Mythic Ocean

[b]My Playtime:[/b] 12.4h (100% achievement, finished the game ~7 times) [b]My First Playthrough:[/b] 4.3h [b]Grindy Achievement(s):[/b] No. [b]Optional Achievement(s):[/b] Yes (28 achievements). [b]Difficult Achievement(s):[/b] No. [h1]Intro[/h1] [i]Mythic Ocean[/i] is a visual novel with exploration elements in it. You'll talk to several people and find slips of paper in an underwater scene to finish the game. [b]Pros:[/b] - Multiple endings - Beautiful-looking environments [b]Cons:[/b] - Fast-forward is too slow - Endings look similar - No way to track the location of the slips of paper [b]Specs[/b] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck]Steam Deck[/url]: AMD Zen 2 4c/8t 2.4-3.5GHz, 16 GB RAM, 8 AMD RDNA 2 CUs [h1]Should you buy this game?[/h1] [i]Honestly, I found the story to be bland, and I hated finding the slips of paper throughout the vast area that are required to finish the game.[/i] [hr][/hr] [h1]In-Depth Review[/h1] [h3]Visuals[/h3] [i]Mythic Ocean[/i] is a game that is set underwater. For this setup, I found the environment in each biome refreshing and fun to explore. Moreover, I liked the camera perspective when you talk to them since it helps you to focus on their little movement during the conversation. However, I didn't enjoy seeing the 2D art in the ending since some characters look weird in this format. [h3]Story[/h3] You play as an amnesiac to advise the Gods on their beliefs. A lot of the conversations will be related to these topics, with each God having a different focus. The topics are not complicated since they are only related to human emotions, although it feels weird that some of the Gods are basically kids who don't know how the world works. Events that involve these Gods will happen as you progress, and you'll play a part in shaping their beliefs through your choices. These choices will affect the ending; each God has two endings that they can end up in. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3565910654 Still, as a game that focuses on its narrative, the ending feels weak. It might be happening due to the numerous endings the game has, making them feel the same. It will tell about the world that was created by the chosen God and how the other God feels, but the reaction is always the same, with a minor variation depending on their beliefs. The similarities can discourage people from replaying the game. [h3]The Game[/h3] [b]Gameplay[/b] [i]Mythic Ocean[/i]'s gameplay is divided into two parts: exploration and conversations. The first one allows you to explore the vast ocean to find either NPCs, slips of paper, or the Gods. Finding NPCs is completely optional, but the slips of paper are needed to finish the game. However, despite the game having a cool sonar feature to detect NPCs and Gods, it isn't able to detect the slips of paper. Since the areas can be quite vast, searching for them feels like finding a needle in a haystack. Moreover, some will only be revealed after you progress in the game, wasting more of your time. The conversation part is straightforward. You just need to talk to the Gods to reinforce their beliefs. Each God has two differing beliefs, and your job is to guide them to either one. Since you'll be talking to the Gods a lot, I like how the game has a feature to teleport you to where they usually are. Sometimes, they will not be in their usual location, though, and you need to find them manually using the sonar feature whenever this happens. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2974465281 The gameplay can be repetitive. You'll need to go back and forth between the Gods to progress the story, and when you are not doing that, you need to scour through the whole area to find the slips of paper needed to finish the game. There is nothing else that you can do in the game. Luckily, it always lets you know whenever there is a new dialogue from a certain God. [b]Length and Replayability[/b] I finished the game in 4.3h for the first time. Since some achievements require you to unlock all endings, I finished the game six more times to get them all. You actually only need to finish the game four times for this, but getting the ending that you want can be tricky if you don't know what you are doing like me. Despite the multiple endings, each ending feels the same. I won't recommend replaying the game unless you are going for some achievements, especially since it's not friendly for second replays. The fast-forward feature is very slow, and it skips all texts rather than the previously read texts, wasting more of your time in the process. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] It seems that [i]Mythic Ocean[/i] has a lot of dialogue without substance. At the end of the day, the conversation means nothing except as a tickbox to get the ending, and the endings themselves are too bland and similar to each other. The only good thing the game has is the beautiful-looking environment. I felt like wasting time playing this game, so I'm afraid I can't recommend it.

