I didn’t ever expect roguelikes and football to come together but I should probably know better by now. Footgun: Underground is a new action platformer by Turtle Knight Games, and it’s the perfect tonic for anyone who is looking for a bit of arcade-infused keepy-uppy.
The setting is straight-up weird, but in a good way. It’s the future, you’ve awoken in a cryo-tube, and somehow you’ve got a bionic leg. Without spending too much time pondering the fall of civilisation and, I assume, the loss of everyone you know and love (and your leg), it’s time to head into a series of underground stations and kick weaponised footballs with your new bionic leg at strange, evil cyber-monsters. And pinatas.
Put your questions aside, Dear Reader, you’ll find no answers here.
Footgun: Underground essentials
You start off your sci-fi adventure with just one playable character, but there are loads to unlock. Using your assigned avatar, you must jump on an underground train and head out under the city. You’re presented with a map filled with interconnected locations – like a tube map – and you must navigate from one encounter to the next until you reach the boss at the end. In some respects, it’s a fairly traditional roguelite experience.
Footgun stands apart from the roguish crowd when the action starts. You begin each new run with one solitary cyber-ball. The balls each have a couple of slots for upgrades (more on this later) and when you get a second ball, it’s likely going to work differently from the standard issue and give your attack a new dynamic. Armed with your spherical ammunition, you must weaponise your bionic leg to kick them at the mutants that scurry around each level.
Your bionic leg can be charged up and when it is fully energised, your balls fly even faster. This is essential as the power of your balls makes a big difference; if there isn’t enough momentum behind a shot, it simply won’t do any damage. What’s more, the balls will bounce off of each other, which can cause all sorts of mayhem.
Custom balls and super powers
The upgrade system is inspired by the brilliant Brotato. You have two or three slots on each ball, and more on your person. As you progress you’ll grab loot from fallen enemies and from the vending machines dotted around the underground. Then, between runs, you can equip and upgrade your abilities.
Your personal upgrades include the option to unlock a double jump, additional health points, and even a stamp attack that deals damage whenever you land on an enemy. Like the aforementioned Brotato, if you get two of the same item at the same level, you can combine them to create a new one of a higher level.
This also applies to the upgrades for the balls. You can imbue each ball with different properties, and these can drastically affect how you play the game. If anything, I think the unlock rate of new items could be faster. As you progress you can earn gold coins which you spend between runs on a gacha machine filled with new abilities, and the randomly assigned balls and upgrades will then appear in-game. The really fun stuff is in that gacha machine, waiting to be discovered, and I wanted more interesting balls and abilities sooner than I got them.
The different balls and their behaviour-changing abilities are a lot of fun. You can make your shots more precise, or have them explode after a delay. Eventually I started unlocking super-cool abilities, such as one where after the ball hits seven surfaces, it spawns a ghost which chases after the mutants on screen. Yes; it’s proper silly.
The full-time score
I’ve really enjoyed playing Footgun: Underground, but it’s not a perfect game. The progress loop does feel a bit miserly and the best abilities are gated by a randomised unlock system that feels like an unnecessary barrier to some of the more exotic balls and abilities that the game offers. Similarly, there is a huge roster of characters to unlock, but it takes too long to get them.
The combat encounters are fun the majority of the time, but I hate the floor traps, which are harder to see and are often my undoing. Sometimes you’ll get difficulty spikes because the procedurally generated levels are paired with enemies that don’t suit; I’ve frequently come unstuck which trying to dodge giant wasps from above and traps from below. You don’t have a lot of health to start with, and one tricky level can wipe you out pretty quickly.
Other than those complaints, Footgun: Underground is an engaging action-roguelite with tons of personality. The setting offers the perfect backdrop for this brand of unadulterated silliness, and as long as you’re happy to forgive one or two fumbles, I think you’ll enjoy this unique blend of mechanics, gameplay, and lava balls.
For the first half of my coverage you can read my interview with the studio behind Footgun: Underground, which is out now on Steam PC. Thanks to Turtle Knight and the PR Hound for sorting out our access.
