Underkeep Brings Old-School Dungeon Crawling Back to PC Today
Underkeep launches on Steam and GOG November 5 with grid-based exploration, turn-based combat and a four-person party. Here's how it modernizes the classic dungeon crawler.
Finding a secret door in a dungeon crawler used to mean checking every suspicious wall, counting squares on a map and hoping the party survived whatever waited on the other side. Underkeep is bringing that style of RPG back to PC today, with a few concessions to players who would rather spend their evening exploring than wrestling with 1990s controls.
Developed and published by Czech studio Rake in Grass, the first-person dungeon crawler launches November 5, 2026, at 6 p.m. CET on Steam and GOG. Its pitch is familiar to anyone who grew up with Eye of the Beholder or Lands of Lore: build a party, move one grid square at a time, and work your way through dangerous, hand-built dungeons.
A dungeon crawler that wants you to think before moving
Underkeep puts four adventurers under your command. The party’s abilities, equipment and spells need to work together, and fights play out in turns. Instead of relying on fast reflexes, players have time to weigh their options, conserve mana and stamina, and decide which enemy to handle first.
The grid-based movement is just as deliberate. Corridors can hide false walls, optional bosses and environmental puzzles. The developer says every area is handmade rather than procedurally assembled, which makes the layout itself part of the challenge. A dead end may be a dead end, or it may be the place you should revisit after finding another clue.
That emphasis on observation is a recognizable part of classic dungeon crawlers. Finding a shortcut or working out how two passages connect can feel as rewarding as winning a difficult battle. The risk, of course, is that getting lost stops being entertaining. Rake in Grass has tried to address that without removing the need to explore.
Classic design, modern conveniences
The studio’s development updates describe an automap with player-placed notes, allowing you to mark suspicious walls, unexplored passages or places worth returning to. The game also supports adjustable difficulty, saving at any time and controller play. Those options matter in a genre where basic navigation could once be a challenge of its own.
| Old-school element | How Underkeep handles it |
|---|---|
| Square-by-square exploration | First-person, grid-based movement through handcrafted levels |
| Party management | Four adventurers whose skills, spells and equipment work together |
| Careful combat | Turn-based encounters built around positioning and resource management |
| Mapping and backtracking | An in-game automap with custom notes |
| Older RPG control friction | Modern inputs, controller support, adjustable difficulty and save-anytime functionality |
This makes Underkeep an interesting option for players who like the tension of old RPGs but have little patience for clunky interfaces. The developers seem to understand that having to solve a puzzle is different from having to fight the controls.
What to know before entering the Underkeep
Rake in Grass says development took approximately five years. The team has also confirmed an optional demo on Steam, so curious players can get a feel for the grid movement and party combat before committing to the full adventure. The PC release supports seven interface languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Czech, Polish and Russian.
A Nintendo Switch version is planned for the first quarter of 2027, although the developer has not announced a specific date for it. The initial launch is for PC via Steam and GOG.
Anyone hoping for an open-world action RPG should know what they’re getting into. Underkeep is built around confined spaces, considered decisions and the pleasure of noticing something hidden in plain sight. Players who enjoyed the dungeon layouts of Legend of Grimrock or remember mapping out Eye of the Beholder should recognize the appeal.
Its biggest test will be whether the handmade dungeons stay interesting over a full playthrough. At launch, that’s a question players can start answering themselves. The game becomes available at 6 p.m. CET on November 5, with a demo already listed on Steam.
Sources: Official Steam listing; Rake in Grass development and launch announcements; Official developer website.
