Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi

Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi is a first-person, grid-based dungeon crawler from EXPERIENCE, the Japanese studio that has spent years quietly perfecting this very specific, very niche genre. Set in an alternate 1970s Tokyo where a mysterious structure called Yomi erupts from the earth, you assemble a party of hired workers and descend into a labyrinth loaded with grotesque enemies, rare loot, and the constant threat of a total party wipe. The setup is pulpy and atmospheric in the best way, corporate mercenaries cataloguing a hellscape for profit is a better premise than most of the genre ever bothers with. The core loop is classic dungeon-crawler: map every corridor, manage resources, grind enemies for levels and gear, and die repeatedly while learning from your mistakes. EXPERIENCE does not hold your hand. If you have never played Wizardry-adjacent crawlers or something like Etrian Odyssey, the opening hours will feel punishing in a way that is not immediately distinguishable from unfair. It is actually fair. But you have to earn that understanding. Party composition matters enormously, you pick from several job classes and can reassign them as you progress, which creates real build decisions rather than just a stat treadmill. Skill selection within each class adds another layer, and magic items with exit-creation abilities give the labyrinth navigation a puzzle dimension that keeps the dungeon feeling alive rather than purely procedural. Where the game earns real respect is its atmosphere. The 1970s setting filters through every visual choice: muted earthy palettes, retro-styled menus, and creature designs that lean into Japanese folklore horror rather than generic fantasy. Yomi is a place from myth, and the dungeon communicates that dread steadily through enemy design and the silence between encounters. The writing is sparse by CRPG standards, do not come here expecting branching dialogue or a cast of memorable companions. These are hired hands, not characters, and the story functions more as grim flavor text than narrative payoff. If you need a character arc to stay motivated, this game will feel empty. The mixed Steam reception is understandable. The encounter rate is high enough to become a grind across longer sessions, and players used to modern quality-of-life features will bump against the game's refusal to modernize. Auto-mapping exists, but the dungeon is complex enough that you will want to annotate manually anyway. PC-specific features are minimal, this is a console port that works, nothing more. For the audience that grew up drawing maps on graph paper or who treat Stranger of Sword City as comfort food, Undernauts scratches exactly the right itch. For everyone else, the friction may outweigh the reward. If you want an RPG that respects the dungeon crawler's roots, respects your time only moderately, and delivers genuine tension from resource management rather than scripted setpieces, this is a competent and occasionally striking entry in a genre that rarely gets enough attention on PC.

Monika · Scout Team

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