Thorium Entertainment has announced that it is bringing its action-adventure roguelike UnderMine to Nintendo Switch next month.
The game has been downloaded 600,000 times on Steam and Xbox Game Pass, and puts you in the role of a “reckless farmer” who will stop at nothing to find his fortune in a dark and dangerous mine.
It’s an interesting premise, and one made all the more compelling by the fact that the creators of UnderMine clearly owe a small debt to the classic 2D Zelda series, at least in terms of presentation.
As you can see in the trailer, some characters have Link-style outfits, take a familiar pose when collecting important items, blow up walls with bombs, and even show an eerily similar animation when they fall into a hole. It’s all done with the tongue firm on the cheek of course, and the presentation generally looks fantastic. Its loot-grabbing gameplay and roguelike elements set it apart from Nintendo’s famous series, even though it shares some technical and visual similarities.
Derek Johnson, founder of Thorium Entertainment, had this to say about the news:
“Ever since we released our first Early Access version, the question our fans kept asking was, ‘When is it coming to Switch?’ Releasing a game on a Nintendo platform is a dream come true, and we look forward to seeing new fans join the horde in February! “
UnderMine currently has a 9/10 rating on Steam, which certainly bodes well. Our friends at Eurogamer went hands-on with the Steam version, describing it as “a distilled version of Zelda on SNES … if Zelda was confined to a dungeon”. It will launch on Thursday, February 11 on Switch and will cost $ 19.99.
Here’s the PR:
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – January 28, 2021 – UnderMine, the action-adventure roguelike packed with secrets from developer Thorium Entertainment, stands out with a release on Nintendo Switch on Thursday, February 11, after more than 600,000 players enjoyed the game on Steam and Xbox Game Pass.
With pickaxe in hand and courage at heart, you control a reckless farmer who sets out to dive into a mysterious mine in search of untold riches. Fight for life against the dangers that await in the dark depths. Venture through the lowest echelons until that commoner meets his demise, then send the next unlucky soul to pick up their gear and dive further into the caves.
Use bombs to blow up walls and rocks to dig up secret passages, collect precious gold before the slimy Pilfers claim it, and rescue potential allies deep within the mine. Fight the devious dungeon dwellers all the way to the end of each level where room-filling bosses stand between the intrepid miner and their target.
Get creative with each new run, desperately looking for relics that grant the ability, potions with magical effects, treasures and other items, in the hope that the next run will be smoother than the last. Make the difficult choice to collect gold for the next descent or spend the hard-earned money on useful items or useful upgrades.
Master the mines and seek out new challenges in the real-life roguelike Othermine, which starts over with no upgrades for near-endless replayability. After five major content updates during Early Access, Thorium will continue to expand the mine’s operations with updates arriving on all platforms in the coming months.