PAX East has always been a place for up-and-coming developers to show off their cool projects and indie games to shine. I would like to introduce you to an interesting roguelike that combines dungeon exploration with soccer. Footgun: Underground has the player attacking enemies with different soccer ball variants so lets get right into it.
I think the hardest thing to do regarding Footgun: Underground was meeting up with the developer because they didn’t have a booth at the show. They were showing off the game on a Steamdeck, which the game ran on smoothly by the way. After that little issue, it was time to check out Footgun. The game has the player travel through stages that are randomly generated.
The map of stages looks like a typical rougelike but that might be the only typical thing about this game. Footgun: Underground makes you learn and adapt on the fly. What I mean by that is you need to study how the different soccer balls will come off your feet. There might be an enemy on the ceiling and you will have to make the ball bounce enough so you can get a kick toward the ceiling. It’s cool to see a soccer game like this put that extra challenge in because most games like this wouldn’t make you control kicks like that. Along the journey, you’ll be able to upgrade skills and abilities for your player and your soccer balls. I don’t see how a game can be back when the main playable character is named Steve.
There are quite a few combinations of balls you can use during play. I found my favorite combo was a soccer ball/saw combo and a ball with a laser that would shoot along the path the ball took. Like in most roguelikes, you’ll be able to judge how dangerous a spot on the map will be and if you want to take it on. There will be upgrade spots along the way too so make sure you save up your currency to buy the best items/upgrades.
Anyway your goal is to get through 5 sets of generated stages and take down boss enemies along the way. The first boss I fought was a centipede creature and the saw blade soccer ball made quick work of him. I was able to set up my saw blade in front of the monster and he would run right into it. Another cool aspect is that you can put upgrade balls with quite a few power ups or have them powered up with the same upgrade because the upgrades stack on top of each other.
Usually games that make me monitor which way I kick a ball rather than just kick it doesn’t sit too well with me. I don’t have that issue with Footgun: Underground. I think it’s because the stages aren’t too long so I don’t think about it too much. I only think about killing monsters and getting to the next room. I also really like the fact that I can bounce the balls off the wall to deal damage as well. Footgun: Underground isn’t our regular soccer game and you should totally check it out.