UnReal World Review - Finnish Open World Survival Roguelike - Play For Free!

Let me take you on a journey into the far north, in a game of survival during iron age Finland.

The UnReal World is a lifelong passion of one wild Finnish man, Sami Maaranen (with assistance from his friend Erkka). Work began on this Roguelike in 1992, when he was just a teenager. UnReal World has had many different iterations, beginning as a medieval fantasy game and gradually morphing into the world’s premier open world Finnish survival game.

Yes, the controls are a bit weird at the start. Yes, the graphics leave much to the imagination. But it’s wicked fun. So much fun that I come back to it year after year, and time and again it amazes me. With regular updates, Sami is always bringing something new to the land.

This is one of my earliest memories of the game.

It had been days since I last ate anything but a few handfuls of berries, I am starving. I escaped from slavery, my Njerpez captors far behind me. Lost in the wilderness with nothing but the clothes on my back and a knife, with which I have crafted a javelin, I am desperately searching for a village.

My search brings me across an open marshland, a place where I spot wild sow tracks! I follow the tracks until I spot her, and I try to sneak closer. The injuries I sustained from my escape and not eating for a few days have weakened my skills, and the sow spots me - she squeals in fright and takes off!

I give chase across the marshland until I see she has trapped herself in a spit of land surrounded by deeper water. I think about throwing my javelin at her, but don't want to risk losing it in the water if I miss, so I take position on the strip of land she must cross by to escape. She doesn't have much of a choice and tries to bolt past me. Using my javelin like a spear I thrust at her as she goes past, and it lands! The sow falls to the ground and I stab again and again as she tries to get away. My belly will be full tonight.

Hunting is one of the main ways to obtain food. You can easily spend half an hour tracking and trying to bring down big game, like reindeer or stags – success not guaranteed. You can try to fight bears or packs of wolves for their valuable hides. You can set many different traps, from small lever traps which will catch squirrels and birds to large spiked pits for the prey (man or beast!) to fall into. You can even set fishing nets in hope of snagging a meal.

Use the hides to craft yourself a set of warm fur clothing to stay warm during the cold months, you wouldn’t want to catch some frostbite. Maybe turn a hide into leather so you can make a pair of skis to travel in style during the snowy winter.

Build a smokehouse so you can save some of your catch for later, or salt it if you can afford to barter salt from another. If the time of year is right, drying the meat is the easiest way to preserve it. Don’t forget to dig out and build a cellar to prolong the freshness. Oh, and watch out for the critters, they will eat your food if you leave it unprotected.

All this is in addition to a robust gathering and agriculture abilities. Harvest mushrooms and berries, find wild herbs to heal your wounds and cure your sicknesses. Prep the land for farming by burning wood for ash, then plant your seeds.

Quickly scramble together a shelter to somewhat protect you from the rain, snow, and cold. If you have the resources and time, construct a cabin for even better protection. Build a bed, table, bench and fireplace to make it feel like home.

Barter for anything and everything that you need for survival in the UnReal World. Travelling merchants from the south want luxurious northern furs in exchange for masterwork weapons and tools. Random lone vagabonds will trade you bits of cord for a meal. Different tribes will have items for bartering that others won’t. You will lust after that masterwork bow that you cannot afford… yet.

Trade for a canine companion, they will certainly help you track down your prey. But don’t forget to feed it. Build up your own herd of cows, collect the milk in a bowl that you carved.

But be wary, for there are people that want what you have too. And they aren’t afraid to kill you for it. That man in the distance might not be a friendly wanderer, it could be a Njerpez – UnReal Worlds cannibal tribe. You have to be prepared to fight for your life. Or maybe you think you are good enough to best them, they are carrying a wealth of items after all. If you are starving, they might look like a meal. (yes, you can eat human flesh in the game)

Jeez, and I haven't even mentioned watercraft travels or the fact that predatory animals in the game will hunt. You can come upon kills from these animals, or even attacks in progress!

Sami has truly created a world with no goal but to survive. How you do that is up to you.

Oh! And you can play the game for free, Sami runs off donations - if you like it, Donate! http://www.unrealworld.fi/urw_downloads.html

Pros:

+Immersive Open World
+Detailed injury/disease/healing mechanic
+Active community/mod creators
+Very high replayability
+Detailed survivalism gameplay
+Developer updates the game every few months/listens to player feedback

Cons:

-Graphics
-Controls (get past the learning curve and you're good)
-Sound could use some work in areas