Unepic

Unepic is a side-scrolling action RPG that wears its inspirations on its sleeve and then makes jokes about them. You play as Daniel, a regular guy yanked out of a tabletop RPG session and dumped inside a massive, torch-lit castle he refuses to believe is real. The whole premise is built around a protagonist who keeps insisting he is in a hallucination, which frees the writing to be relentlessly self-referential without feeling cheap. If you like your fantasy seasoned with gaming-culture jokes and the occasional sci-fi movie reference, Daniel is your guy. The castle itself is the real star. It is enormous, genuinely labyrinthine, and packed with interconnected rooms that reward exploration in a way that feels closer to a classic Metroidvania than a straight RPG. New areas gate behind abilities and gear you acquire gradually, so backtracking has purpose rather than feeling like padding. Torches matter here, which is a mechanic you do not see often: darkness is a real obstacle, and managing light sources adds a layer of tension that keeps dungeon crawling from becoming routine. The enemy variety is solid throughout, and boss encounters are demanding enough to make you rethink your build before walking back in. Builds are where Unepic earns real respect. The class system is freeform rather than locked, meaning you invest skill points across weapons, magic schools, and utility skills however you like. Want a sword-and-fireball hybrid who also picks locks? Absolutely viable. The flip side is that early character choices can box you in if you spread points carelessly, and the game is not shy about punishing underprepared builds in later sections. There is a meaningful difference between a character you assembled thoughtfully and one you threw together in the first hour, which is exactly the kind of depth that holds up past the 30-hour mark. The Metacritic score of 68 probably reflects the game's rough edges rather than its core quality. The humor is niche, distinctly aimed at people who grew up with DOS RPGs and 1990s genre films, and it will not land for everyone. The narrative beyond Daniel's running commentary is thin. If you want a rich, choice-driven story with branching consequences, Unepic will disappoint. This is not that kind of RPG. The writing is there to set tone, not to deliver emotional arcs, and the castle is there to be conquered mechanically rather than understood narratively. Filler quests are mercifully absent, but so is the kind of worldbuilding lore that makes you read every item description twice. For what it is, though, the 91 percent positive Steam rating tells the real story. Unepic delivers a focused, well-tuned action RPG loop inside a genuinely massive dungeon, wrapped in comedy that earns its laughs more often than not. It is a solo developer project that punches well above its weight in mechanical depth, and Daniel's refusal to be a hero is a more interesting character hook than most big-budget protagonists manage. Monika, Scout Team