Developer: Uppercut Games | Released: 2015 | Genre: 3PS, Adventure
Ever wondered what it would be like if you made a game out of just the climbing part of e.g. Tomb Raider or Uncharted? No combat, no complicated quests, no real danger – just climbing on the walls of buildings?
Submerged is pretty much exactly that.
Well, and a bit of traversing a partly submerged city in a boat, just to get from one building to the next. The story is very thin – barely an excuse to go climbing. The young girl in your control has a younger brother that has been injured, and she has to climb those buildings to get food, water, bandages, etc. There are ten larger buildings to find, all with a chest on top with the things she needs.
The game is very easy mode. You can’t fall down from anything and die. Sometimes the girl loses her grip in one hand and dangles for a few seconds with just the other hand, but it’s all show with no consequences. It makes for a very relaxing experience that also involves finding landmarks and collections, but as you might imagine, the easy mode climbing does feel like it’s too much of a good thing.
So the game has a heavy shallowness about it, although it’s saved a little by the day rhythm and the changes in weather, some of which makes for beautiful moments in the overgrown ruins. There are also a lot of fish, whales and dolphins accompanying you. I would say the game is worth playing if you like the idea of easy mode climbing. If you want a challenge, you should stay clear.
Pros
- Beautiful sailing between overgrown buildings, and the climbing looks and feels as it should.
- Well balanced collection quests, you have to climb a little to get them, but not too much.
- When you have found the chest on top of a building, you are automatically brought home.
- There are boat boosts to pick up for racing around the city a little faster.
Cons
- The game is really easy mode. If you want a challenge, you might not find it here.
- You can’t just climb any building you see, it needs to have an interactive hotspot you can click.
- There should be a map feature, but I couldn’t make it work. I had to find my own way around.
- It’s possible to get annoyed by the dolphins in the long run, they can be quite intrusive.