Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi (v2022.07.13)

Beneath a grim alternate 1979 Tokyo, the newly discovered Yomi cavern system promises impossible wealth and an equally likely death underground. Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi is a first-person, grid-based dungeon RPG built around the fear of getting lost, running low on supplies, and meeting monsters far stronger than they first appear. You join the Cassandra Company’s expendable underground workforce, assembling a six-person crew to mine rare resources and uncover the truth behind a sprawling, hostile abyss. Its industrial horror mood, unsettling enemy designs, and oppressive tunnels make every return trip to the surface feel earned.

Movement follows classic dungeon-crawler rules: map each square, search for hidden routes, manage traps, and decide how far to push before your party is too battered to continue. Turn-based battles emphasize party formation, elemental weaknesses, defensive timing, and specialized roles, while character customization lets you shape warriors, casters, healers, and support members around your preferred tactics. The standout Switch Boost system allows characters to burn accumulated power for stronger attacks or useful dungeon tools. Those tools create temporary ladders, bridges, and doors, turning exploration into a practical puzzle rather than a simple hunt for keys.

Yomi’s layouts reward careful note-taking and backtracking, but the game usually gives players enough tools to avoid the most frustrating old-school dungeon-crawler habits. Its art leans into grotesque body horror and stark science-fiction imagery, giving the labyrinth a more distinctive identity than many fantasy-focused genre peers. Compared with Etrian Odyssey or Wizardry, it is more linear in its overarching narrative but still demanding in its combat and resource management. Veterans of Experience Inc.’s dungeon RPGs find plenty of depth in its party-building and increasingly dangerous floors, while newcomers who can tolerate a tough learning curve get a focused, atmospheric introduction to the genre.