CRUSH DEPTH

There are some things I like about this game but I think it fails to hit the mark, and generally bites off more than it can chew. Firstly the game takes way too long to get going. First a intro lift down, then through about half the station to the first encounter and chase sequence with the monster. Besides the 3 or 4? sections where you run and hide from the monster the only gameplay comes from the hacking puzzle from the System Shock Remake. While it is implemented well here I found that it got old quickly and that if only the game had had one more style of puzzle or mechanic it wouldn't have been so repetitive. Also I am confused about the in-game explanation of these puzzles. At first we hack these boxes Dead Space style so as to progress, which makes sense as there is no power or at least no power where we are. However, we then need to find keycards to progress, but these keycards are used to open the re-route/hacking stations. Meaning that in this station re-routing power was simply how people operated the station lol. I was also slightly confused about the Station itself in a number of ways. At first because there is an opening credit for a VO for the station, and your boss telling you that there might be security on the station. Both of which led me to believe upon hearing the station announce my presence that the station was going to be working against me or was an AI of some sort (like the AI in the Solar Array in Dead Space 2). However, there is no Station AI nor any security to fear. It would have been nice to perhaps have had cameras to avoid or maybe copying Dead Space 2 moving one of those floating corpses in front of a scanner to gain access to a place. I felt that the Station was too big for the sake of hitting all the checkboxes of locations such as command, engineering, etc. It was clear that making these levels was happening faster than the gameplay to fill them. Despite the station being physically huge, it felt really small throughout the game. It would have been nice to perhaps have had a hub area where employees moved through (technically the Reactor Core room servers this purpose lol), and to give the player a sense of the scale of the place. There were un-powered doors and plenty of blocked corridors but I never felt as though there could be anything existing beyond my path. The whole station is one long corridor. I also felt let down that there weren't any exterior levels to the game. You start outside and see the lights of the station which looks cinematic, yet the actual game is the same modular corridors and crawl spaces. Some outside sections would have given the station proportion and broken up and given some much needed contrast to the really tight interior areas, not to mention that the key aspect of underwater horror is the openness and darkness of the abyss. Having read that the E.B? test subject dude was living and nesting somewhere away from the station I figured perhaps we'd see it or be taken there, yet we never leave the station. This makes me wonder why couldn't this game have taken place in space instead? The nature of the station makes me confused as well. Why does the station need to be this big if only such a small section of it is directly related to the experiments? Also why does this station have such a huge armoury? Filled with gigantic missiles and Shelves of heavy artillery shells? At one point I thought we would be blowing up the monster with the munitions but instead we run back to the reactor. If the station has enough weapons to fight a war against large creatures, then why does it fall so quickly, and presumably to a single corridor sized whale/shark thing? Also, for a station with 10000 doors breaking up each room and corridor it is surprising that the entire place is flooded. It would have been interesting to have had non-flooded sections which looked clean or maintained (which would break up the over-used moss/grime green that is everywhere, although I understand that changing the player controller and movement would be a lot to ask), but instead every nook and cranny is equally ruined and flooded. The linearity makes me question the frequent placements of maps, since the layout of the station is not complicated and most areas look the same anyway. It would have been interesting to give each area a colour scheme or something simple to differentiate between them. I also don't understand the inclusion of flares. I never needed them and didn't know if they served any other purpose. I think gameplay could have been improved by adding an oxygen gauge, forcing the player to search or use a station to replenish. If you wanted to go penumbra style and have both a torch and flares, then your suits light could have a battery which would need to be recharged or something. The monster sections are fine and only once did I backtrack to the akira lift and was killed when I didn't see the way forward to the right. I think forshadowing the creature and showing a tentacle was fine, but the creature didn't scare me and was shown too often near the end. There is also an easily missable log that tells you that sneaking is an option but otherwise you get into a chase easily so that is what the game runs with. As for the story I never knew whether the monster was the man who was transformed or the monster that he mated with. West's final log talks of a "Creature" but by this point the E.B guy doesn't look human and presumably he is around but I assume that the monster we encounter is the other whale/shark thing. There are various nitpicks I could make like how later on were they able to communicate with the subject if he was in water, and presumably no longer had human organs, yet still find the time to write notes for us. Or why the other creature attacked in the first place, since it already was around the station prior to the experiment (perhaps it wanted the reactor to make a nest?). I don't know why we are the first people back to the station considering it was a secret military site (revealed by the reference to a "General"), and it seems that although this place is secret and high security your boss tells you everything is "by the books" or mostly. So the military just didn't receive any reports from the station and left it? Then it is listed for wreck to be salvaged by an unnamed company? It seems strange to me that Riley never backs out once she discovers bad things are happening. I mean she could simply leave the station at anytime but judging by her voice lines this situation is typical? She shows no signs of distress for almost the whole game and likely would have been better as a silent protagonist. Also funny that securing the Reactor for scrap is considered more valuable than her life, yet only one person is sent down. I could go on but feel that my point has been made. Anyway I do overall like the art direction and understand why it was chosen. Similarly I get why things were done the way they were and it is a good thing that it is a working game made in 7? months I heard. However, I left the game wondering what could have been if the various elements had been pulled and merged together more closely and either committed to either a 30 min game reducing the scope or spending more time fleshing things out and making a more well rounded, engaging experience. There will be people who claim that I am over-analysing this game and that I shouldn't take it seriously but I think that is an insult to the developers who clearly want to make good games and deserve proper feedback. Regardless, I hope I have been not unreasonable in my review/critique and do genuinely want to see more games like this.

Very unique, had my heart pounding a few times. Love the art style, love the atmosphere of the game.

Dark, claustrophobic, and anxiety-inducing, just the way it should be.

I love atmospheric games like this. Truly a fun gem. Loved the lore, tension, sound, and environment design. Voice acting was actually really well done. I hope there is a sequel or prequel, otherwise I look forward to their next project.

Agradezco a los developers por la key! Primero que nada: NECESITAS SABER INGLES PARA ESTAR JUEGO (NO TIENE ESPAÑOL) El juego esta muy copado, es cortito y su arte al menos a mi me copa. La historia no es muy difícil de entender, solo cuenta con puzzles como mecánica, además del uso de bengalas. La verdad lo disfruté porque tiene algunos buenos sustos y persecución. Por lo menos para streamear esta bueno. Lo malo es que al no tener español y haber mucho TEXTO, no se termina de disfrutar la idea del juego. Aún asi lo disfruté :) Rendimiento: Sin problemas (90 - 100 FPS en ALTO) ESTARÍA BUENO QUE TENGA "ESPAÑOL" (The game needs SPANISH translate).

Absolute PEAK game right here! Holy carp that was enjoyable!

Good game, not worth the price. Really nice horror aspects, made me jump a few times. the creature design is pretty good as well. however its really short, took me 70 minutes to beat on a first time through. Although i will admit i did somewhat speed my way through (not reading or looking for any lore). Its a good game, just dont feel its quite worth the price, get on sale if you can

Good short little atmospheric horror game. I wish there was more variety to the puzzles, but it was short enough that it didn't out-stay it's welcome. Tries a little too hard to jump-scare you with the same couple of gags, but again, short and sweet. Good voice acting too!

Very well done, gives a strong The Abyss feeling. This game deserves more views.

I enjoy underwater-horror. Loved the atmosphere and the jumpscares were pretty well-timed! Didn't expect there to be voice acting as well, so that was a nice touch. Would recommend for a quick playthrough (2-3 hours)