Survival doesn’t come easy. It seems easy, sure, but it’s not in its essence. This spirit is perfectly captured by indie game Under The Ocean. Slick, clean visuals and soothing music set the scene, a simplified interface lures the player in and the rest of the resources seal the deal. A side-scrolling island lays out a little different environment with each screen, ripe for the picking and the only objective is not dying in any way possible. After picking up a few tools, there are trees to turn into planks, small animals to kill and cook, use their pelt for warmth and so on. A lot of little trinkets have interactive traits, which does present a lot of open options.

The only difficulty here is that there are a lot of goods sprawled in the center of the screen, but not the means to mold them together. Gauges give hints about the stranded player’s needs, such as thirst, cold, hunger, lesions and so forth. However, fulfilling these needs is a step harder to understand. As steps become more complex, comprehension also stretches the gap outward. Luckily, there are some recipes that give a hint on how to build some necessary items. Anything else is attached to the journey of discovery. Some of this experience is esoteric greatness; learning and enriching the experience one step at a time. Other parts are slightly irritating; not lending a hand where necessary. While percentages of the two may vary for players, the good does overbear the bad, as goals are kept simple enough to carry on regardless of frustration. For more details, check a short run through the game.



Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed. (@Daavpuke)