Underhill
Games
colony survival game
SHOW HN2026
307points
112comments
#143of 4,366 in 2026
Top 4%of 2026 by points
How HN took it
RoastedHalf or more of the comments are critical
6 positive, 11 neutral or asking, 5 mixed, 27 critical, out of 49 comments about the project. Thread score -0.35.
Execution: 0 for, 12 againstDesign: 1 for, 8 againstIdea: 1 for, 2 againstDocs: 0 for, 3 againstPerformance: 0 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Fun game with nice aesthetics and feel
From 4 comments
Played for a bit, liked the aesthetics so I bookmarked it to come back to it later and discovered a bug. On mac/chrome, I hit CMD + D to bookmark. By doing so, I setup some kind…
magicmicah85 on HNWow, the mobile experience is great! Really like the feel of the game. FWIW, I have added this to the HN Arcade https://hnarcade.com/games/games/underhill
yuppiepuppie on HNAwesome work love it
TIPSIO on HNI love it! thanks for sharing.
juanpabloaj on HN
Objections
Performance is laggy on desktop and low frame rates
From 3 comments
Feels really laggy on desktop. Tried both Firefox and Brave. Like 3-4 FPS
Self-Perfection on HNHey it looks cool but for some reasons I cant play it? Is it because I use brave browser?
Jimmy6929 on HNI am on Firefox and it does nothing, no movement, just flashing resource monitors with zero values...
xcf_seetan on HN
Instructions and controls are unclear
From 3 comments
It’s not really clear how it’s played.
deafpolygon on HNInteresting game, love the design. Struggled a little before understanding the instructions.
oug-t on HNIt is hard to understand and play... maybe make it more obvious. I made a solar panel, it says I should assign staff... I would love to play if it would work. And music, thank…
desireco42 on HN
Loud music by default
From 2 comments
dear god make the music quiet by default
ajkjk on HNLoud music warning for those wearing headphones.
sointeresting on HN
Colonist population stuck or colonists hard to talk to
From 4 comments
Very cool! A couple notes from my first few sols: - I had a really hard time building a greenhouse, because I hadn't realized it'd be bigger than 1 square like all the previous…
mNovak on HNI could only get two colonists to come. I built a ton of every structure I was able to, housing, landing pad, energy, water, O2, and greenhouses and still only two came. Perhaps…
thinkingtoilet on HNIs hard to talk to the engineer, I can't select him, stuck between the base and a solar panel.
addedlovely on HNI'm on mobile (Android, Brave), and I can do everything but interact with the people. Am I doing something wrong?
jimnotgym on HN
Does not run on some mobile and browsers
From 2 comments
Hmm, I just get a black screen on my iPhone when I click your link. Did you use any existing stuff like the mars-sim project? https://mars-sim.sourceforge.io/
lazyasciiart on HNI'm on mobile (Android, Brave), and I can do everything but interact with the people. Am I doing something wrong?
jimnotgym on HN
Requests
Quieter default music
From 2 comments
dear god make the music quiet by default
ajkjk on HNLoud music warning for those wearing headphones.
sointeresting on HN
Fix colonist arrival and population bugs
From 3 comments
I could only get two colonists to come. I built a ton of every structure I was able to, housing, landing pad, energy, water, O2, and greenhouses and still only two came. Perhaps…
thinkingtoilet on HNVery cool! A couple notes from my first few sols: - I had a really hard time building a greenhouse, because I hadn't realized it'd be bigger than 1 square like all the previous…
mNovak on HNHad 1000 of each resource, lots of income, landing pads and habitats, but never got more colonists?
personjerry on HN
Clearer instructions and controls
From 2 comments
It’s not really clear how it’s played.
deafpolygon on HNVery cool! A couple notes from my first few sols: - I had a really hard time building a greenhouse, because I hadn't realized it'd be bigger than 1 square like all the previous…
mNovak on HN
Dvorak keyboard support
From 1 comment
Dvorak support/autodetection would be nice.
linuxguy2 on HN
Questions
How was it built and how long did it take
From 2 comments
Great, how did you build it? Also I have to read the books
number6 on HNI really enjoyed my first few Sols. Good work! How did you build it? How long did it take? Will it make money?
nealmueller on HN
Will it make money
From 1 comment
I really enjoyed my first few Sols. Good work! How did you build it? How long did it take? Will it make money?
nealmueller on HN
Alternatives named
Surviving Mars
From 1 comment
Surviving Mars (2018) is another really good game in this category. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5djTZfKVIKQ
tantalor on HN
mars-sim
From 1 comment
Hmm, I just get a black screen on my iPhone when I click your link. Did you use any existing stuff like the mars-sim project? https://mars-sim.sourceforge.io/
lazyasciiart on HN
Ultima Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams
From 1 comment
Made me think of this gem: https://www.myabandonware.com/game/ultima-worlds-of-adventure-2-martian-dreams-1az
Vaslo on HN
Terraforming Mars board game
From 1 comment
Terraforming Mars is a board game that heavily references these novels which i highly recommend.
AnotherGoodName on HN