While Unexplored finds itself in plenty of company on Nintendo Switch - the console is currently inundated with various takes on the procedurally generated roguelite - Ludomotion’s cyclic experience manages to offer something a little bit different. Yes, it’s top-down. Yes, it’s a dungeon crawler. And yes, it’s permadeathed up to the nines, but beneath those ubiquitous terms lies some treasure worth searching for.
Procedural generation, as we know, can be something of a poisoned chalice for roguelites. Randomised dungeons can yield clever combinations of curious corridors, treasure-filled chambers and enemies aplenty, but by the same token they can also serve up dull and uninspiring designs that make exploring their worlds a bore and a chore. Unexplored offers a refreshing alternative to this in the form of cyclic dungeon generation.
So rather than building a web of explorable branches, Unexplored constructs every unique map in an interconnected circle. It’s a neat approach as it ensures every locked door you encounter has another accessible exit point or switch nearby. With a map that fills itself in as you push further, you never feel like you’re lost or that you’ve traipsed halfway across a dungeon only to find yourself swearing loudly in an empty dead end. Each map has a set of steps that lead down to the next level in the Dungeon of Doom, and you can ascend and descend as you please once you’ve found each one.
Of course, just because each floor map flows naturally doesn’t mean every map is particularly engaging. It’s the curse that follows every game that relies on a form of procedural generation, and it affects Unexplored just as much as you’d expect. Some floors can be jam-packed with enemies, while others feel barren and uninhabited. It’s an issue that can affect the game’s difficulty as well, with floors throwing you into almost unwinnable scenarios while others fizzle out due to underpowered encounters.
However, when Unexplored’s myriad parts come together, it gels with a synchronicity that rewards dedicated explorers and patient warriors. Its combat model isn’t made for fast and intense battles; instead, it opts for a more balanced experience that requires you to use distance and angles to defeat your enemies. This tactical edge provides a welcome new dimension to the classic dungeon crawler, although the slower pace it demands won’t be for everyone.
You can carry up to two weapons at one time, with each one locked to ‘RZ’ and ‘LZ’ respectively. As befits the game’s simple top-down aesthetic, you carry your weapons in front of you, with each tool offering a different kind of strike. Spears offer greater distance when thrust forwards, but it can leave you open to attacks from the side. Daggers can bleed enemies quick but require close-quarters use. While originally designed for PC, mapping character movement to the left analog stick and aiming to the right makes for a balanced experience that ensures if you do die (which you will, often), it’s almost never because of a lack of dexterity and control. The menus (which you bring up with 'L' and 'R' can be a little clumsy with the Joy-Cons, but they're far from unusable.
It does have its downsides, specifically the brief cooldown that you have to endure everytime you swipe your primary weapon. From swords that arc around your avatar to daggers that can be flung for ranged griefing, that tiny cooldown window can make the more intense battles - where you're mobbed by a group of knife-wielding kobolds or a swarm of angry bees - a frustrating exercise. Switching to your secondary weapon (which can also be a shield, should you find or forge one) can help mitigate this but the same cooldown mechanic applies, so without any form of dash or evade move you have to rely on a careful use of the right stick to defend or attack successfully.
There’s also an impressive amount of customisation to contend with. You can play through three difficulty levels, a well as taking on the hardcore Desolate mode or the much more forgiving and action-packed Arcade mode (ideal for players that are newer to this kind of game). You can even customise your cycloptic hero, or just generate his particulars at random. This being a roguelite, permadeath will linger behind every ambush or poorly-timed strike. And while it’s frustrating to lose all the weapons you’ve forged or the potions you’ve collected, you will retain your gold so you can spend it on hints at the opening tavern or buy some extra basic supplies. There are also in-game perks you can permanently unlock should you perform a certain challenge during a run, adding more incentive beyond the danger of permadeath.
The main game is bolstered by three DLC packs - the LOTR-esque Mithril Run, the Aliens-style Ripley Run and the Cthulu-channelling Dark Ritual - so there’s extra content to crawl through should the endless nature of Unexplored ever fail to captivate. These packs were free on PC, but regardless, it’s great to have every bit of extra stuff collated into the same package on Switch.
