UnReal World is Now Free

By: Derek Yu

On: February 22nd, 2013

UnReal World, by Sami Maaranen

The cult classic survival roguelike UnReal World is now donationware as of version 3.16. Creator Sami Maaranen cites faster releases as the reason for the switch, saying “massive AI, end-game and graphics improvements are underway and I’d like to keep releasing new versions whenever substantial new features are up and running”. People who already own a full license to the game are still entitled to free updates should it ever revert back to a paid scheme (a possibility that Maaranen acknowledges).

Although it’s a lesser-known roguelike, UnReal World has garnered a cult following for its complex combat and survival systems, as well as its unique portrayal of Finnish history and mythology. Unlike many dungeon crawlers, UW is extremely open-ended, allowing the player to play a number of non-combat roles such as hunter, hermit, fisherman, or trader. More often than not, the elements are your worst enemy, and understanding how to survive in an Iron Age Finnish wilderness is one of the game’s major challenges.

  • nik

    What kind of channel do I have to frequent to stumble upon this kind of game? Looks absolutely awesome

  • Slate

    Yeah, I love this game. The developers keep to improve it year over year. Such great guys really deserve some of my money.

  • http://www.facebook.com/guillermo.verde.73 Guillermo Verde

    Ah I remember this from a few years ago. Guess I’ll try it now!

  • Jonny

    Very tempting to give it a try! A longer one…I tried it for a couple of minutes, but the walls of text and keyboard controls made it very difficult for me to get into something I’d call a quickstart. Had to realize this obviously requires some amount of time to get familiar with the controls and possibilities. Unfortunately I don’t have enough time… :( I wonder if this game would make a good Android port.

  • Gnurf

    I don’t think it would at all ! I find touchscreens clumsy enough for a few directional keys, but I can’t imagine for the quantity of commands this game needs …

  • kinnik

    This game is sweeet!! I played many many many hours when I picked it up first (like 5+ years ago I think). It seems to have come quite some ways since then too! THANK YOU Sami Maaranen and Erkka Lehmus for sharing this gem!

  • Anonymous

    Holy moses! Its one of my all time favorite games, and probably the most complex game ever made! They deserve donations more than any other game developer. I hope they can continue the development, or even make another game.

    Slight fantasy elements from finnish mythology would make me go happy happy joy joy.

  • Jonny

    Agree. In the meantime I managed to play a little more and it turns out to be a quite complex game…Like it a lot!!!