Submerged

Submerged

More information, technical requirements: http://store.steampowered.com/app/301860

Intro:
This is a pretty special game and I would completely agree if one says that it is pretty difficult to rate it either with a thumbs up or down.
Yet there is a saying that perfectly fits to describe Submerged in a very few words – no risk, no fun!

Very recently completed this game and actually it is the first game that I considered for completion of achievements as there aren't many to get.

I've bought Submerged solely because I liked the artwork of the game and most of all I hoped for great music done by Jeff van Dyck (Total War Rome 1 OST and other).

But at the end of the day I was rather disappointed by the game.

Submerged is ok for people that seek a smaller distraction from the daily life but the repetitiveness throughout the game makes one (at least me) sick.
Not only the soundtrack - well-crafted as expected - brings too less variation into the game, also the graphics and the options what you are going to do in this game are pretty limited.

Actually this game is forcing you to do very few things - good enough to taught a child some focus and patience. But it is seriously not so enjoyable for an older grown up like me.

So what is this game about?
You are landing in an abandoned mostly sunken city with many buildings and references to our human culture so it is not completely fictional at all. There is just you and your seriously wounded brother. Your mission is to give up your own in sake of restoring your brother’s health.

Pro's and cons:
And thats pretty much it. This story may have provided some good stuff for a real drama, but this game is far from being one.

In the first place one might think Lara Croft could get jealous - as this girl is able to climb up and jump climb up and jump and climb down and actually able to climb either ladders, rain water downpipes or 2 variants of red brushwood. But actually there is a big difference to Lara in the end.

This climbing action quite all action you can have in the game to interact with the complete and big environment of Submerged. And this makes this game soooo boring. You cannot hurt yourself, you cannot make a wrong step and fall down from a high building as well. You are getting ill over time but don't have to supply yourself in any way. It is all about the brother.

Everything seems perfectly peaceful. The music does contribute to this very much but gets repetitive as well soon enough.

The most interesting thing this game has to offer are actually the very beautiful visuals because weather, day and night changes. The Buildings look impressive and seem to have many variants in the first place, but soon enough you notice they are just dead blocks of stone, assembled with some plants to let them look wild and exploreable. They are the only objects that a player can actually interact within the game (and a boat) - and so your options are extremely limited.

This game would have been much more enjoyable to me if there were more real secrets to find, if I could have explored the majestic monuments, doing a skydive from the highest point in the map - simply having more immersion in any way.

Jeff van Dyck has done a good job on the music but there is also too less music to give this game enough live and most of all tension.
And most of all there only one aspect of tension in the game and that's about some golems and the urgent question how this all would come to an end. If your brother will make it through or not.
This sadness cannot be compensated by some animals striving around in the water (only), while the buildings are completely abandoned.

Conclusion and rating:
Submerged is a pretty special game - it is on the edge of my liking and I'd rate it with a thumbs up for the original idea and music, but not for the gameplay that is too shallow.

I rate submerged with a fair 5/10. Where the most points are spent for the pure nostalgia of listening to some new tunes of Jeff van Dyck and the basically interesting idea of the game.
Time it took me to playthrough incl. getting all achievements: 7.8 hours