Playing Underrail is like being in an abuse relationship. I know that sounds bad! But every once in awhile (when it's not hitting you with a sock full of coins) it decides to coddle you with amazing lore. Let you rest your head on it's great writing. Enthralls you with it's detailed and expansive world! Then it throws physic junkie in your face to keep you on your toes. Everytime you think you're out it'll pull you back in. This plays like a CLASSIC RPG, very old too. No hand holding, and ALL numbers based. But that comes with so much freedom to make a build that it becomes beautiful. Want to hit people with hammers? That works! Want to be sneaky? Surpringly good steath system! Anything works, but fair warning the game will let you know when something doesn't work. It's not a forgiving game at all, and you probably will fail a lot. The story, characters, and lore are worth it though. It's a very unique world that scratches that classic Fallout and Archanum itch. There's a lot of freedom when it comes to combat and equipment too. Pretty much any weapon, armor, or throwable in the game can be crafted. There's a LOT of variation for equipement as well. Oh and skill checks will matter here. So it makes every playthrough a little different. One encounter might be a breeze in one run but be pretty tricky the next. Only problem might be the graphics. While it is really good pixel art, you might expect more in this day and age. Then again this whole thing was made by like one guy so cut em some slack. It's a hard game to get into and can be confusing as well. There is pretty steep learning curve but don't worry, you're not alone. I HIGHLY suggest using a pre built guide from online for your first playthrough because trust me there are a lot of fun builds, but there are also a lot of WRONG builds that will just ruin your time. So do a pre built character, it'll save you some headache. One last thing is, don't be afraid to use a guide at the last part of the game. Trust me.
To say this is an RPG is some what of a lie. It's VERY railroaded honestly. So many quests require these scripted events to even complete them and once you finish the game four times you realize that really every faction only has a handful of unique quests or ways to complete them. Pretty much everything boils down to good option or bad option. It's not like you're really punished either way too. This could be due to the complete gutting of the stat and dialogue system. Yeah spoiler, here's every dialogue option in Fallout 4. Yes, No, Sarcastic (Yes), Question (Yes). Fallout 4 gives you the illusion of choice. In reality you can't do squat without doing it in a very specific order. Also don't even get me started on retconns and pretty terrible factions. It's honestly really lazy and just goes to show that Bethesda really can't see Fallout past power armor and super mutants. That's the hate part of this relationship. The love part is the amazing gameplay loop, looting, and exploration. Bethesda somehow delivers more intruiging stories through enviroment than through their actual main campaign. It's very fun to have to scrap from rescources and find new weapons or gear. Not the mention the combat is very fun. My suggestion is to ignore the main story and just explore every avliable area that you can. Pretend you don't have a family at all! Trust me it's better this way. If you don't care about previous Fallout games then yeah this is a good game to get. Easy and fun to get into. If you're a hardcore Fallout fan then this game might dissapoint you.
Now THIS is how a remake should be made. It's the best of both worlds, keeping many aspects that made the original Shock iconic while updating the graphics and adding quality of life stuff. Game really does look amazing, and they managed to keep the feel of the original. Even enhance it in some places. All the weapons feel and sound great. The enemies are challenging but fair. SHODAN is amazing and what every main big bad should strive to be. Only complaint I have is how the game is sort of confusing at time, esspicially if you don't pay attention to audio logs too often (like me). I honestly suggest putting the story on diffculity 1 on first playthrough so you get some help. Other than that, take your time and explore throughly. There are secrets all over the station. Have fun insect.
