With only 15 minutes until Valve closed submissions to Steam Greenlight, Developers, Alex Nechita and Alex Nae, introduced The Underground King to the world. Within 24 hours the community had spoken. This quirky narrative-driven, strategy racing, RPG was the last game to make it on Steam Greenlight before the service was retired. A fact the team hoped would help drive funding for their Kickstarter campaign.
Despite the project’s unexpected historical significance however, it’s currently still well shy of it’s $16,703 goal. At this rate, even the glowing endorsement it received from Jim Sterling may not be enough to carry it over the crowdfunding finish line.
The Underground King introduces players to the gritty 2D world of underground cartoon street racing. Our protagonist has big dreams of profit and infamy, but with no reputation, crew, or even a proper car, the road ahead is going to be pretty rocky. No worries though, you have Uncle Wart’s hippie van and a random hobo you met who will work for peanuts. Things are already looking up.
Get Your Second-Hand Motor Running
There are two stages of gameplay in The Underground King, management and racing. During the management stage, players gather resources and develop their plan of attack. This is where you put any acquired reputation, money, or loot to work upgrading your cars, drivers, and social status.
When it comes time to race, you have to select a team (and vehicle) to carry you to victory. Drivers and cars both come with their own set of roles and abilities. This adds a more strategic element to overcoming specific race obstacles. The proposed mechanics all seem to play well off each other, making gameplay look fun and intuitive, rather than cumbersome.
Of course, all of this is further emphasized by Alex Nae’s quirky art style which helps drive the comedic narrative. This is the kind of project that would look right at home in Adult Swim’s Game library.
There are still two weeks left on the clock before your chance to fund Steam’s last Greenlight game runs out. The Underground King exemplifies all the unconventional gaming goodness Greenlight was created to showcase. This makes it a fitting send off for Steam’s developer friendly platform.
