Pick Up the Item Before Planning to Use It
Underkeep inventory management begins with checking that an item actually reached your inventory. The recorded demo tutorial says items can be picked up by right-clicking them. Narrated playthroughs include a player trying to open a chest before realizing the nearby key still needed to be collected.
That small check prevents a lot of confusion. After a conversation, opened container, or defeated enemy, inspect the immediate area and confirm that the useful item is among your supplies. Do not assume that seeing a reward or hearing an NPC mention it means you already have it.
The official Underkeep Steam page describes exploration, equipment upgrades, and resource management as part of the adventure.
Compare Loot Before Replacing Equipped Gear
Open the relevant character's equipment and compare the new item with what they already wear or wield. Demo players inspect damage ranges, attribute requirements, armor, evasion, and resistance effects before assigning items.
A useful order is:
- Read the new item's requirements and properties.
- Identify a character who can use it.
- Compare it with that character's current equipment.
- Equip it only when it helps the intended role.
- Check that the character's usual skills still work with the new weapon.
In one narrated demo, replacing a sword left a sword-dependent ability unavailable. Keeping the old weapon long enough to check your skills can save you from discovering that problem in the next fight.
Do not collect a worse weapon on the assumption that a guaranteed sale or crafting use exists. A player's guess that an item could be sold later is not confirmation of a merchant price or a crafting recipe.
Keep Food, Potions, and Tools Easy to Recognize
Different supplies solve different problems. Food supports the game's rest loop, while mana and stamina potions address their respective resources. The recorded demo tutorial also says inventory potion use does not consume an action, making it useful to know which potion you have before an urgent combat decision.
Tools deserve attention as well. Community demo playthroughs identify a pickaxe and then use it on an obstacle that could not be handled bare-handed. Retain a useful tool when you still have unexplored routes; do not confuse it with a spare weapon simply because both appear among collected items.
Quest items need the same care. A key for one chest should not be assumed to open every locked container. Check the current lock message and your collected items rather than treating any remaining lock as an inventory bug.
The documented examples do not establish an inventory weight limit, automatic sorting command, stash system, or crafting interface. You can manage the demo effectively without relying on any of those unverified features.
FAQ
How do I pick up an item in the demo?
The narrated tutorial says to right-click items. Check that the item appears among your supplies afterward.
Why does a chest remain locked after an NPC offers a key?
First confirm that you collected the key. A demo playthrough includes a key left nearby that the player initially overlooked. A different lock may also need a different key.
Should I throw away the pickaxe after finding it?
Community demo playthroughs use it to deal with an obstacle. Keeping it while routes remain unexplored avoids discarding a tool you may still need.