Underrail: The Incline Awakens

It just looks like that, there's a lot of content packed into it. Institute sprawls into multiple extra locations and features many quests, and factions you join lead you into new places and quests in Lower Underrail, as well as feature some complicated scripted events and choices. (Final quest for Protectorate is glorious.).
And if you like caves, no worries, you will get more caves later.

...more, more caves.

In terms of design and content, I liked Upper Underrail. I liked how things became more packed into one, how dialogue began to feature more details, and lots of interaction with NPCs (who suddenly got some resemblance of character and I began to remember their names and where they were) was a great change of pace from all the spelunking before for me.
In contrast, I hated locations like Foundry. They're like from Fallout 1 - huge, but feature like 1 main quest and a few side distractions (murderwaifu being best of them).
Only problem is that a thread of game plot if there ever was any just vanished somewhere and there was no Ariadne to help me find it again.

 

I like Upper Underrail, it is manageable. Also it makes sense to me it is smaller, or towns would be there and not in Lower Underrail. Maybe it was very unstable at first and most of it abandoned for Lower Underrail.

 

The areas themselves look very good (at least those I've seen so far). It's just the connecting tunnels make that it feel a bit small and cramped.
Of course one can always just assume that you walk through lots of empty tunnels in between the maps that are in the game - especially since many exits between the maps don't align with each other.

Just came across a "funny" exploit:
When changing between maps with blue connections while in combat, the players turn continues and his AP are filled up again.
I had a few enemies close to one blue exit and cold fight them without any way for them to fight back while I kept switching the map and popped them one after another.

 

Underrail sure could use some of that great abstracting of player's character crawling through miles of same boring space of wasteland/swordcoast/caves. Realistic scale and map design is great during honeymoon of the game when everything is new, interesting and dangerous, and you are short on supplies, but late game, when you search for yet another forgotten science complex and visit lower caves second time, then third time, without map, fast travel and with respawning pigs it loses its charm.
I dread second playthrough, and I know I still want one, or even two, at least to try psionics and play anarchist JC Denton with stealth device, taser and crossbow who would leave no women restroom unchecked and no computer console unhacked.

One thing that world map would have reinforced if it was in the game, btw, is the feel of connectivity. Not only it would have helped newbs and late game players, but if you could see the map of locations you explored and tunnels&rails that connect locations together, you could appreciate the design and scale of work done much better. System Shock 2-like stylized graphical maps would fit this game perfectly.

They're majestic, especially Insitute. It's as elegant as some of Arcanum's sprites like technomagic castles. I can't believe indie game looks like that. It doesn't look that much worse than PoE, and AoD in comparison to UR is just a brown turd (aside from a few late game or secret locations).
This oldschool colorful animated graphics, little fireflies in caves, computer consoles, and dreadnaught animation for example when you exit it... I just want to hug it like pretty cartoon and lick my monitor.
And the lighting in this game... not that long ago I noticed that character portrait gets darker or brighter and goes through lighting effects. That's attention to detail. Also a hint for stealthy types I guess.

Only 2 things really bother me: the camera imo is set too high, and some pieces of world, by just changing their huehue in Photoshop to different tone, could have been used to change visuals of caves easily (like, change them to brownish and use for Deep Caves to give those tunnels more unique look, or mix and mash like blocks in Minecraft, earth corridors changing to stone and so on).

 

I did find it slightly odd that the Tchortists have a huge number of quests that really fill out the player's knowledge and expectations of what the faction is actually about, and yet in the end you have to turn on them regardless. I'm not a hundred percent sure but I believe they have one of the highest amount of quests tied to a single faction.

I was quite taken with them (as anyone could probably tell from my username) and the forced choice of turning on them felt like a wasted opportunity. Even if there was just a simple cutscene like joining the Master in Fallout 1 where you become an unthinking tentacle monster or whatever, it would have at least facilitated the choice of actually wanting to stick with the Tchortists.

Like you, I thought their ideals made a lot of sense. I guess I was expecting a kind of binary "Faceless vs Tchortist, mechanical vs biological" type of thing where only one is the answer to the problem of "how do we venture into the future" and it was up to the player to decide which they thought was correct.

 

So can't join Tchort and as I understand the Faceless will want my head too just because I killed that one with Buzzer (which seems pretty stupid to me).

Guess I'll just just shoot everyone in the face then.

 

I didn't expect a binary choice, more like a continuation of what player character is in the game. During the game, you can bond with SGS, get a house and position in one of Core City factions, support one of 2 other major factions, just by accident join Institute while serving as double agent who in dialogue can act hateful toward Tchorists, tell them you like them or just act like a dork, or even tell at some places that you're just traveling and searching for loot. Also judging by some secret mechanics and consequences, you can become a friend of Faceless.
It only makes sense that after all this SGS is not the only place that you'd want to support or end game in union with.
In my opinion, everything after talking to Eidein should be remade entirely. Who attacks Institute or helps you get into Deep Caverns should depend on factions you joined with in Upper Underrail. And what happens in Deep Caverns should entirely depend on how you acted on the surface.

