Unexplored takes the game’s name very seriously. As a challenging Roguelike action RPG, no two runs will ever be the same which literally means that every time you jump back into the game you are charting unexplored territory. As you go along your adventure you will explore dangerous dungeons, forge magical items, solve mysterious puzzles, and battle hundreds of foes. All the while, you’ll be trying to steal the Amulet of Yendor from a terrifying dragon and attempt to make it out alive.
Main Quest
As you begin your quest you’ll have quite a few options when it comes to creating the perfect character. You can either name your character yourself or chose to let the game randomly assign a name for you. We highly recommend cycling through the random names for a while if you want a good laugh before you head off on your challenging quest. After finding the perfect name you have a few physical options for your character to chose from and then it’s off to the dungeon.
Unexplored is a top down RPG in the vein of past classics like The Legend of Zelda. As you play through the game you’ll unlock the ability to play as seven different character classes, each with their own set of skills and weapons. When it comes to the action you have a variety of melee and ranged weapons at your disposal. Enemies can be tough so thankfully the game gives you quite a few difficulty options. When you find yourself having trouble progressing, you can lower the difficulty on your next run.
Anyone familiar with games such as Dungeons and Dragons will find a lot to love here. Unexplored feels like an action RPG version of the beloved tabletop game. From the early stages of the character creator to the option to offer a beer to the old man at the tavern in exchange for some advice or items to carry with you on your journey, you’ll find homages to games like D&D spread throughout the game.
Upon each death. like all roguelike games, you’ll have to start a new adventure at another dungeon.
DLC and Special Runs
Included with the console release of Unexplored is all the previous DLC. This includes Mithril Run, Ripley Run and The Dark Ritual. Each of the included DLC packs do a great job of breaking up the action in the main quest. Each has their own set of objectives and pay tribute to various pop culture phenomenons such as the Aliens franchise (Ripley’s Run if you couldn’t figure that out).
In Ripley’s Run you fight off hoards of alien attackers armed with your trusty crossbow and sword. The object is to take out as many as you can before you die. Staying true to the main quest, once you die it’s game over and you must start a new run. Mithril Run has you exploring the dungeon in search of as much treasure as you can whilst trying to make it out alive and in Dark Ritual you’ll be racing against the clock to stop them from summoning the Great Old One.
Having the added DLC really adds to the already stable replayability of Unexplored.
Recommendation
The world building in Unexplored is extraordinary. While there can be an occasional moment of lag while the game basically builds the world around you, most of the time it is seamless. In addition, no two runs will ever be identical. The bonus of the DLC ensures that you’ll always have an unlimited number of hours of fresh game-play ahead of you. As you search the world for weapons and lore you’ll continually be entertained at all the lore that the game throws at you, all made up as you go through the game. Fans of top-down action RPGs and roguelike games alike should take the time to sit down with Unexplored. With the portability of the Switch, it’s even easier to play. Unexplored: Unlocked Edition will be released on August 9th on the Nintendo Switch and later this summer on PS4 and Xbox One..
*Unexplored: Unlocked Edition was provided to the reviewer by the publishing company but this fact did not alter the reviewer’s opinion*
Check out our Review Guide to see what we criteria we use to score games.
