Here is the second part of gameplay overview for Dead Underworld.

Part 1: Characters, Exploration, Resting, Combat
Part 2: Items and Resources, Stats and Upgrades, Enemies and Factions, Progress

Items and Resources:

After battle players can loot the items of a downed enemy, all items cannot be recovered, but most enemies carry other trinkets to collect. Each character has a personal inventory, and the party has a shared inventory that is not available in combat. Some items can be used actively in or out of battle, others offer passive benefits based on situation. Most weapons can be upgraded with upgrade items at certain locations, some items can be combined in these locations to get rare items. Party also carries Credits that are currency for shops and character upgrades and Alloys that serve as universal ammo consumed by most ranged weapons. The party collects a special currency known as Soul Coins from defeated enemies and few other sources. Party also has Spirit that must be kept at a high level or suffer the penalties and potential party breakup.

Stats and Upgrades:

The player can upgrade the five main stats of characters in many ways. Most common way is drinking an Elixir that offers a stat upgrade or by upgrading a character with Credits. Credits are sparse and upgrades are only accessible in this way when the party has accumulated three Soul Coins. Soul Coins can also be used to unlock party wide upgrades. The party is accompanied by a Guide, represented by the character seen on the map. This Guide provides helpful information and the aforementioned unlocks. Guide unlocks range from extra inventory slots to resources to stat bonuses. These unlocks persist, even if the player’s party composition changes during a run.

Enemies and Factions:

The enemies belong to groups that accumulate anger towards the player, if the player trespasses on their territories or attacks them. When anger reaches certain thresholds the enemies gain upgrades to their abilities and stats. To counter this, you may optimise your builds to counter certain enemies or fight against a more diverse set of opposition. The Seekers also belong to one of four factions that change their opinion on you based on your actions. Factions favor players that fight against opposing factions and bring them rare artefacts to buy. Factions offer unique benefits to players when you gain their favor. Factions can also become strong enemies when angered.

Progress:

The game has no roguelite like persistent metagame progression, but you can unlock a number of gameplay options to customise your runs. Firstly you can unlock custom difficulty settings that can be mixed and matched to generate a run that suits your tastes or proves an unique challenge. Custom difficulties have a points system that determines whether you can gain achievements and other unlocks. Other progress options are unlockable Guides. All Guides have a distinct set of party upgrades and their own passive effects that alter runs greatly. Finally you can unlock starting Seeker builds. Most builds are attainable through picking a random start, but this reduces the headache of rolling the dice. Additionally there are a set of tailor made Seekers with completely unique options not attainable in any other way.

That just about covers it. A lot more could be said. Game revolves heavily around combat, inventory management and decisions where to allocate resources and travel time. This all boils down to a challenging game, but testers have enjoyed the grind greatly!

“Dying is fun as starting a new run is so quick.”