There aren’t many underwater Metroid-likes, but this is a good one and it looks nice too!
This is an interesting project, a AAA game studio taking the time to do a smaller, almost indie-scale game. The result has turned out very well, and generally feels excellent and polished outside of a few noticeable graphical glitches.
The story is a touted feature, supported by the soft Irish tones of Siobhan Hewlett as narrator for the lovely sketchy cutscenes, as well as occasional exposition over gameplay. The actual plot is pretty standard, about the young Merryn who constructs a submarine to rescue her missing father, but it’s the world that you find below the waves that captures the imagination. It’s a sort of post-apocalyptic setting, with the ruins and remnants of sea-dwelling peoples, infested by grotesque creatures and ancient mechanisms, and hints of titanic monsters lurking. There’s a folkloric feel to everything, especially with the lush, dreamy background art.
As you explore, you find new tech for your submarine: a light, a sonar pulse, different elemental torpedoes. You can also pop out and leave it behind to fit in smaller passages, although you’re more vulnerable in this state. With the new abilities you can then backtrack to get more of the myriad hidden treasures. Some are health boosts, etc., but most are monetary goodies that let you buy upgrades at shops. To afford everything it’s not necessary to get anywhere near all the treasures, not even a trophy or anything, so I didn’t feel too bad about leaving some of the more tedious or obscure ones. And some are tricky to figure out; there’s all kinds of mystery interactions of your abilities with thingamabobs in the environment.
The submarine is fun to control, and combat is frantic as you zing out your grappling claw to fend off the beasties as you blast away with torpedoes. The claw is also sometimes used for throwing projectiles back, and often for solving puzzles. There’s a turbo boost that I loved to use but much of my time it left me alternately bumping off walls and waiting for it to recharge. Still, getting around the world is not a chore at all; there’s also a few warp points and a very helpful map on the pause screen.
I really liked this. The torpedoes could be more useful in combat, there could be more variety in basic enemies, some of the interactions could be clearer. But the game is about a feeling of discovery and does well with this. It’s also got a good balance of satisfying puzzles, tense action, and exploration. Not to mention a heartwarming ending.
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