Submerged: Hidden Depths LadiesGamers

Submerged: Hidden Depths! Preview

Many thanks to Press Engine and Renaissance PR for supplying the preview code.

Submerged: Hidden Depths is a stand-alone sequel to Submerged from game developer Uppercut Games. The original game was released on Steam back in 2015 and later released on the Nintendo Switch in 2019, which Yvonne reviewed at the time.

Submerged: Hidden Depths LadiesGamers
Image courtesy of Press engine.

Submerged: Hidden Depths

I got to try out the first hour or so of gameplay in a preview build of the game on PC. Submerged: Hidden Depths, like its predecessor, sees players explore the ruins of a vast submerged city and solve puzzles to uncover its secrets. You play the dual roles of Miku and her brother Taku. Miku has been cursed with a mysterious power, but she is determined to use her curse for good; meanwhile, her brother Taku is determined not to let it destroy them.

Submerged: Hidden Depths LadiesGamers
Image courtesy of Press Engine

Miku and Taku

However, Miku and Taku aren’t alone in the ruined city as something stirs in its depths. The Mass is an oozing, glistening black mass of tentacles that you find wrapped around the decaying buildings of this submerged world. It’s clear that the black Mass it’s a living organism; it moves and pulsates. It’s lethal to all people, but Miku has gained an ability to harness the Black Mass to create life instead of taking it, shown by a wrap of flower-sprouting tendrils around Miku’s arm.

Submerged: Hidden Depths LadiesGamers
Image courtesy of Press Engine

Exploration

Submerged: Hidden Depths is a game about exploration; it also totally combat free. This makes such a pleasant change from games with hack-and-slash-swing-your-sword gameplay in most games.

Exploration is done via a boat to get you from one point on the map to another, blended with lots of land exploration. The exploring on land is mainly done by climbing. Miku will automatically grab ledges, pipes, ladders and ivy to climb. There isn’t a jump button, so everything is done with the joystick.

Submerged: Hidden Depths LadiesGamers
Image courtesy of Press Engine

You move the joystick in the direction you want Miku to jump, get down or go up accordingly. There isn’t any way to mess up since there is no game over: if an edge is too far or too low, the movement in that direction won’t be possible. Sometimes Miku will falter as if she were about to fall, but that’s only done to spice things up and increase your blood pressure.

Submerged: Hidden Depths LadiesGamers
Image courtesy of Press Engine

Secrets to Find

Along the way, you’ll also find remnants that reveal the tale of the civilisation that existed before the apocalypse and the story of the flood itself. Miku and her brother Taku have a few items to use on their exploration, a telescope to zoom in on interesting spots on the map. A journal contains information about events, creatures, and places of interest, all represented by pictograms. Finally, there’s the map, which you gradually fill in with locations.

Submerged: Hidden Depths LadiesGamers
Image from my playthrough of the preview.

What happened to the world?

Submerged: Hidden Depths immediately managed to catch my attention and raised many questions I wanted answers to. Such as What happened to the world? What are the mysterious, fungal humanoids that always observe the duo from afar? Sadly, the preview build I was playing didn’t answer those questions as it wasn’t long enough, so I will have to wait for the full game.

Submerged: Hidden Depths LadiesGamers
Image from my playthrough of the preview.

Apart from being combat-free, which I happen to like, it is completely impossible to die or lose. This also means that the entire experience is chilled and relaxed. To immerse you into relaxation even more, the music is stunning, along with the sounds of the waves crashing as the duo journey on. You can really take your time and explore every nook and cranny of the submerged city. Similarly, with no combat to speak of, you’ll rarely, if ever, feel threatened in any way.

Submerged: Hidden Depths is due for release on the 18th March on, PS4 & 5 Xbox Series, XboxOne Epic Store and Steam. You can wishlist the game on Steam here. 

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