Hi, all! This is my first game review on the channel so please bear with me as I figure out how to format these and what to say and cover to both explain my personal review and recommend if someone should buy it. I hope you enjoy it! I know it's long winded--but that's being a professor for you haha ;) If you want to watch my full Let's Play of the ENTIRE Underrail experience, then go here for 210+ episodes of fun ^_^ 📃FULL UNDERRAIL PLAYLIST: ru-vid.com/group/PLLZqXZAwfuGdbDZnP97uGL-ncOwh0pC6D Thank you so much for watching!
Great review Doc. Only thing I disagree on is the soundtrack. I loved it myself. It really adds to the atmosphere of the game. Some of the tracks in Deep Caverns for example really add to the feeling of loneliness, mystery and bleakness. Loved Josh Cullers Neo Scavenger soundtrack too but this is his best work Agree with everything else though Great review
Wow. A lot of feedback in the comment section concerning the graphics portion of the review. As a long time player of traditional roguelikes I find the graphics just fine for the game. It's part of the charm. I definitely would not recommend Underrail for my friends or family just because the ones that do play games I know wouldn't enjoy it. For strangers, I'd definitely recommend it with very specific caveats including someone who enjoys a more harsh and unforgiving experience.
Haha, great points! I too am fine with the graphics. It's definitely a hard game, so you have to know that going in, and there are very few QoL features, but the experience overall is tremendous if you like a great story with your min/max RPG :D
Agree with you about the graphical aesthetics and that the UI could be improved a bit, but I've actually gotten used to the clunky controls and dated graphics of the old Fallouts and Baldur's Gate games so this is not a problem for me. However, i could imagine that some modern gamers who do not grow up with games of that era may be put off by Underrail because of it. But i play games for the story and not graphics, and Underrail is top notch in its storytelling, more so with the expanded lore in the Expedition DLC.
I agree with your review, especially with the controls it's a lot left to be desired, I got the game back in mid 2019 and although my skill curve has increased. I'll sometimes still make misclicks and mistakes being somewhat frustrating. Otherwise I enjoy this game alot.
Awesome! So glad we see eye to eye my friend ;) I agree--it's frustrating making a mis-click or a miscalculation and getting punished for it. I had to dock a few points for this but I still think the game is great!
Interesting idea! Yeah, I kind of put mechanics into the gameplay section but a separate section is certainly viable. I agree: Underrail has a great character development system and the combat mechanics and character advancement mechanics are fantastic.
Hey Doc, first time watching a video of yours and really enjoyed the review. Most of these seem to be based on their love/hate relation to the game instead of a 'less biased' opinion of the features presented on the game as a whole. I would like to add a few things: the DLC brings so many things to the base game that even if you don't play the campain itself, it's still worth having it. I'd give its graphics a lower score (the game is ugly even compared to the 90s stuff, not that it matters much), and a higher score on Sounds, ambient noises were great and immersive, and Josh Cullen's OST were great as always. Nitpickings aside, really enjoyed the video and this is a really good introduction to the game (loved how you didn't spoil anything). Take care of yourself too!
Hello! Thanks so much for your kind words! I did really enjoy this game :) Your comments are very fair about the graphics, sound, and the DLC. You take care as well! ;)
Instead of graphics, rate aesthetics? It's kinda funny to me that your "neutral/decent" is 8/10. From that metric a "terrible" would be around 5/10. What would it take to get a 0/10? This is why I prefer the scoring methods of psychological tests (each "question" adds or removes from the total score so, instead of an arbitrary 10, you get a score that depends on how many questions on the subject there are). Didn't really check your play through of this game, maybe I'll give it a try.
Haha, good idea on graphics. I effectively do rate it as aesthetics in this case, but keep the terminology of most game reviews. 8/10 isn't just neutral! That is 7/10 which is average, as I give to control. 8 is good! I totally get you on evaluating in a different manner, but I'm from academia so letter grading just makes sense, haha. It's hard to grade a large pool of items with a shifting scale, you create a single rubric you can apply to streamline and codify the process. I think the outcome is more relatable to viewers when they see a score out of 100 or a letter grade, generally.
@@DrIncompetent yeah, I agree that a standardized grading process is more easily understood, but it's also something I'm highly critical of, even in school settings. It often comes down to "what grade am I getting" to students, rather than "what did I understand". Also, why isn't "average" the mathematical average (5)? When I was creating grading rubrics (esl teacher uni course), I was always irked by the "minimum expected" being 6/10, and mostly the only way to get under that was to either not do the assignment, or being completely off subject, or being 5 years behind on your understanding. It makes sense in say, a math exam: we expect you to understand at least 60% of the questions. Never quite found it applicable for language or, in the case of this video, rating art. But yeah, the average person hasn't thought too much into this.
Totally--this is a great point on the grading system. I think it can be used effectively to quantify something more abstract like, "was this a successful essay" and in this case "game" but it has many pitfalls. I'm approaching it as a way to consistently evaluate the games I play so I can have some frame for this analysis, but it's all very subjective. It's a work in progress haha
Looking forward to a hard playthrough by Dr. Competency-Adjacent. :) If you do more reviews in the future it's probably good to have 'gameplay' as a separate category. Will you release the post-Tchort video? Underrail does have an actual ending with a Fallout-esque slide show an' all and, mutant ending aside, there are two ways to officially end Underrail by hopping on a train...or not.
Great point on game play! I kind of do some of it in controls (playing the game) and then fun (how the game plays) haha if that makes sense. I will make that more clear--good idea! Oh yes--I'm finishing as much as possible. A new episode will post today!
I'd say you should give it a shot for sure if you love Fallout 1 etc. Haha, it's so wild that we have so many games that I, like you, have a bunch on my list I know I will enjoy and I just can't get to. An embarrassment of riches! ;) Good time to be a gamer...
Got this game in part because of your beginner guide. I'm about 15 hours in and doing very well. I like this hardcore tactical rpg. However, I have to say, I think you are far too diplomatic regarding your critique of the control scheme, personally lol, which I respect buuut... . This is hot garbage and I don't think being a european indie company is good reason not to call it like it is. All actions only get single binds, control binds don't accept special keys, the ui is lacking a lot of basic qualities (sorting inventory like you said, but even proper ui scale increments, or being able to resize windows and move windows around). The interface is just lacking in some really basic shit, which in no way should compromise the vision of this game if it had incorporated those things. And don't even get me started on the janky ass combat ui and the lack of undoing mistakes (which were inflicted by the junky ui) or confirmation prompts and etc. No, underrail, I did NOT want to walk all the way to the gate that the rathound is standing next to and do nothing instead of shooting my crossbow at the rat. Thanks underrail, time to reload my save. Blejjjhh. /rant Sorry, I'm done. Overall, I appreciate the review and the recommend. Really enjoying so far.
Haha, trust me--I totally feel you. I gave the score in retrospect after completing it and feeling very good about the game. But this was after I had accepted the game's limitations with the UI and such. On the LP of the game you will hear me get VERY salty indeed when I walk to nowhere and run out of AP and have to reload etc haha. I tend to be generous overall with reviews and wear rose-colored glasses so I don't think you are off the mark ;) It's still a fantastic game but they could go a long way in the QoL department for sure ;)
Haha, thanks ;) I hope it is useful and reflects well on my experience with the game. It's my first game review on the channel, so I'm not sure how to do these haha.
Graphics are extremely generous, graphics were bad. Forget triple A, the magical effects from bg1/2 were better than the psionics in this game, FAR better, and this is way older. So no, bs, 1-4/10 for me.
