A few years ago I dropped my grandmother’s ring down the bathroom sink. I still remember that little plink sound and the cold panic that followed.
So when I started Undergrounded and watched poor Scott drop his engagement ring down a storm drain, I felt it in my chest. I was on his side before the title screen even faded.
This one surprised me. It looks like a quirky little puzzle game, and it is, but it is also warm and a bit strange in the best way.
If you just picked it up and you want to settle in without getting stuck, here are the tips I wish someone had handed me on my first night with it.
What is Undergrounded about?
You play as Scott, a regular guy in Manhattan who loses the ring he was about to propose with. It slips down a storm drain, and down he goes after it.
Underneath the city is a whole dungeon of themed zones pulled from America’s past. Think old movie theaters, the space race, a dusty Old West town, even the inside of a jet plane.
It plays like a cozy point-and-click adventure viewed from that classic isometric angle. If you loved poking around every corner in something like Unpacking or an old LucasArts game, you already know the rhythm here.
There is no real combat. You solve puzzles, you help people, and you slowly work your way deeper. It is the kind of game you play in pajamas with a warm drink.
Slow down and click on everything
My first instinct in most games is to rush toward the next objective. Undergrounded gently punishes that, so unlearn it early.
The whole game rewards curiosity. Click on lamps, posters, trash cans, that suspicious loose brick, all of it.
Half the fun is the little bits of writing you find tucked into ordinary objects. The other half is that the thing you ignore now is usually the answer to a puzzle later.
Trust me on this. When you feel stuck, the fix is almost never somewhere new. It is usually something you walked right past.
Grab every item, even the silly ones
Your inventory is your toolbox, and this game loves adventure-game logic. That means combining odd objects in ways that only make sense after they work.
In the opening sewer area, for example, you can pick up a bent coat hanger and a soggy newspaper. Neither seems useful on its own.
A few rooms later, both matter. So the rule is simple: if you can take it, take it.
Do not overthink whether something looks important. Cluttered pockets are always better than a puzzle you cannot finish.
Lean on your canary when you get stuck
Early on you meet a chatty little canary who tags along and offers hints. She is easily my favorite part of the game.
When you are stumped, talk to her before you reach for a walkthrough. Her nudges are gentle and rarely spell out the whole answer, so you still get the satisfaction of solving the puzzle on your own.
I like to give myself a short rule. If I have been wandering for more than a few minutes with no ideas, I ask the canary first.
She keeps the game feeling relaxing instead of frustrating. That balance is the whole point of a cozy puzzler, and she nails it.
Every zone plays by different rules
Here is the clever thing that makes Undergrounded stand out. Each themed area borrows the rules of a different kind of retro game.
One zone leans on platformer physics and jumping. Another runs on arcade timing. Another asks you to juggle little RPG-style stats.
So the puzzle skills that carried you through the sewers might not work in the movie theater. That is not you doing something wrong, it is the game changing its costume.
When you enter a new area, take a minute to notice how it wants to be played. Once the ruleset clicks, the puzzles open up fast.
The bosses are arcade games, not fights
Instead of battles, the big roadblocks are arcade cabinets. You beat a “boss” by playing a little homage to an ’80s arcade classic.
You will almost certainly lose your first attempt, and that is completely fine. The first run is really just you learning the pattern.
Watch what the machine does before you try to win. Most of these minigames repeat a simple loop, and once you spot it, your hands catch up.
If your reflexes are not lightning fast, do not worry. These are built to be charming and fair, not to wall you out like a real arcade did back when it was eating your quarters.
Help the other lost souls down here
Scott is not the only one who dropped something precious into the dark. All through the dungeon you meet characters missing their own little treasures.
Helping them is optional in the moment, but do it anyway. The rewards often loop right back into your own puzzles and paths forward.
Beyond that, these side stories are where a lot of the heart lives. Some of them stuck with me longer than the main plot did.
Think of it the way you would treat favors in Stardew Valley. The detour is usually the good part.
Your choices nudge the story
Undergrounded quietly tracks some of the choices you make and lets them shape how things turn out. It is not a heavy branching epic, so you can relax.
Still, it helps to answer honestly rather than trying to game the “best” outcome. The story lands better when your Scott feels like your Scott.
I would gently suggest not looking up an ending guide on your first run. Let it surprise you, then chase the other paths later if you want.
Backtrack without groaning about it
Because items unlock new options, you will sometimes need to return to an earlier room with fresh tools. This is normal, not padding.
Keep a loose mental note of spots you could not solve the first time. A locked drawer, a machine with no power, a gap you could not cross.
When you pick up something new, ask yourself where it might finally fit. Half of my best “aha” moments came from remembering a door I had shrugged at an hour earlier.
The map is small and cozy on purpose, so this rarely feels like a slog. It feels more like tidying up.
A few beginner mistakes to skip
The biggest one is rushing the story. This is a game to sink into, not speedrun, and hurrying strips out most of its charm.
The second is hoarding items but never trying to use them. If a puzzle has you beaten, open your inventory and experiment freely.
The third is forgetting the canary exists. She is right there, and she wants to help.
And the last one is being too proud to leave a puzzle for later. Walking away and coming back with fresh eyes is a real strategy here.
Is Undergrounded worth starting?
For me, yes, easily. It is gentle and clever and a little sentimental, and it never made me feel dumb for missing something.
It reminded me why I love cozy games in the first place. The puzzles matter, but the feeling matters more.
Go in slow, click on everything, trust your bird, and let Scott’s little quest carry you along. By the time I found that ring, I was oddly proud of us both.
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Images are from the Undergrounded page on Steam and used under Fair Use.