Swords and Sorcery Underworld
- December 14, 2015
- OlderBytes
- 20h median play time
Get on Steam"Swords and Sorcery - Underworld: Definitive Edition" is a party-based RPG with turn-based combat and a 3D environment. The game features abstract yet tactical combat, with positioning and timing playing a key role. Characters can develop various abilities and strengths based on their class, and there are 40 spells to discover. Over 100 illustrated enemies, each with unique abilities, provide varied challenges.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a nostalgic experience for fans of classic dungeon crawlers like Bard's Tale, Might and Magic, and Wizardry, with engaging gameplay and a solid turn-based combat system.
- Character customization is robust, allowing players to create a diverse party with various classes and abilities, enhancing replayability and strategic depth.
- The exploration and puzzle-solving elements are well-designed, providing a satisfying challenge that rewards careful planning and resource management.
- The game suffers from significant difficulty spikes, especially in the early stages, where players can easily be overwhelmed by enemies, leading to frustration.
- Technical issues such as freezing and crashes have been reported, which can disrupt gameplay and detract from the overall experience.
- The interface and graphics may feel clunky and outdated to some players, lacking the polish of modern titles, which could deter newcomers to the genre.
- graphics39 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the hand-drawn, comic book-style artwork and colorful monster portraits, while others criticize the outdated and repetitive dungeon visuals, clunky interface, and lack of variation. Although the game captures the nostalgic feel of classic RPGs, many players feel that the graphics do not meet modern standards and could benefit from more detail and creativity. Overall, while the art style has its charm, it may not appeal to those seeking contemporary graphical fidelity.
“The graphics are rendered in great detail, with plot scenes being shown with static full screen brightly colored comic book-style art.”
“The graphics are hand-drawn and colorful, almost comic-book style art.”
“The graphics are quite nice; it looks better than the old DOS dungeon crawlers.”
“If you're fond of DirectX 6 visuals, I can only recommend this game when it's on sale and less than a dollar as a laughable experiment.”
“The graphics are outdated even for a small budget game.”
“Finally, the artwork seems to have been scaled somewhat awkwardly up to 1920x1080 and has some scaling artifacts.”
- story20 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The story is a classic old-school dungeon crawler narrative, where players embark on an epic quest to defeat evil, exploring various cities, gaining allies, and tackling unique dungeons filled with monsters and puzzles. While the main storyline is engaging and well-paced, some players find it somewhat shallow, with repetitive battle tactics and uncomplicated side quests. Overall, the game appeals to fans of traditional fantasy RPGs, offering an immersive experience despite its simplicity.
“By the time your quest is complete, you'll have explored several cities, gained the support of dwarfs and elves, traveled the elemental planes, and saved the world.”
“The storyline has good pacing with just enough quests to keep you moving, but not so many that you've got a lot of loose ends.”
“For those of us who still enjoy the old style of gaming, who don't care about flashy graphics and sound, and just want an atmospheric, immersive story with all the fantasy trademarks of yesteryear, will do well to check out this game.”
“The story is your average old-school dungeon crawler fare: evil is afoot, you must defeat it.”
“You pretty much use the same battle tactics over and over while progressing through a pretty shallow story, grinding away through levels.”
“There is a main quest and several uncomplicated side quests to do.”
- grinding20 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight a mixed reception towards grinding in the game. While some players find it tedious and unfulfilling, likening it to a chore with minimal rewards, others appreciate the necessity of grinding for character progression and tactical combat. Overall, the game seems to require significant grinding, particularly in the early stages, which may deter casual players but appeal to hardcore fans of the genre.
“Your are punished for grinding too much as experience gains are very small for weaker groups.”
“Grinding is okay if you get rewarded down the road for your time, but this is too much like real life - work your ass off with no satisfaction.”
“There's a reason many RPGs don't have grinding anymore; it's not fun for most people.”
- gameplay15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized as a classic first-person, party-based dungeon crawler with simple, grid-based mechanics that are easy to learn. While the game features engaging combat and a variety of dungeon designs, it suffers from a lack of depth in mechanics and a decline in combat difficulty after the initial stages, leading to a somewhat repetitive experience over its lengthy playtime. Overall, it offers a solid but simplistic dungeon-crawling experience, with some frustrating interface issues and occasional performance hiccups.
“This is a solid first-person party-based dungeon crawler with a slightly wonky interface and aesthetics, but great gameplay.”
“One way to describe it is wizardry but with updated game mechanics.”
“The developer also put in a lot of effort into creating different kinds of dungeons with different mechanics and behavior that are uniquely distinctive.”
“So of the 23 minutes I've played, only 4 were actual gameplay; the rest was sitting and waiting in hope that it would not stay hung on the enemy's turn in combat.”
“Sadly, the combat difficulty rather goes out the window after the first third of the game, and the underlying mechanics are a little too simplistic to sustain the ~18 hour playing time.”
“Do not expect a Might and Magic X quality or Legend of Grimrock quality gameplay.”
- music7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as decent but limited, with only a few pieces that players find satisfactory. While some moments feature eerie and thematic tunes, many reviewers express a desire for a more extensive soundtrack to enhance the overall experience. Combat sound effects are noted as satisfying, but the intermittent nature of the music can detract from immersion.
“Decent musical score.”
“The music that's in there is fine, but I would have liked more of it!”
“The soundtrack is a bit lacking, but nothing's perfect, I guess.”
“The music has been intermittent in my game, such as during a discovery scene, quest reward scene, or the sound of a battle that just turned grim.”
“The eerie music from the temples.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted to be less dry and witty compared to similar titles, but it still features amusing graphics and quirky monster designs. Players find humor in the absurdity of certain situations, such as the irony of their powerful knights facing trivial challenges.
“None of the dry wit humor of M&M, but the graphics are outstanding and some of the 'monsters' are pretty funny.”
“Funny thing is, by the time I surrendered and looked up the answer (which I could just barely piece together the logic of), my knights were dual-wielding greatswords and the thing was worthless.”
“Funny enough.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is reminiscent of classic titles like Black Crypt, appealing to players who appreciate immersive storytelling and traditional fantasy elements over modern graphics and sound. It successfully evokes a nostalgic feel for those who enjoy old-school gaming experiences.
“I found the atmosphere reminiscent of Black Crypt, but the game mechanics are similar to Might and Magic III.”
“For those of us who still enjoy the old style of gaming, who don't care about flashy graphics and sound, and just want an atmospheric, immersive story with all the fantasy trademarks of yesteryear, this game is a must-check-out.”
“The atmosphere feels reminiscent of a dark crypt, but the game mechanics are more aligned with Might and Magic III.”
“The overall ambiance lacks depth and fails to immerse players in the game world.”
“Despite some interesting visuals, the atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been criticized for its significant stability issues, with users reporting frequent freezes and bugs that hinder gameplay, leading some to seek refunds. Despite its potential, these technical problems have severely impacted the overall experience.
“Buggy as hell, keeps freezing whenever I unlock something... requesting a refund.”
“It's a shame that the game is buggy as it had real potential, in my humble opinion.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is considered recommendable due to its fair pricing relative to its design and length, although it has low replayability.
“It is still a recommendable game since it has a price that is proportionate to the game's design, length, and replayability (low).”
