Undecember Gameplay Overview: New Hack & Slash ARPG (2024)

Undecember Gameplay Overview: New Hack & Slash ARPG – In this Undecember Gameplay Overview, I’m going to dive deep into the gameplay features of the new exciting hack and slash action RPG for players aged 18+. These include the classless system, which cohesively ties into the rune and skill mechanics, crafting and enchantment, the Zodiac System, combat, and much more! If you are still undecided about whether or not Undecember is worth trying, then this overview is for you.

Undecember was developed by Needs Games and published by LINE Games. The ARPG was initially announced in December 2021 and had already made headlines upon its initial release in Korea earlier this year. It is now globally available to download for free on PC, Android, and iOS.

Undecember Gameplay Overview – Story & Setting

At its core, Undecember speaks of a tale about the birth of the universe in which the world of Traum was brought to life by 12 Primal Beings. They started not as gods, but as creatures who would eventually harness and develop powers over time until eventually becoming revered by the humans they have created. However, a 13th member referred to as Serpens, emerged from their group, only to introduce corruption to mankind. Needless to say, this did not bode well since abominations and monsters constantly invaded Traum, leaving death and destruction in their wake.

As fate would have it, the 12 gods merged their powers and runes into one. Fighting alongside them were the humans they created in a bid to dispel the evil that was unleashed by Serpens and his minions. For a brief period, the world experienced peace and harmony, allowing civilizations to flourish once more. Alas, it cannot always stay this way as greedy beings started seeking runes, wishing to obtain the power to ascend into godhood like the Primal Beings. It is from this desire that history will inevitably be repeated.

You play as a Rune Hunter who woke from a dreadful nightmare when your ship was suddenly ambushed by monsters known as Dimps. Eventually, you learn that a certain bishop from a Pagan group intended to summon Serpens from the dead to conquer Kalicorda. Your goal is to stop this from happening to prevent the onslaught and destruction of the universe.

Undecember’s storytelling is scenario-based where you finish one major act and then move on to the next. The more interesting parts of it are the bits of narrative that come from the sub-quests and journal, which are notes you pick up through exploration. They provide additional context on what’s happening to the people of Traum after the epic war while gaining insights into the identities of the other Rune Hunters. Another benefit of unlocking these anecdotes besides fleshing out the world is the rewards you get such as gold and other materials to enchant equipment, making exploration worth it.

Undecember Gameplay Overview – Gameplay Features

In Undecember, there is a hub as well as instanced areas you will travel to once you are ready to face the corruption. The hub is very much the perfect place to enchant weapons, create potions, and upgrade runes, where every system is not only intuitive but also integrates well with character progression due to the freedom players have. Here, you will also get to communicate with various NPCs on what your next missions are. You will then go to the waypoint and select a specific section in the world map per act. Remember to equip the appropriate equipment against specific elemental damage types to prepare for dangerous encounters ahead.

Soon after teleporting, you will be given the avenue to showcase the effectiveness of your rune combinations as you fight against gruesome abominations. For every instanced world, there is usually a single pillar, which provides you with a random and powerful ability. It can grant immortality, fortune, and added willpower, to name a few. Additionally, there are golden goblins who carry an ample amount of gold so be sure to kill them quickly, otherwise, they can escape by teleporting to another dimension.

Another nice touch to keeping players engaged is the Old Vaults that grant weapons and armor once you have slain the monsters it summons. Completely exploring these areas is recommended as they reward items like Gemstones of Courage, which are used to buy materials to enhance your skills.

The Classless System

As mentioned previously, Undecember is unique because it provides players with a degree of freedom when it comes to building the classes they want, unlike most ARPGs in the market. You are not shoehorned into certain abilities to focus on so for instance, you can cast magical spells even while you are wielding two one-handed swords – talk about versatility! This brings us to the foundation of character progression, which includes the Rune and Zodiac Systems.

As a Rune Hunter, you can directly influence the skills you wish to add to your hot bar. These are divided into Skill, Link, and Trigger Runes. By fulfilling requirements such as reaching specific levels and stats together with spending material elements, you are able to enhance their effectiveness via Rune Growth.

Another thing to keep in mind is the linked slots’ colors, which can either be blue, green, or red. Let’s take the Combo Skill as an example. This is a decent rune to pick if you are a sword or axe-wielder. In my case, it has green and two red links, which I then connected with Quick Attack, Attack DMG Increase, and Savagery Link Runes to significantly boost my melee damage, attack speed, and weapon range. As such, the properties of the Active Skills’ effect have been altered. You also have the option to exchange them for something else like converting Combo’s melee damage to Fire DMG instead.

What adds further depth to the Rune System are Trigger Runes that are described as “Spell Activation on Spell Hit”. This involves connecting two Skill Runes where the first one is what you will activate to trigger the second one. For example, if I cast the Charge Release Lightning Skill, I can automatically trigger Fighter’s Wrath to boost my melee damage and attack speed. In my succeeding attacks, I will then choose to activate Melee Skill Runes to take advantage of these buffs.

