UnderRail

Underrail is an amazing CRPG probably the best modern CRPG on the market right now but the game is filled with frustrating gameplay and long back tracks that prevent me from giving this game a 10/10 at the moment.

Since i havent finished the game i will keep this review very short and update it once i actually finish the darn thing but for now i think im gonna take a break from the game and try other things. Whilst i love to get lost in an rpg and spend a lot of time doing all the quest and building the best character etc, there is also a large part of me thats saying "lets stop, youre wasting your time here" and the more time i spend on the game the more that feeling grows. Ive spent 70 hours on the same character which is insane! this game is absolutely huge. I have about 200 hours in morrowind and for that game ive done at the very least 10-15 characters. But with this game it seems like there is no end, and they are currently making a 3rd dlc that will expand the game further.

I estimate it would take me maybe 100 hours to complete the game along with the expidition dlc (but im probably wrong). In any case Underrail as a game is excellent but flawed

The character optimization is incredible and you can make a build on pretty much anything. The game takes a lot of inspiration from other games as well, not just the early fallout games but a lot of it comes from System shock with the psi-abilities and the ammo system coming directly from that game. This leads to a lot of customization and that is probably the strongest aspect of the game.

The rng is the worst. As with any CRPG or JRPG the rng usually always sucks because when you spend an ungodly amount of time in the game like me you get annoyed every time you miss a 95% shot. Its part of the game but its awful and its one of the main reasons im not giving this game a perfect score.

The other is funnily enough the writing which honestly i have very mixed feelings about. I dont really care about the story in this game and the dialog options arent too my liking either. The main story is boring and the enemies you face are boring as well. I liked the oligarchs who ruled over Core city, that part of the game was fun and i liked that writing but my godness there is just too much text. The only character i wasnt bored out of my mind talking too was Dude, and he has by far the greatest quest in not just this game but probably out of any game. I wont spoil that part but it is probably my favourite all time quest.


The game is BIG with capital letters, so expect your playthrough to take 100 hours at the very least. Im not the biggest fan of doing 2nd playthroughs so il see where the game takes me. I might revisit and add or remove things from this review when i do finish the game but for now, i want to take a break and do other things with my life than sit for 5 hours a day playing this game

NOTE: I have not played this game since 2016 and since then there's been an update that, if I played it, might iron out some of the issues I had.

Underrail is a special beast.

While it's clearly a throwback to Fallout and that era of computer RPGs, it's both an update on that formula and it's own new thing, like it took a lot of influence from other kinds of games.

One of my favourite aspects is how the game uses real-time action for out of combat, and a time-unit based strategy mode for in combat. It's very cool and makes the game feel very active even with its turn-based approach.

This game has a lot of stats and mechanics and you may need a guide to get into it, but the informational barrier to entry is pretty low. Once I did a good read-up on all the mechanics and used a guide to select a build, I was good! Even with all the cogs and gears in this game's systems, they don't feel extraneous or overwhelming. It's a very rich experience that's hard to dislike, and that's why I recommend Underrail.

There are, however, some major problems that keep it from being astoundingly good– one being the game's content (and I hate using that word) is lacking. There's not a lot of quests and exploration is often unrewarding. I can't even remember most of the story. Overall, I found the plot pretty weak up until the final act. The story isn't a highlight.