Underrail

Gameplay

Underrail is an old school isometric role-playing game focused on combat and exploration. It features tactical turn based combat, a vast underground world to explore, extensive character customization possibilities and a detailed item crafting system. Many different playstyles are allowed by the character customization options. The player controls a single character, whose development and interactions with the game world are the focus of the gameplay.

The game's ruleset is mainly inspired by Fallout's SPECIAL system and later editions of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). It is a classless system with multiple levels of customization. Base ability scores determine a character's core potential, skills represent a character's linear progression in specific skills and feats can grant new abilities, provide passive bonuses or alter a character's existing abilities. The turn-based combat system is similar to Fallout's with more options added on top of it, such as the use of special abilities, psionics and more combat utilities. The system is intended to provide many combat options and unique playstyles.

Setting

The game is set far in future where Earth's surface has been uninhabitable for a long time and the remaining humans live in the eponymous Underrail metro network, where conflicting factions struggle violently to survive in the harsh underground conditions. The most scarce resources in Underrail are food and living space. There is also a greater background plot concerning the nature of time, but the game is mostly about the inhabitants of Underrail, their politics, strife and the dangers of Underrail itself.

Story

The player takes on the role of a new member to one of the stations on the fringe of Underrail. The player character starts as a blank slate, allowing the player to develop him or her as preferred. The story is narrated primarily through dialogue with non-player characters inhabiting the world of Underrail. The player is positioned to side with different competing factions in their battle to annex stations.

Development

Game engine development for Underrail begun in late 2008. The game's custom engine and development tools are built using C#, Microsoft's .NET 4.0 framework and XNA Game Studio 4.0. The game has been in full-time development since late 2009 and it was known as Timelapse Vertigo during its pre-alpha and earlier development stages. Prior to Steam early access release, most of the development work including design, programming, writing and graphics excluding character models and title screen, was done by Dejan Radisic. Since its initial demo version release in 2012, updated versions of Underrail have been released roughly every three or four months. These updates and development progress between releases are detailed on the developer's publicly accessible development logs.

The alphafunding model is used to completely finance the game's development, with no additional crowdfunding campaigns. Sales on Steam early access allowed expansion of the development team from one full-time developer to a team of three developers. Character models and music of the game are created by freelance artists and the game uses royalty-free sound effects purchased from online sound libraries.

The first trailer for Underrail was released on March 11, 2013, showcasing alpha version gameplay footage. Second trailer for Underrail was released on August 6, 2014, showcasing gameplay footage from the game's most recent alpha version update.

Release

On August 22, 2012, a demo of Underrail was released on IndieDB. On December 6, 2012, an alpha version became available on both Desura and GamersGate digital distribution platforms, and on September 24, 2013, alpha version became available as an early access title on the Steam store as well.

The complete game was released on December 18, 2015.