This game has an interesting concept, but the story felt pretty bland most of the time. The gameplay is fine other than searching around for notes which is extremely annoying. I ended up getting all the achievements and seeing everything the game has to offer but it mostly felt like a chore. Because of that I can’t really recommend it

So far, my second-favorite ocean game (first place still goes to South Scrimshaw) This game is incredibly cozy and cute. It genuinely feels like raising kids in the ocean—supporting five princes as they grow up, only to eventually witness a full-on royal succession battle vibe（五子夺嫡哈哈哈） Every character is absurdly lovable My favorite is Lutra. I even handed him the crown（传国玉玺）and everything… but he didn’t end up becoming the emperor 😭 Honestly, who could resist such an adorable big flappy moth boy? btw I ship the swordfish and the dolphin🐬

I finished this game yesterday, and got what I think is a great ending. I've had some time to process it. Even though it's a wonderful game, it's one of those things that ends up being more of a therapy session or zen illuminating things than unexpected. Even when I was frustrated trying to figure out where to go, or what to do, The end result was wonderful and enlightening. I'm going to play it again, and try to do better.

Je ne m'attendais à pas grand chose & j'ai était très déçu pour un mélange fade entre un walking-simulator aquatique & un visual-novel... Certes avec des environnements sous-marin assez jolis & stylisés mais qui tiendrait presque dans une piscine municipale en plus d'être découpés en plusieurs zones avec des chargements sans réelle sensation de nage... on est plus en caméra libre dans la mare du coin... Pas de voix même anglaise, juste du texte & que en anglais. Pas de reconfiguration des contrôles possible alors qu'il aurait pu juste rajouter les flèches directionnelles... Jouable offline sur Steam Deck... Tout ça sans même une histoire un minimum prenante... On est personne & on passe d'un environnement à l'autre pour aller discuter de la pluie & du beau temps avec les 5 PNJs principaux de la zone... Le tout pour leur faire penser plus à eux ou a aider les autres... avec des choix assez abstraits au départ & diverses fins possibles. (qui sont en plus buggés!) Sans oublier d’aller discuter avec quelques autres poissons & crustacés & ramasser des pages après avoir été téléporté dans le couloir d'une bibliothèque... Au final, c'est un visual-novel avec des mini-déplacements libre & l'ombre mal rythmée d'une histoire au mieux ennuyeuse qui tiens sur un timbre poste...

This game looks deceptively childish, but the themes are mature. I recommend you buy this on sale and go in blind. If you like story driven games with dialogue based decision trees, you will enjoy this one. This game can easily be completed in 2-4 hours, so it's not a large investment. It does have multiple endings for those who find themselves attached to this world.

It's alright. Not a hearty recommendation, but not something that warrant a "negative" one. Basically you go around talking to various "gods" to choose which one is to create the world. Each one represents a different "mode" of life - consumption, partying, learning, cowering, and a secret one I shall not reveal. Each character is like an infant caricature of such a mode, and your role is to basically help them grow into something useful. The game is 90% going back and forth to speak to different characters and encourages them to be either selfish or altruistic. The writing often felt very naive, but its heart is generally in the right place. In between, you have some little fish to talk to in each area, which only add flavor. You also have some hidden book pages to collect, which add to backstory, context, and play a relevant but not mandatory role in the ending. The biggest problems I had with the game were: (1) as I said, how naive and trivial the writing often felt. The "good" choice is almost always obvious and not very enlightening; (2) it's a bit dull to just go back and forth to talk to characters - there aren't really any puzzles or quests or any thought involved. The game has many endings, but they hinge only on which god you choose and whether they are on the "good" or "bad" path. There is some more nuance if you want to get all the endings, but I don't think there's any justification to replay the whole game to get them (even though I'm sure you can do it very quickly if you know in advance what you want to achieve and skip over reading most of the repeat lines). Characters may react differently depending on your dialogue choices (good vs. bad path), but it's all very predictable. In conclusion: I liked the concept, and the watercolor paintings are quite beautiful. I think the writing is pointing in the right direction, but it's probably too "in your face" to feel very meaningful, and everything is directly given which doesn't stimulate much. But it's not terrible and it's often very cheap and short (3-4 hours) so it doesn't hurt to peek if you are curious about it.

Wow, I adore this game. I think it was really well written, the layers and stories coming together were incredible and overall it was a great adventure. 10/10 would replay again and again and again!!!

keepin it short: loved the story and the characters;

This is a really wonderful game. I've had it on my wishlist but my partner gifted it to me. This game made me think a lot about some of my beliefs (in a great way!) and as someone who isn't much of a gamer, it was easy to get the hang of. I would buy it myself at full price! Super lovable characters and I look forward to exploring further ...