Next is the Zodiac System pertaining to the First and Second Growth Axes. The Zodiac itself is comprised of Strength, Intelligence, and Dexterity Stats. Strength boosts HP and armor, Intelligence raises mana and barrier or defense, and Dexterity improves hit rate and evasion. Meanwhile, there is the Second Growth Axis, which is known as Traits or passive perks to further improve your build. As you invest more points, you unlock higher-tiered Traits. The good thing about the Zodiac System is you can easily reset it without consuming any resources.

Enchantment and Alchemy

Undecember’s depth is not only rooted in directly improving your character but also enhancing the gear you equip and the consumables you bring in combat. In addition to changing the granular properties of runes, you can similarly enchant weapons and armor, even going so far as changing their rarities as long as you have enough essences to do so. This is what’s striking in the ARPG because of how much control is given to the player, which you will not see anywhere else.

The same goes for alchemy where you can brew different types of potions, synthesize runes, and combine essences, to name some. As you progress deeper into the story, you will gain access to additional materials that you can modify to your heart’s content!

Mastery incentivizes you to further enchant gear and engage in alchemy. You can think of it as your crafting level so the more you participate in these activities, the better your knowledge becomes, allowing you to earn experience points. You can then invest them in any weapon, armor, and accessory type for enchanting or focus on becoming an expert alchemist to speed up the brew time of potions.

Events and Rune Hunter Pass

Undecember features multiple events and a season pass model that you can participate in whether you choose to play the game for free or not. Logging in daily will reward you with a slew of materials, especially now with Needs Games’ Launch Celebration Attendance Event. Simply playing x amount of hours per day and completing specific activities will grant you essence bundles, gold, and rune chests.

Undecember Gameplay Overview – Combat and Difficulty

Undecember’s combat features fast-paced encounters that encourage hunting and farming for the gear and materials you need. As with other ARPGs, the ultimate goal is to experiment with multiple build options to efficiently destroy hordes of enemies while collecting valuable loot in the process. In moving from one act to the next, you will notice the steady increase in difficulty as the elemental resists you must prepare for changes together with the enemy types you go up against. There is also an auto potion system, which lets you automatically use potions to provide the extra dose of HP and mana when you are heavily preoccupied in combat.

The challenging aspect of having flexible systems in place is that it is not as simple to switch from one build to the next because you will have to farm for a ton of resources to grow and enchant your runes and gear once more. Note that some runes are dependent on the type of weapon you equip. Despite this, I would argue that character-building is much more fun and engaging compared to combat because you are experimenting and implementing concepts that may or may not work.

When you start to get used to a particular build, the encounters themselves no longer become as dynamic as you would hope them to be. The reason for this is the lack of feedback regarding the animation and sound effects of the enemy’s reactions. Although there is a fair amount of gore, they would simply go limp and fall to the ground upon death rather than getting absolutely slaughtered to the point where they explode in different directions, for example. It would have been great to show the visceral impact and power of the runes you have equipped, especially when fighting bosses who do not seem to flinch at all when taking damage.

Audio and Visuals

When it comes to Undecember’s visuals, however, Needs Games succeeds in showing the deplorable conditions and effects of evil corrupting the lives of many. In most cases, the environments are set up decently where dark and grim tones are the dominant theme. But do note that they are varied since you will venture into well-lit areas such as desserts, which do not lower the quality of the game’s art style.

In terms of the audio, the sound effects of the weapons and skills are the best part because of how loud and diverse they are depending on what you use, from the way your sword slashes into the enemy’s gut to the icicles you summon from the ground to pierce their tiny bodies. The music, however, is not as remarkable as it sometimes lacks the right amount of loud beats and variety. The soundtrack functions more like a background that suddenly ends midway without warning, thereby lowering the excitement in combat.

From a technical standpoint, the ARPG was very stable so I rarely encountered framerate dips. Furthermore, no crashes or bugs appeared throughout my playthrough. In terms of controller support, it is pretty decent in combat. However, a mouse is still required when interacting with NPCs or accessing the Journal and Zodiac since there are way too many features to map them all.

Final Thoughts

Undecember is an ambitious hack-and-slash title that aims to shake up the mechanics of how characters progress in the ARPG space. It is surprisingly not mired by complicated and unintuitive systems even if there are a handful of them in the game. In fact, they are connected in meaningful ways that significantly improve the depth and experience of veteran and new players alike.

However, there are still improvements to be made in the coming months such as making combat highly engaging by refining the reaction animations of enemies, adding thrilling and distinct music into the mix, and fully implementing controller support. If you are a fan of ARPGs and are itching to play one with good progression mechanics that allow for ultimate freedom in terms of rune and gear modification, while enjoying the escalating difficulty in encounters, then consider checking out Undecember. You can use the PC, Android, and iOS links below to support the channel!

What did you think of this Undecember Gameplay Overview? What aspect of the ARPG do you find most unique? If you have questions, feel free to drop by our Twitch Channel. If you enjoyed this article, be sure to check out our recent overviews, Lost Eidolons Gameplay and Features Overview and Warhammer 40K: Darktide Closed Beta Gameplay Hands-On Impressions.