Welcome everyone to a very special update preview. This one’s for the 0.6.0 Othermine update, which is an update we have been looking forward to for years. Before I get into it though, let’s get the thing out of the way:

UnderMine 0.6.0 Othermine will release this Friday, March 27th.

Now that that’s sorted out… A long time ago we decided to add major progression to UnderMine, firmly placing it in the roguelite category. And some people have taken umbrage with our use of the term roguelike because we added that progression. Well, no more! Because the Othermine is UnderMine rogue-mode. No progression. Just randomized stats, your wits, and a whole lot of challenge.

Unlocking Othermine

Othermine is a challenging mode in UnderMine that is best played with a lot of content unlocked, so it is not available until the player completes UnderMine (Or at least gets to the end.) Othermine is unlocked once you enter “Nowhere” after defeating Ponzu, Scaled Assembly. There you will meet The Gatekeeper who will shepherd you into the Othermine from a room to the north of the main lobby. You do not need to speak with The Gatekeeper to unlock Othermine, it will happen automatically. 

Entering Othermine

When speaking with The Gatekeeper in the lobby he will request an object called a Nether. This is a new currency that can be earned in a couple of different ways. The primary way is by crafting relics, potions, blessings, and familiars. Whenever you craft a new item you’ll also receive a Nether. Once the majority of items have been crafted a blueprint will appear in the Terminal (the room with the gates and Gatekeeper) which will teach the peasant how to craft Nether from The Gatekeeper. And finally, Nether will appear in the chest at the end of an Othermine run. So if you’re good enough to keep completing runs, your next one will be paid for. 

What’s the Big Deal with Othermine?

Othermine runs start the peasant at a much lower power level than that of a normal late-game peasant. It also randomizes starting upgrades, making some builds more viable than others. Sometimes you’ll have a lot of damage, but little health, or the other way around. Or sometimes you’ll be average across the board. This goes a long way to differentiating runs, but there is more. 

When the you enter the Othermine you are dropped into the Antechamber. This is where you receive your starting upgrades, but you also have some decisions to make. You must choose between 2 relics, 2 curses, 2 blessings, and 2 familiars. Every time you complete a zone in the Othermine you will come back to the Antechamber for another round of decisions.

There are still more differences though. You also start the run with zero gold. Don’t worry, the gold you have earned in the UnderMine will stick around when you’re done. But, this lower gold amount will lead to harder decisions in shops and other places. Be careful what you spend on, and figure out clever ways to dupe the system.

Overall, we think these changes lead to a lot of situations that you simply would not encounter in the normal mode of the game. It highlights items that are otherwise considered under-powered, and allows for some real creativity in your play. 

Even More Challenge

Othermine is already tougher than the regular game, but if you’re looking for even more challenge we got you covered. You can pick up Sigfried’s Aegis which will grant you permanent, indestructible curses on each new floor. Why you’d want that? Who knows! We’re also adding seven new achievements, including one to complete Othermine without taking the initial upgrades. 

Play Forever!

Finally we have added the Othermine Crown which is a very special item that lets all your friends know how cool you are. When an Othermine run is completed you will discover a new crown in the final chest. So long as you never die in Othermine, you will continue to find new, and more elaborate crowns. If you do die though, your crown is reset to its default state. 

How big of a streak can you rack up? How many new crowns are there to discover? That’s for you to find out. (Disclaimer: You won’t lose your crown or streak by dying anywhere else. Only in Othermine)

A New Upgrade!

We’ve known for a little while that getting around the UnderMine can be a bit tedious. Especially when you need to buy that bomb in the shop and it’s all the way… over… there. So, we’ve added a new upgrade that works in both the UnderMine and Othermine: The Explorer’s Boots! These fashionable foot coverings will boost your speed up to 40% faster when out of combat. They turn off when combat starts, when the peasant jumps, or when the peasant takes damage. They can also be manually turned off with a bindable key if scooting around the floor isn’t to your liking.

And One More Thing…

We’ve packed this update with a ton of content, but we aren’t done yet. We’ve added a magic mirror to Arkanos’ library. This mirror will randomize your gender, color, and name. So, if you’re not digging any of those things at the moment head on over and give it a gander.