evil company looking to monopolize its use. It’s a great premise for the genre, and it’s reinforced by grungy, grimy art that crosses ‘80s aesthetics with tabletop RPG rulebook art in a way that’s totally unique and memorable.

To me, Undernauts’ true strength is in being a weird melting pot of corporate nihilism, ‘80s clothing, isekai, divinity, forbidden magic, and hobbled-together technology that somehow blends all those elements together cohesively into a fairly compelling narrative and game, despite a few fumbles here and there.

Reviewed on Nov 21, 2021


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