Underkeep Review: A Turn-Based Dungeon Crawler That Nails the Old-School Feel

Underkeep arrived on PC through Steam and GOG on November 5, 2026, and it is the rare throwback that understands why people still replay 1990s dungeon crawlers. If you loved the look of Eye of the Beholder or Lands of Lore but bounced off the frantic real-time pacing, this Underkeep review is for you. Everything below is drawn from the launch build, the official Steam listing, and hands-on impressions from two creators who played the full release — so treat this Underkeep review as a launch-window snapshot of a game that is still being discovered.

Underkeep Review: The Release Details at a Glance

Rake in Grass developed and published the game, and the launch window came with a modest introductory discount rather than a full-price ask. Here is the store data exactly as it was recorded, so you can see what the launch looked like on paper.

All figures above are observed from the Underkeep page on the Steam store, captured November 6, 2026, and reflect that specific snapshot — review totals and pricing move.

A few notes that the table can't capture. The store page also lists Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud, and Family Sharing, and a $4.99 DLC pack sits alongside the base game. A Rake in Grass bundle groups Underkeep with the studio's other releases at a discount. If you want the freshest numbers rather than a frozen snapshot, check Underkeep on the Steam store directly.

Combat and Party Building: Old-School Bones, Modern Manners

Underkeep is a first-person, grid-based, party-based crawler — a blobber, if you grew up using the word. What separates it from its ancestors is that combat is entirely turn-based rather than real-time with cooldowns.

You build a party of four. You can accept a pre-built roster or roll your own; the current Steam Community player guide for app 2411200 lists Human, Dwarf, Stoneborn, Raven, Elk, and Slugman as the six launch races. Classes run from Warrior and Paladin to Ranger, Thief, Wizard, Voidcaller, and Blood Mage, with the Voidcaller functioning as the dedicated healer. Character stats can be rerolled during creation, and portraits and names are fully editable — a small thing that makes the party feel authored rather than assigned.

In a fight, your four characters act as a block, then the enemies respond. There is no visible initiative ladder to game around, which sounds like a simplification and instead plays like freedom: you decide the order your party acts in, so you can strip an enemy's health with a warrior before deciding whether the wizard needs to burn a big spell or just chip in. Each character gets one action per turn; consumables are free. Pulling a potion out of the bag mid-fight costs nothing, which makes chugging heals a legitimate tactic rather than a wasted turn.

Resource pools differ by class — mana for casters, stamina for martial characters, zeal for the paladin's generator-spender loop. Leveling hands you skill points rather than attribute points, and you can either unlock a new active ability or rank up one you already like. A rank in an ice spell might add freeze chance and damage at a higher mana cost, so the choice is a genuine trade-off. Leveling up in the field also triggers a full heal, which can save a run when a second group of enemies wanders into an ongoing fight.

Exploration, Maps, and Secrets Everywhere

The real argument for Underkeep isn't the combat — it's the poking around. The world is handcrafted rather than procedurally stitched together, moving from forests like Fangroot to swamps, towns, and multi-level dungeons, each broken into smaller sections.

The interface deserves credit here. The inventory, character frames, resource gauges, and a readable combat log all sit on one screen, so you never leave the action to rummage through menus. A minimap tracks your position constantly, and a full map screen supports a legend of icons plus user-written notes — the kind of feature that quietly saves an entire playthrough when you need to remember which locked door you swore you'd return to. There is no encumbrance system, so hoarders can loot without penalty.

Secrets are dense and generous: berries on bushes, apples in trees, dirt piles, hidden buttons, fake walls, and optional encounters. Interacting with scenery isn't filler either — it feeds experience points, which is why one reviewer admitted forgetting the main quest entirely while clicking on everything in sight.

Food exists, but not as a survival meter. It gates resting, which is how you recover health and mana, so it functions more like camping supplies than a hunger bar. Because cleared enemies don't seem to respawn, you can sweep a dungeon for secrets without watching a timer drain.

Accessibility settings are unusually thoughtful for the genre. Camera shake and movement animations can be toggled off, which one reviewer credited with making the game playable at all after years of motion sickness in first-person crawlers. Controller support is strong enough that a keyboard-and-mouse player switched to a gamepad as their default.

Difficulty, Length, and the Rough Edges

Any honest Underkeep review has to talk about the opening hours, because they are the most common complaint.

You start with almost nothing — no gear, one ability per character, and enemies that hit the entire party at once. Group-wide attacks are genuinely punishing when your only healers can't out-sustain the incoming damage, and early fights turn into potion management. The official Steam forum shows exactly how this plays out in practice: one player fell through the floor into a zombie horde and died trying to find the exit. A developer replied in the thread, recommending a thorough sweep of the surface before descending and noting that the encounter "will really put your party setup to the test." Another player's solution was to retreat into a corridor and fight the horde two at a time.

Difficulty is selectable, and the curve flattens once gear and second abilities come online. Shrines scattered through the world appear to revive fallen party members, softening the attrition somewhat.

Length estimates vary by source and playstyle. One creator cites a developer figure of roughly 15 to 20 hours for thorough players, trimming to 12 to 15 on normal if you move fast; another reports 25 to 45 hours after a normal-difficulty completion. Community reports land between those poles depending on how much optional content you chase.

Underkeep Review: The Verdict

For $22.95 at launch, Underkeep is one of the easier recommendations in the genre. One hands-on creator scored it 9 out of 10 and called it worth picking up without hesitation; another named it their personal game of the year and a genuine entry point for players who have never touched a turn-based crawler.

The caveats are real but narrow. It is not a story-driven RPG — the narrative is thin by design, closer to Wizardry than to a modern CRPG — and the party you build is the party you keep. If you need sprawling skill trees or a bench full of swap-in companions, you'll feel the ceiling. If you want a handcrafted world that rewards curiosity, a combat system that lets you think, and a map you can scribble on, this is exactly the game.

Newcomers should start on a lower difficulty and resist the urge to fight everything early. Veterans should crank it up, hoard food, and read every wall.

FAQ

Is Underkeep a real-time or turn-based dungeon crawler? It's fully turn-based. Your party of four acts as a block, then the enemies take their turn. Movement through the grid-based world is also stepped rather than fluid, so there's no twitch element anywhere.

How long is an Underkeep review playthrough? Reports differ: one creator cites 15 to 20 hours for a thorough run, another estimates 25 to 45 hours. Expect a 15-to-20-hour baseline and considerably more if you hunt every secret and side quest.

Is Underkeep good for someone new to dungeon crawlers? Yes, according to both launch impressions. The built-in tutorial, clean interface, and toggleable animation settings make it far more approachable than 1990s crawlers, and the turn-based structure removes the pressure of real-time positioning.

What's the most common complaint in an Underkeep review? The early-game difficulty spike. Before you have gear and a second ability per character, enemies with party-wide attacks can overwhelm your healing, especially on Hard. Explore the surface thoroughly before heading underground.