Subterra: A beginner’s guide

Subterra is a mining experience that merges the concepts of a 2.5D platformer with a Minecraft-style aesthetic. The result is a game where you navigate multiple layers of mines to collect precious resources, upgrade your tools, and avoid vicious enemies and treacherous falls. Explore the depths of the mines and find out the secrets you come across in this Roblox experience.

This guide serves as an introduction to Subterra, providing you with a brief overview of its gameplay design.

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Getting started with Subterra

Overview

Official cover art for the game (Image via Roblox)

Subterra is, at its heart, a mining title where the core of the experience lies in using your pickaxe to break blocks apart. When broken, each block grants a different type of mineral or material, which can either be sold or used to perform upgrades. As you progress through the game, you will encounter new and more valuable types of ores that require a heavily upgraded pickaxe to mine.

Each broken block grants XP and the associated resource, giving you access to a stable supply of upgrade material. Continuing to do so grants you enough levels and upgrade material to unlock power-ups that make you more efficient at the task.

The game world is divided into layers, and you can freely travel between them using the overworld Portals. You can also resume from where you left off by clicking the To the Mines button and use the same button to return to the surface. So, you can always come back to the surface to perform upgrades and shatter blocks that you previously couldn’t.

Engage with the game’s myriad mining-centric mechanics, craft various useful items, and aim to find out the secrets that lay within the depths of Subterra.

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Controls

Gameplay still (Image via Roblox)

• Movement: W, S, A, D
• Jump: Spacebar
• Move Cursor: Mouse
• Break Blocks: Left Mouse Button

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Gameplay mechanics

In-game shop (Image via Roblox)

• 2.5D Platformer Experience: Being a 2.5D title, you cannot move the camera around freely in this game. The levels are designed to be viewed from the side, so you can’t spin the viewpoint to look at something from a different angle. That said, the game does allow limited camera movement vertically and horizontally by moving the cursor to the extremes of the screen.
• Mining: The main gameplay loop of the experience centers around mining, which involves using your trusty pickaxe to break blocks and extract ores and materials. Ores and blocks are segregated by tiers, which define the ease of breaking them open. A high-tier ore cannot be shattered by a low-tier pickaxe and you will be required to upgrade the tool before moving forward.
• Backpack: The product of your mining efforts can be viewed in and accessed from your backpack. This sack has a limited capacity, which also factors into how frequently you may need to return to the surface to empty it out. Like the pickaxe, the backpack can be upgraded for increased capacity. Each upgrade adds dozens of slots that keep you going for an additional tens of blocks, effectively streamlining the experience.
• Layers: There are multiple layers of the game world that can be accessed after meeting the unlock requirements. You can travel from the overworld using the Portals to the Dirt and Stone layers; the former is unlocked by default, while the latter has a Rank 3 requirement. The game also lets you teleport to a random place in these layers to find areas you may not have explored before.
• Quests: You can partake in regular and Daily Quests for easy access to Gold and EXP. These missions involve engaging with the game’s core mechanics, such as upgrades, commerce, and more. The Gold earned is used at the Merchant’s, while EXP helps you level up and unlock better items at the vendor’s.
• The Merchant: You can purchase weapons, bombs, and more at the Merchant for Gold earned by selling ores or completing quests. These items are crucial for progressing through the deeper parts of the two layers, as they are populated by various kinds of monsters.
• In-game Shop: The in-game Shop includes premium items that can be used to speed up progress in the game. You can buy boosters, Gold, Shards, and game passes, all of which help you unlock new items faster. Being exclusively premium, you need Robux to purchase any of these products.

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FAQs

What is Subterra about?

Subterra has you mine for resources, partake in the trading of ores, and level up in a 2.5D environment.

Is Subterra free to play?

Yes, you can play this experience for free without any mandatory Robux purchases.

How to upgrade the pickaxe in Subterra

You can upgrade the pickaxe by interacting with the Upgrade Pickaxe station in the overworld and presenting the required materials.