Banzai Escape II: Subterranean

In Banzai Escape II: Subterranean, players take on the role of an elite clone soldier tasked with infiltrating a vast underground labyrinth of abandoned tunnels, sewers, and train stations. Battling through hostile factions like pirates, mutants, and rogue militias, the objective is to reach a secret experimental lab hidden deep beneath the surface. The game blends fast-paced third-person shooter action with anime-inspired visuals, offering dynamic combat and a range of cosmetic DLCs for character customization. Set in a dystopian world, its challenging environments and diverse enemies test players’ strategic combat skills as they uncover the mysteries of the subterranean network.

Banzai Escape II: Subterranean: Review of a Third-Person Anime Shooter

Banzai Escape II: Subterranean emerges from the indie development scene as a curious blend of genres and aesthetics. While aiming for a fun, chaotic, and customizable experience, this third-person shooter sequel, set in a post-Draugr lab capture world, faces the challenges typical of Early Access development. This review explores whether its core mechanics, anime-inspired art style, and ambitions for procedural generation and co-op gameplay outweigh its developmental growing pains, arguing that despite its positive Steam reception, a deeper analysis reveals a game with unrealized potential.

Development History & Context

Banzai Escape II: Subterranean comes from the Malaysian indie developer Xenoaisam Studio, published by themselves on October 29, 2021. The game was built using the Unity engine, a popular choice for indie developers due to its accessibility and cross-platform capabilities. Marked as an Early Access title on Steam, the developers indicated a desire for community involvement to shape the game’s future, hinting at adding more missions, levels, costumes, and a simple campaign mode. Funding was provided by Jasa Sendi [M] Sdn. Bhd. The team acknowledges assistance from a number of interns and students, highlighting the contribution of new developers. The availability of many translation languages demonstrates a good intention to reach a broad player base.

The game’s release occurred in a saturated market of indie games, particularly within the action and shooter genres. The Banzai Escape series exists within a milieu of titles influenced by anime aesthetics and the growing popularity of looter-shooters. The choice of Early Access reflects a common strategy for indie studios to garner support and iterate on their games based on player feedback, a strategy that necessitates a transparent and responsive relationship with the community. At the time of initial release, Steam client would support Windows 7/8/8.1/10.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

The narrative setup of Banzai Escape II: Subterranean builds upon the events of Banzai Escape 2. It positions players in a world where the sinister Draugr labs have been seized by the shadowy organization SPECTRE. The “sisters” – Inchester, Imingter, and Iekler – lead refugees to subterranean havens, facing threats from occupying forces. Players take on the role of an Elite Imingter agent, tasked with clearing the underground network of pirates, bandits, corporate militias, and mutants to reach an experimental lab.

The game’s core premise revolves around survival and resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. While the plot is simple, a developer comment implies that the previous game, Banzai Escape 2, had a richer story narrative, which may leave new players without context. Hints of cloning, military moe, and science fiction concepts exist, as requested by Steam community member Cpt.FernwehMercer.

Notably, the game’s Steam Community page indicates that the developers are open to more ideas for missions as well as level types.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Banzai Escape II: Subterranean bills itself as a third-person action shooter with single-player and co-op modes. Key gameplay features include:

• Core Loop: The player engages enemies, completes missions, loots items, and repeats.
• Customization: Customizable costumes and skins for the player character.
• Procedural Generation: Randomly generated map segments offer varied pathways through levels.
• RNG Arsenals: Randomized gun and power-up drops encourage grinding for better gear. The game boasts 56++ nano-plugin skills with random stats.
• Mission Structure: A system of random difficulty (Easy, Medium, Hard) combined with random mission objectives (Destroy, Capture, Kill, etc.).
• Level Design: Levels such as the Sewers, Jailbreak, Trains, Carpark and Abandoned Train Station offer a variety of areas to explore.

However, several potential issues arise from these systems. Procedural generation can lead to repetitive level design or frustrating enemy placement if not carefully balanced. The reliance on RNG for weapons and skills could create imbalances, where some players receive significantly better gear than others, especially during the game’s Early Access phase. The fact that weapon boxes require explanation on the Steam forums is indicative of a lack of direction in game play.

World-Building, Art & Sound

The game’s world is largely defined by its setting: an underground network of tunnels, sewers, and abandoned train stations. The art style leans heavily into anime/manga aesthetics, featuring cute character designs and vibrant colors. The enemies are described as “rogue and aggressive,” suggesting a fast-paced, chaotic combat experience.

The “About” section on the Steam page touts that the Draugr labs have been captured by SPECTRE, which may be referring to the James Bond SPECTRE. The official description boasts that the game features “Annoying enemies?”. The overall effect of these elements is likely to be colorful if unpolished, with the effectiveness of the presentation depending heavily on the quality of the art assets and sound design.

Reception & Legacy

On the Steam platform, Banzai Escape II: Subterranean boasts an overall “Very Positive” rating, supported by a reasonably high number of reviews (859 total reviews, 81% positive, by October 2025). However, further investigation illustrates that on MobyGames, it has received an overwhelmingly negative rating based upon very little interaction with that platform. Player reviews of the game are sparse among video game reviewer websites. It’s Early Access status and free-to-play model likely contribute to this. Its long-term legacy remains uncertain, dependent on the developers’ commitment to ongoing development and community engagement. The sheer number of released DLC add-ons suggests that the developers are highly focused on this business model.

Conclusion

Banzai Escape II: Subterranean presents an interesting blend of anime aesthetics and third-person shooter gameplay with the potential for replayability through procedurally generated levels. Its free-to-play nature lowers the barrier to entry, likely fueling its positive reception on Steam. However, the game’s Early Access status necessitates a cautious approach. While the core mechanics and art style may appeal to fans of anime-inspired action games, the reliance on RNG elements and the potential for repetitive level design could hinder its enjoyment. Ultimately, its place in video game history depends on Xenoaisam Studio’s commitment to refining and expanding upon its initial vision. While the initial reception is positive, Banzai Escape II: Subterranean requires further development to truly escape the depths of mediocrity and make its mark on the overcrowded indie game landscape, it would greatly benefit from a MobyGames approved description.