Unexplored

Lore & Background

Unexplored was released for Windows on February 22, 2017, after six months of early access. Linux and macOS versions were planned for the first quarter of 2018 but remained unreleased as of November 2019. Three downloadable content packs were released for the game. A Nintendo Switch port was released on August 9, 2018, in Europe and North America, published by Digerati. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One ports followed in February 2019, also published by Digerati. The game's objective is to reach the deepest floor of the dungeon and retrieve the Amulet of Yendor. It features top-down 2D graphics.

Reader's Guide

Unexplored received 'mixed or average' reviews according to Metacritic. Critics highlighted its procedural level design: Waypoint wrote that its procedurally generated levels are 'dense with meaning, memory, and connection in a way that most other RL's [roguelikes] aren't'. Rock Paper Shotgun also praised the procedural level design. Nintendo Life noted that the 'unusual approach to balancing combat and map generation' is its most memorable element, despite an 'overly simplistic' artstyle. Nintendo World Report disliked the combat and procedural dungeon generation. PC Gamer called the randomly generated worldbuilding 'quietly revolutionary' and nominated the game for best strategy game of 2017. Waypoint included it among its best games of 2017. Dominic Tarason of Rock Paper Shotgun listed it as one of the top three games of 2017, calling the procedural generation 'a borderline-magical piece of code'.

Did You Know?

• The game's objective is to retrieve the Amulet of Yendor from the deepest floor of the dungeon.
• PC Gamer nominated Unexplored for best strategy game of 2017.