Under the Waves

Sigh. I got a lot out of this game, so I can't in good conscience give it a thumbs down. But it's in many ways frustrating and bad.

First, the good things are very good. I've never played an underwater game that gave me such an immersive sense of presence. You can feel the weight of the water, the loneliness, and even the cold. And some panic as well as your oxygen ticks away (there's always more close by). The story, too, is beautiful as a whole. Grief. Clinging to it. Letting go. And something about saving the environment, I guess. That part wasn't as well developed.

But the gameplay is not good. Controls are finicky and inconsistent, often slow to respond. The camera constantly works against you. Traversing the world and collecting resources is plodding and awkward. Even the dialog is halting and tiresome, working against the engaging story rather than in its service. I finished the game without all the collectibles and am very fine with that.

And the game designers seem to never have heard of affordances. The simplest missions become frustrating because nothing is properly indicated. Where to go, what to do, and even how to do it: all of these become irrelevant "puzzles" for you to solve. I had to look up "solutions" online quite a few times. And there is one maze-like level that serves no purpose except to highlight how bad the controls and camera are. I did not enjoy that one at all.

Under the Waves is the opposite of fun.

Of course, the subject matter doesn't demand fun. But it isn't helped by annoyance.

I don't know how to end this review. If the idea of the game calls to you, then maybe you should play it. But come in with lots of patience and leave your gamer rage behind.