As for now game makes same mistake AoD did with it's own Cthulhu, but even at release, AoD supported player's choice of character and factions a lot more. You could even join big bad. And there were 2 or 3 ways of reaching him too.
It's funny how different developers for games that are completely not the same and focus on different things decide to end their games in same way, which is really a wrong way (Last Plot Tunnel Rush and Boss TM) to end RPG with freedom, choices, factions and so on.

Also I want to help Gorsky with his base. Guy got one of the most badass moments in the game, and then... nothing. Door just gets locked and that's it. Man.

 

I think

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that base could've been another money sink. It'd be nice to re-build it and gain a foothold in city. For SGS or yourself.

 

That would have been a lot more interesting way of spending resources than throwing them away on unique type of curtains in a house that is not even located close to shops or quick travel, sure.

 

I killed all the Faceless at Rail Crossing but they were still neutral towards me at the end.

 

Really? Maybe I misunderstood but I was under the impression that if you kill the mind reader guy that's holding Buzzer prisoner somehow they'll now and hate you forever.

 

They were neutral to me. I believe it goes like this:

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there are 3 events with them depending on which they shoot you, not shoot you, allow to pass (neutral) or help you:
- Avoid or shoot them at Buzzers
- Leave them at peace or kill at Foundry for Chief
- Spare or kill Faceless prisoner in Core City (never meeting guy counts as not killing him)
Do all 3 friendly to them and you get good rep - you also meet prisoner at Institute and he warns you about invasion
Make one kill and it's neutral I believe
Waste them and they shoot your ass

I killed them at Buzzers, didn't meet prisoner and allowed them to leave at Foundry, which got me neutral rep

 

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I killed all Faceless at Buzzer. Saved the faceless prisoner in CC and in Foundry I told them the Cube they are looking for was stolen by Tchort's fanatics (hoping I could get two sides to kill each other).
As a result I was warned in Institute that their invasion is coming and that I should get out (which I did but not into the deep caverns but nothing happens - the game waits until you get access to the lift). Once in DC they asked me to talk to their leader (but before that I already talked to Tchortists and got their quest to spy on Faceless so talking to leader of Faceless turns all of them hostile but they don't mind me walking everywhere through their area if I never talk to their leader)

 

That's actually a great point. I think I got too wrapped up in the possible moral quandary of the two extremes to realise that the other factions still existed.

I haven't finished the game yet but

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is SGS the only place/faction you can champion in the ending? I feel like a single distinct ending per the player's favourite faction could be quite satisfying. More work for a sequel (please let there be a sequel!) but I can't imagine it'd be too strenuous due to the lack of voice acting.

 

Me neither, but it's the only faction whos quest moves the main plot and serves as motivation for player in dialogue and moves his choices. It's not like you can show them middle finger during the game, break their chain of quests and, say, waste them/annex them for Protectorate. Aside from just shooting Tanner, but I haven't tried that.

Btw, for people who played Protectorate, a question:

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What happens if you turn into mutant and stay like that?

 

Now I'll ask again: Is anybody from THE KODEX doing a fair, objective and tasteful review of this?

 

I'm actually considering it. Have to complete the game first. Not 7 times, I'm not that kind of guy.
No promise, though, because fuck you.

 

Blaine, the no.1 underrail fanboy, slamming it hard in a review? That would be journalistic integrity on a level not seen in the internets. Or in traditional media, come think of it.

 

there's always that one guy who doesn't realize that bubbles is a troll..

 

I've been replaying my DC entrance and voila - even if I killed Buzz, other 2 friendly actions made them cooperate with me.
Sadly what I learned from them just made me more dissapointed in how Tchortists got handled in the game

I was also hoping to see some sort of majestic gem of a Faceless city, but instead it's just some outposts and caves. Maybe it would be hard to make another big hub, but it would have been more fun than writing down mechanical parts to fix some gate.

 

I could do a review. 175 post release hours and a middling grasp of the English language is all I bring to the table though.

 

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How do I finish the Foundry quest? I went to hear what they want and reported to the chief, but the quest is still not marked as finished. Think I talked to all the merchants (exceot the one I can't unlock due to no persuation/mercantile), killed the Acid Hunters and saw the Tchortists steal it but can't report this to the Faceless.)

 

Not sure, might be bug. I did it in different order - first finished whole Core City, learned everything, then did Foundry. Spoke to Chief, went to see Faceless, told them everything, got reward.
Did you do Balor quest?

 

Got a new areana nickname this playthrough: Crosshair. Lame?