When I first launched Undivine, developed by Brainium Games, I was immediately struck by its haunting atmosphere and minimalist pixel art style. Available now on Steam and Nintendo Switch, with imminent releases for Xbox and PlayStation consoles, Undivine positions itself as a dark metroidvania infused with RPG elements. The game promises freedom of exploration, rewarding progression, and a world brimming with secrets a promise that both intrigued and challenged me as I delved deeper into its abyssal narrative.
A World Shrouded in Mystery
Undivine casts you as a lone traveler, arriving in a village overshadowed by a gaping abyss that has swallowed its inhabitants. With no heroes left, you descend alone into a sprawling, interconnected world. The setting is both bleak and beautiful, filled with ancient relics, mysterious artifacts, and a constant sense of foreboding. Every new area feels distinct, thanks to the game’s effective use of minimal pixel art, which manages to evoke emotion and tension without overwhelming visual complexity.
Exploration is at the heart of Undivine. The world is non linear and interconnected, allowing you to carve your own path through its regions. The game rewards curiosity, with hidden rooms, secret passages, and optional content waiting for those willing to stray from the beaten path. I found myself compelled to search every corner, driven by the promise of new relics and the satisfaction of piecing together the game’s lore.
Combat: Snappy, Strategic, and Sometimes Frustrating
Combat in Undivine is a blend of speed and strategy, offering a wide variety of weapons, armor, relics, and accessories to tailor your fighting style. Mastering combos and timing is essential, especially as you combine relic powers with melee attacks to create unique combat strategies. The talent system adds further depth, allowing you to specialize in areas like alchemy, demonology, or cartography, which can significantly alter your approach to both combat and exploration.
However, my experience with combat was not without its frustrations. The system only allows you to hit one enemy at a time, and the limited knockback applies to a single foe not always the closest one. This can make encounters with multiple enemies feel unnecessarily punishing, as clearing space or escaping a crowd becomes more difficult than it should be. Despite this, I found the overall combat experience satisfying, especially in boss fights. Learning enemy patterns and finding the right moment to strike made each victory feel earned and rewarding.
Mapping and Navigation: A Double Edged Sword
One of the most distinctive and divisive features of Undivine is its map system. The game forgoes a traditional grid based map in favor of one that reveals entire rooms as you enter them. While this approach contributes to the game’s sense of mystery, it can also make navigation cumbersome. I found myself relying heavily on map markers to remember important locations, especially when sidequests required revisiting previously explored areas.
Backtracking is a significant part of the Undivine experience. While it’s a staple of the metroidvania genre, the combination of a non gridded map and frequent backtracking can make the process feel arduous. Completing sidequests often meant retracing my steps through multiple rooms, sometimes unsure if I had fully explored every nook and cranny. This aspect of the game could benefit from refinement, as it occasionally disrupted the otherwise engaging flow of exploration.
Progression, Abilities, and Customization
Undivine excels in its approach to progression and character customization. As you explore, you’ll unlock new traversal and combat abilities through relics, fundamentally changing how you interact with the world. These relics are more than just upgrades they open up new pathways, reveal hidden secrets, and allow for creative problem solving.
The talent system is particularly flexible, letting you invest in skills that suit your preferred playstyle. Whether you want to focus on alchemy for crafting, demonology for combat enhancements, or cartography for improved navigation, the game accommodates a wide range of builds. Importantly, the system doesn’t force you down a linear upgrade path, encouraging experimentation and replayability.
The inventory is rich and varied, with a steady stream of new weapons, armors, accessories, and consumables to discover. Each item feels meaningful, and the process of optimizing your loadout for different encounters adds a satisfying layer of strategy to the game.
Boss Fights and Level Design
Boss encounters are a standout feature in Undivine. Each boss presents a unique challenge, requiring you to learn attack patterns and find the right windows to strike. The sense of accomplishment after defeating a tough boss is palpable, and these encounters serve as memorable milestones throughout the journey.
Level design is another strong point. The interconnected world is thoughtfully constructed, with shortcuts, hidden rooms, and environmental storytelling that reward attentive players. Abilities and relics are integrated seamlessly into the level design, ensuring that new powers have immediate and tangible uses.
Visuals and Atmosphere: Minimalism Done Right
Undivine’s visual style is deliberately minimal, relying on pixel art to convey its dark, oppressive world. I found the simplicity of the graphics to be a strength rather than a limitation. The art direction uses color, lighting, and subtle animation to create a mood that is both somber and captivating. Combined with atmospheric sound design, the game’s presentation draws you into its mysterious narrative and keeps you invested in uncovering its secrets.
Difficulty and Accessibility
The game offers three difficulty levels, making it accessible to a wide range of players. Whether you’re a seasoned metroidvania veteran or new to the genre, you can tailor the challenge to your liking without sacrificing the core features of the experience. This flexibility is a welcome addition, especially given the sometimes punishing nature of the combat and exploration.
Personal Reflections and Final Thoughts
My time with Undivine has been a mix of admiration and occasional frustration. I absolutely love the minimal pixel style and the snappy, responsive combat. The game’s non linear structure and abundance of optional content kept me engaged, and the satisfaction of uncovering hidden relics and mastering boss fights made the journey worthwhile.
However, the map system and backtracking mechanics could use improvement. Navigating the world can become tedious, especially when sidequests send you back through areas you thought you had already conquered. The combat system, while generally enjoyable, sometimes feels limited by its single target focus and restricted knockback.
Despite these issues, Undivine stands out as a rewarding and atmospheric metroidvania that respects player agency and rewards curiosity. Its flexible talent system, rich inventory, and haunting world make it a compelling experience for fans of the genre. If you can embrace its quirks and are willing to lose yourself in a dark, mysterious world, Undivine is well worth the descent.