When I first saw Submerged, I thought this was a title set out to superb. The setting of a flooded city certainly gave itself to beauty, with the imagining of stunning water effects and the charming story about a girl trying to save her brother who is the worst for wear. So how does this game live up to those expectations?
Sadly, not quite so much. The gameplay itself has you navigating a flooded city filled with mystery, as strange creatures called Remnants spy on you during your journey. You’ll be asked to locate and find emergency supplies to save your little brother, who’s not in the best of conditions, as he’s suffering from a cut. It feels very repetitive – the process of finding a building and having to climb it in order to grab the supplies.
In your inventory you have a boat used to navigate between the flooded buildings which tower above you and a telescope to spot supplies on rooftops in the distance. Although, I rarely found myself using the telescopic, as the map is very confined and easy to find what you need. There are also additional collectibles such as finding the creatures which lurk in the water and on the land, then there’s the books to collect, which will probably take up most of your time if you’re a completionist.
The experience didn’t feel emotional at all and to be honest I wasn’t all that interested about the mystery of the city, as there wasn’t really a lot to explore or any reason to. The game doesn’t challenge players enough either with its parkour mechanics, as you have to navigate buildings by walking across ledges and climbing up vines. Everything feels far too predictable at times and you’ll probably find all the supplies within 2-3 hours if you power through it.
The setting for the game lacked any real sense of intrigue, as I didn’t really want to explore it more than I did. Most of the buildings had foliage dotted on the sides on the rooftop, which became an eye sore after so long.
In terms of visuals, I was deeply let down. The water looks flat and not mesmerising, which is how I imagined it to be. The physics such as walking past leaves doesn’t react correctly with your character. The overall polish to the game is lacking profoundly.
One positive which can be said for Submerged is that the game is very soothing to play, as it doesn’t push you too much. But let’s face it, most of us want games to challenge us in some way and sadly I was let down by Submerged in more ways than one.
Pros
- Relaxing gameplay
Cons
- Visuals weren’t up to scratch
- Repetitive gameplay
- Doesn’t let