The loading times before the start of each run take a little too long to complete on Switch, but once that bar has finally filled it doesn’t take long to traverse through each successive floor. There are occasional moments where the game will briefly pause as its engine generates more sections of the map for you to explore, and while this is annoying, it usually occurs outside of combat.
Conclusion
While its overly simplistic art style isn’t going to linger long in the memory, Unexplored's unusual approach to balancing combat and map generation certainly will. There’s very little story here to be had, but like any great dungeon crawler, the real adventure is the one you write yourself. With plenty of scope for weaponsmithing and all plenty of permanent perks to unlock to help negate the sting of its permadeath, Unexplored: Unlocked Edition offers danger and delight in equal measure.
Comments 24
NintendoWorldReport slammed that game... I would say I'd wait for more reviews, but I'm not really interested in this in the first place.
I wish there was a full-on Roguelike on Switch, something akin to Sword of the Stars: The Pit or Dungeons of Dredmor. I know there's a Touhou one, but it doesn't look too good.
I just need a demo and I'm ready to give it a go. The view over the character is a bit strange for me.
Stupid question #383: Does this have anything to do with UnEpic?
@SmaggTheSmug
It's clear he didn't get the game. he tried to take on all combat, when sometimes it's better to not engage and even move on. The tutorial even mentions not all battles are worth taking on
Sound and music is only in mono in this game, as always, Nintendo Life doesn't mention technical issues.
I've had a few crashes too though. My one main complaint about it.
@SmaggTheSmug I don't really trust NWR reviews. They pump out so many reviews, I'm sceptical of how much time they actually spend playing the games.
@MJ1200 That may be responsible for reducing considerably the immersion factor. I say that because I always play undocked with headphones. Other people may disagree
@Radbot42 Does that mean this is such an old school game that maybe it's broken?
I don’t trust NWR either having read their reviews. They let their personal bias infect their reviews, docking points for genres of music they don’t like and the such.
NWR gave North a 9
@MJ1200 There seems to be an issue with the sound and music, they are not fully behaving as intended. We're looking into to this. This should be patched out soon. (I'm the composer on Unexplored)
I’ve been LOVING this. First time I’ve played a roguelike with foreshadowing of events on future floors which builds a real sense of narrative. It’s crammed with nice touches but there are a few bugs. All I can say is that it’s kept me away from Dead Cells and Salt and Sanctuary for a couple of days now...
Here is another decent review: https://nindienexus.net/unexplored-switch-review/
@evanac Were experiencing the same thing! Before this came out, I was tangled up between dead cells and salt and sanctuary and then this came out and I cannot put it down. The game is great! People on the fence just get this game, it will take you over quickly...
@OorWullie I just watched a review they posted today on You Tube and it was pretty unprofessional. It's like they weren't ready for the Switch success and didn't retrofit their staff accordingly.
Crawling in the dark. Rats in a maze.
@SmaggTheSmug
I'm sorry, but you do not know what you are talking about.
Unexplored isn't a roguelike. The two games that you cited are not roguelikes either.
So do a little research before post, ok?
@Lina-MG um, I played Sword of the Stars: The Pit quite a bit. It's very much a roguelike, though one with graphics. Unless you're a purist that needs something looking like ADOM (which I also like a lot) to count as roguelike.
I'm expressing my desire to have a full on roguelike on Switch.
I will absolutely get this....as soon as the dev patches some of the issues. Once that patch drops, proving that they care about polishing the game up, I'm all in.
So it's a procedurally-generated permadeath roguelike with dual analog controls and long loading times? Man, it's like they were trying to make a game as annoying as possible! All they'd need to do is throw in escort missions, a death timer and/or hunger gauge, and isometric platforming, and they'd have accounted for just about every notable archaically frustrusting gameplay mechanic out there. This is a big fat NOPE.
The review is pretty much spot in. I like dungeon crawlers but the die and start over style , to me, crosses the line between challenging and frustration. It's especially bad since in many of the rooms you've got about the snowballs chance of surviving. If I was designing a game like this I'd at least allow the gamer save points if they so desired or not if they don't. If you like perma death games that's fine but one of the old rules of game design is don't punish the player.
@BulbasaurusRex The loading times aren't a game breaker especially for what it has to set up. But the permadeath coupled with how easy it is to die spoils the fun.
@Socrfan - only recently. Lots of older games made it their mission to punish you as hard as they could, then force you to cough up some more 20p's !
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