Underrail should be held as a prime example of how to do "generic" right. Because let's be honest, it's not gonna win any awards for particularly original worldbuilding or writing. However, here's the thing - it doesn't need to. It's simply rock-solid at what it does, concise and to the point, and doesn't feel bland or boring as a result, whereas other specimen of the genre that are trying too hard to be funny or unique ironically end up falling into the trap of rehashing the same worn-out tropes over and over. Hell, Wasteland 2's purple prose and silly Native American headdresses got old much faster than anything I've encountered so far in Underrail. I think the right word to name this quality would be "authenticity". Underrail doesn't try to be overly self-aware or witty. Some might find it a tad dry, but it pretty much perfectly mimics the spirit of its late-90s ancestry: serious, straight-faced business with the odd tinge of zaniness. No exercise in authorial masturbation.
