In Other Waters

Nice, contemplative game, but know that's a niche game for a niche audience. Check the last section to know if this is for you or not. [h1] What is this game? [/h1] You play as some sort of AI strapped to a diving suit. You help a biologist find her lost friend on a foreign ocean planet, deep in the sea. And that's pretty much all I can say about it without spoiling it! Gameplay-wise... It is a worldbuilding-focused visual novel and dungeon-crawler with no enemy to fight. Or put very simply, it's a giant maze. You move from point-to-point, trying to find your way in the environment, scanning the fauna and flora and gathering samples. You need to be careful about your power and oxygen meter, required respectively for you and your human partner to survive the depths. Samples you find can help resplenish these, and the tools you will find during the story consume from these meters. The latter are mainly used to access new areas. [h1] What is the game's strengths and weaknesses? Who is this for? [/h1] [b]In short, you are very likely to like this game if you follow these criterias : * You're a reader who prefer world lore over story, and are not bothered with linear stories. * You can easily create a mental picture of locations from text and sounds. * You're looking for a very mechanically simple game.[/b] Matching all these criterias make it a quite niche game. It does not have the wider appeal of let's say Subnautica, which caters to a wider variety of players. In details, now. The game is fundamentally a visual novel with little narrative branching. It requires quite a bit of reading to enjoy it, and you have to accept the story offers little choice. I write this because you may think you have several new areas to explore... But you are railroaded by the game into one single area (a bad level design choice). Most of the writing is focused on the planet's ecosystem and creatures, which makes it the most interesting part of the lore. Indeed, the story itself is rather simple, with few elements of surprise nor emotional strength. In other words, the game may catch your interest if you like reading lore about creatures, but will likely fail to attract you if you want rich character relationships and developments. Don't play it if you're looking for deep gameplay. It is extremely simple. Don't expect any kind of puzzle, fast-paced action or complex survival : It is at a fundamental a giant maze with things to collect in it. That is all. Do know however that this game can be rather difficult if it's your first game and you're a slow reader : Indeed, some areas will constantly drain your oxygen meter, requiring you to be able to read and act quickly. You will either need to skip descriptions (which is sad, considering it's the game's main point), or return to base and come back (which slows the game down). Visually, the game holds a strong albeit stripped-down artistic style. You should really play it with a good audio device (typically, a good headset), because the soundtrack and ambient sounds do the majority of the work. This game absolutely requires you to visualize in your mind the areas, otherwise you'll find the art too vague and detached to find the game attractive. In other words, don't play this game if you have aphantasia!