Submerged Review: Sailing the desolate seas

As gaming has evolved throughout the years, which started as competitive score driven experiences and moved towards interactive stories, I find my tastes in games evolving with them. What interests me about gaming nowadays is whether or not a game can give me a memorable experience; something I can play and actually remember fondly many years later as an experience that made me feel something. I look back at games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Final Fantasy VII and Shadow of the Colossus as games that have achieved at giving me an emotional reaction to the experience. Developer Uppercut Games has created not only a small game that seems to tick all the boxes for my tastes personally, but also succeeded at giving me an experience that moved me.

Submerged is a story-driven exploration title developed by Uppercut Games, the guys behind the mobile action series Epoch. Instead of delivering yet another title for mobile phone platforms, Uppercut jumps into the console and PC foray with a post-apocalyptic survival story that tugs on the heartstrings. The player controls a young female character who sets sail into a sunken underwater wasteland of a city that seems to be affected by decay and ruin in hopes of saving her injured brother. At the start of the game the player has no insight as to how the brother was injured or why the sister decided to sail into this city — it is up to the player to discover this on their own.

The entire story of Submerged isn’t told to the player by speech, dialogue or an epilogue. Instead, the narrative is told through primitive, hieroglyphic-eque cave drawings that explain to the player in pictures what happened to the siblings as well as the actual city as a whole. As the player progresses through the game, more drawings are revealed to the player through story progress and finding collectibles that are scattered throughout the environment.There is no dialog in Submerged other than the young girl stating (in another language) what supplies her brother needs before she embarks on another search (which is subtitled). Submerged offers an interesting method of storytelling that asks the player to piece together the story visually by progressing further into the adventure.

Gameplay in Submerged is very simple. The player is given a goal of obtaining a specific item that is needed to save the brother’s life. In order to seek out this item, the player will traverse through the sunken city by boat while using a telescope to search the city in hopes of spotting a supply drop on top of the dilapidated skyscrapers that reside in the water. Once the player spots the location of a supply drop, the player must reach the building and attempt to climb the structure in hopes of reaching the top where the supplies are located.

After retrieving the supplies, the player will return to the little brother, giving him the item he needs to aid in his survival. Ten different supplies are needed in order to finish the game while 60 story-related collectibles are scattered around the city, eight wildlife creatures, eight landmarks and 25 boat parts can be collected. Remnants of broken boats can be retrieved in the water that are salvaged and add longer duration to a turbo boost which helps the player traverse the city quicker. Everything the player seeks out with the telescope item is added to a map that can be viewed by the press of a button.

Climbing in Submerged is very similar to games like Prince of Persia or Uncharted, but not quite as fluid. The player will jump, shimmy and climb ledges and vines in hopes of reaching their treasure at the top. Unfortunately, the animations in Submerged are a little stiff so climbing looks less impressive as the bigger budget titles previously mentioned. As the player moves through the city, a looming threat lurks in the distance in the form of alien-like creatures that watch the player’s every move. Who these creatures are and what their purpose is will be unknown to the player until they reach towards the end of the game.

In a nutshell, Submerged is an exploring and item collecting game. I tend to compare the game to sailing in Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag which consists of sailing around the world and collecting hidden items. Submerged contains no combat or any other gameplay besides sailing, climbing and collecting items. As a result, this game will only cater to those who like this type of gameplay. Thankfully, the world of Submerged has more to offer than the collect-a-thon style of gameplay.

 

In the vein of a Team Ico game such as Shadow of the Colossus or Ico, Submerged includes a vast, beautiful world set in a city torn by disaster. The buildings are covered in a green, plant-like substance and the structures that once resided in the city are now fallen, broken and decayed. Various sea life swims through the city as the player explores, including whales, dolphins and manta rays that seem to have succumbed to the effects of the city and have become decayed and warped as well. A day and night cycle and a dynamic weather feature is included in the game that also add to some beautiful moments. When the sun starts to lower and the rain starts pouring while watching a massive whale dive in and out of the water to soft piano music, the game will definitely make the player feel like they’re in a moment of zen.

Speaking of music, calming piano music makes up the game’s entire soundtrack, which can be haunting and depressing at times, giving off a melancholy vibe to the whole experience. The music mixed with the environment and the desolate soundtrack make for an emotional and somber experience that will stick in your mind many hours after you finish the game.

Submerged is not without its faults, though, and suffers a bit in the technical department. The graphics look a little rough, especially in the player models; however, the beautiful art direction more than makes up for this. Animations are a little rough and rigid in the movements that the protagonist makes while some animations are missing entirely. I would have liked to see an animation of my character getting into the boat instead of simply pressing a button and warping into it. Also, the framerate on the Xbox One version was pretty rough at times. Uppercut Games seems to have kept the framerate unlocked, so the frames raise and lower throughout the whole game which can be jarring at first. I cannot speak for the PS4 or PC versions of the game so hopefully they do not suffer from these issues. Thankfully, all of these technical issues can be looked over after playing the game for a half an hour or so.

A few more features would have helped Submerged play a little better too. For one, the player must constantly tap the X button in order to bring up a map screen. The map screen helps when trying to collect everything since discovered locations will be marked on the map, but an in-game mini map would have helped when trying to reach a specific location. Also, the ability to pinpoint a location on the map with a HUD item would have been nice too, but could potentially break immersion in the process. Also, the ability to continue to drive the boat while using the telescope item would have made some of those time-consuming item searches a little more forgiving. It is obvious that Submerged was made on a limited budget, but the team most likely did the best they could using the Unreal Engine 4 with what budget they had.

Going into Submerged, it looked like a game that would be right up my alley. A game that attempts to offer an emotional experience while sinking the player (no pun intended) into a tragic yet memorable world. Filled with mystery, heartbreak and beauty, Submerged is an unforgettable experience.  I finished Submerged in a little over three hours and gained 100% in about five hours, so the game isn’t terribly long. Even though the game offers little to no action and consists of a series of scavenger hunts more than anything, Submerged is a compelling game that I could see myself picking up again in the future just to experience it all over again. Complete with an interesting method of storytelling, a beautiful soundtrack and an overall somber yet alluring tone, Submerged is a highly memorable game that’s highly recommended to players who seek an experience rather than a challenge.

Final Score – 8/10

Pros:

• A beautiful, detailed world
• Interesting method of storytelling
• Overall memorable experience

Cons:

• Sketchy framerate
• Limited animations
• Little variety in the gameplay

 

–Submerged was reviewed on the Xbox One provided by Uppercut Games

Want to hear our impressions? Check out our podcast episode dedicated to Submerged below!

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