Kivi's Underworld
I've been inundated with games lately.

As far as problems are concerned, this one ranks high on the list of the kinds of problems I like to have. Now if only I could have the "I have too much money," and the "I've lost so much weight I have to buy a whole new wardrobe" problems...

But it does mean I'm a little on the slow side, and I have been missing out.

One gem I played a bit of over the last... er, month.... has been Kivi's Underworld. This game is by Stephen Peeler of Soldak Entertainment, makers of the brilliantly cool (and quite hardcore) strategy-RPG Depths of Peril.

Kivi's Underworld uses a more polished version of the engine that powers Depths of Peril. Like Soldak's flagship title, Kivi's Underworld departs from the traditional even more than it's predecessor - but in a completely opposite direction. Whereas Depths of Peril took the straightforward action RPG and loaded it up with a bunch of extra-juicy additional depth (and, admittedly, complexity) for the benefit of hardcore niche gamers like me who really wanted something more out of a Diablo-esque game, Kivi's Underworld instead simplifies the experience down to its barest, most entertaining essentials.

I had a tough time assigning it a genre. Soldak refers to it as a "casual hack & slash game," only throwing the "RPG" term in with a bunch of additional descriptors. Actually, by my own personal taxonomy, I call it an RPG. Barely. Steven is a bit more of a traditionalist than I am, I guess.

Story-wise, Kivi's Underworld deals with a lumen warrior / miner named - coincidentally - Kivi. Kivi, the sole survivor of a mining accident, has learned of a pending dark-elf invasion into lumen lands. But in spite of the mounting evidence, his people don't believe him, claiming that dark elves and their monstrous allies are but a myth. So it is upon Kivi and his growing band of allies to prove the threat is real, and to find the forgotten city of Defiance, built long ago as a protection should the dark elves attack again.

Kivi's Underworld is fairly linear, broken up into a series of missions with a storyline between them. The missions take about ten to fifteen minutes each to complete, which makes it very easy to play this game in a short period of time. Missions have certain objectives (which can change) that must be fulfilled in order to exit. And, like Las Vegas, what happens in a mission pretty much stays in the mission. Aside from using bonus points gained in the mission to level up faster, all "pickups" (they don't really count as equipment) found during the mission are left behind.

There's very little in the way of inventory management - all you have to do is "use 'em or lose 'em" with your three pickup slots. There are also passive upgrades to your weapons and armor you can pick up. Leveling up characters is easy (but does allow some customization). Every character class has only one special power to worry about, and you can go back through previous missions with other characters as you recruit them.

The best way to describe the gameplay of Kivi's Underworld would be to say, "Kinda like Diablo, only simpler and more casual-friendly." The interface is simple. The game is simple - but that's not the same as "easy." There have been several times I've found my mad action-RPG gamer skillz being tested and bested. Usually because I was stupid, got overly-aggressive, and found myself with a swarm of monsters on one side of me, and a trap on the other, thinking, "I can take 'em."

So I'm actually more of a hardcore RPG fan. I appreciate the idea of having a much simpler, straightforward RPG for newcomers to our favorite game genre. A gateway drug, if I can be so crass. Kivi's Underworld fills the bill nicely - it's pretty, its fun, it's simple - a great little RPG that feels a little less "cutsey" than, say, Fate.

But what does Kivi's Underworld have for a guy like me, a hardcore RPG fan who, rather than doodling during geometry lectures in High School, created mathematically balanced Champions characters using memorized point-values for powers, limitations, and disadvantages? Am I the target audience for Kivi's Underworld? Well, the answer to the latter question is only "maybe," but the answer to the first one is, surprisingly, "plenty."

I enjoy a quick game of Gauntlet Legends or Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance on my consoles at home, or a few rounds of Kid Mystic. Kivi's Underworld falls somewhere in that same scope (though I think it is a bit more intellectually stimulating than Gauntlet...). It's pared down the RPG formula to its bare essentials, but the essentials are dang fun. For the faithful, it's a "Beer and Pretzels" kinda game. Brian candy. RPG Snack Food. Good fun when you need to scratch the itch.

For the less experienced in the genre, Kivi's Underworld is a solid, entertaining introduction. With some decisions required for leveling up between missions, choice of characters, secrets, trophies, tactical decisions, exploration, some resource management, and so forth, there's plenty of "meat" there to sink one's teeth into, but not so much that the player will get overwhelmed by the details their more experienced peers take for granted.

If you absolutely hate action-RPGs, this game might not be for you. Timing of movements and attacks is critical to success, especially when you've got a trap launching fireballs in a predictable pattern next to you and a swarm of zombies coming at you through the door on the opposite wall. Still, survival and success also depend on your character - taking advantage of his strengths, and managing the random range for chances of hitting and damage-dealing. It is not an arcade game, either.

Now, let's be honest. I really would have preferred a sequel to Depths of Peril, which remains one of my favorite indie RPGs. But that's me. That particular game intimidated the hell outta some people - which I understand (I feel overwhelmed by Dwarf Fortress, personally). But I can't argue with the results. Kivi's Underworld may be more lightweight fare, but I have to admit that I've had a lot of fun playing it. Soldak has once again proven that they can twist the concept of an RPG around and make something very cool out of it.

Just... maybe we can have a DoP sequel someday? Pretty-please?

Anyway - in the better late than never category, I've made Kivi's Underworld available from the Rampant Games main website. If you haven't tried it already, here's your chance. Hey, the downloadable demo is free, and it's my belief that it is worthy of your valuable time to try out.

Try Kivi's Underworld

Labels: Game Announcements, Roleplaying Games

- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 4:16 AM (Permalink)