Submerged

1. Gameguin

   Mar 5, 2021

   10

   This game has fascinating scenery and wonderull texture I really haven't understood why this game deserve under the 80. Please, would you likeThis game has fascinating scenery and wonderull texture I really haven't understood why this game deserve under the 80. Please, would you like to explain.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
2. AuldWolf

   Aug 9, 2015

   10

   I love this game. Not only in that it's one of the more enjoyable experiences I've had in recent years, but in that it's also something of aI love this game. Not only in that it's one of the more enjoyable experiences I've had in recent years, but in that it's also something of a social experiment.
   
   I know it's hip to ignore how many peer reviewed, cited studies published in respectable sources like Nature about how gamers have below average intelligence and tend to become increasingly more aggressive with the more video games they play that pander to their instinctive urges. I understand that. The defensive circlejerk must be preserved! However, the more defensive a group of people are, the more true something tends to be.
   
   I'm a rare kind of 'gamer' in that I prefer Myst, Portal, Gone Home, To the Moon, and games of that ilk. I find the Destructoid review especially telling as that's how I feel about the average gamer's video game. Oh, I'm killing crap, I'm being a crazy murderhobo, I'm stealing things, and pretty people are fawning over me and singing my praises. Except the story is paper-thin, the experience is hollow, and it's all designed to make me feel like I have a big dick. What's the difference in fighting a wolf from a dragon? None. The game just makes you feel more powerful when you're fighting a dragon.
   
   There's been articles about that where developers have explained that none of their dim-witted audience actually wants difficulty or complexity, they want power fantasies. That's why the dragons in Skyrim are easier to take down than most of the other opponents in that game. It's designed to make stupid, unintelligent, lacking people feel heroic, handsome, and perfect. It's entertainment for stupid people. It's the reality TV of video games.
   
   This, however, is something different. Where I can't tell the difference between fighting a wolf and a dragon in a stupid person's video game, the Destructoid person couldn't see the differences presented by the environment. Their eyes were closed to the game, I found the environments to be incredibly diverse and interesting. And whereas it was just a mindless collection quest to someone without the mind to appreciate a story without words, to me, it was piecing together the history of what happened from small pictographic images.
   
   And regarding the gameplay and those buildings? Clearly they frustrated the Destructoid reviewer. I can just see that thick brow furrowing. But back in the '80s and '90s, maze games were common. This is just a 3D maze game, it's you versus the obstacles presented by the environment, it's not a power fantasy or about violence and aggression. It's the satisfaction gained from traversing the environment and working out the devious, sly paths through it to find the pieces to the story.
   
   In a stupid person's video game, you gather a shopping list of quests to go to places, and kill things, and then you return home to be fawned over and swooned at. Perhaps something of a 'story' will be offered, but by and large it'll be a shallow experience.
   
   In this, you head out and you traverse the environment to find snippets of a story that it's up to you to be smart enough to figure out. And when you return home, the affliction of your character grows worse. It's up to you to fight off the hopelessness of that, and to know what's going on. Your motivation isn't to screw the pretty maiden after slaying the dragon, it's to heal a boy who's sick and on the verge of death.
   
   So, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm not as vapid as all these negative reviews and reviewers, and that I'm drawn to more complicated, deep games. They can go stick their manswords in things, I'll play games that actually task me with using my mind, not my dick. That's just my preference, thanks.
   
   What can I say about Submerged, then? It's not a violent male power fantasy designed to make you feel as though you're the perfect alpha male. Does that make it a bad game? Hardly. It just makes it a niche game that won't be appreciated by most gamers.
   
   And as such, the reviews of it will mostly just reveal the amount of intelligence the person who reviewed it has.… Expand

   • 1 of 11 users found this helpful
4. Skirmish

   Aug 5, 2015

   10

   Submerged is truly beautiful. Visually of course, but I am finding the combination of the music and the way the story is delivered is reallySubmerged is truly beautiful. Visually of course, but I am finding the combination of the music and the way the story is delivered is really touching.
   
   I have grown a bit tired of brown hued wastelands. Don't get me wrong, I have been a fan of the Fallout series since the beginning and I find post-apocalyptic worlds really compelling. But Submerged's lush green world, full of life, offers a refreshing alternative.
   
   I am finding this to be an intriguing experience so far with mystery, and maybe menace, lying behind what seems like tranquility. This game now sits along side Journey (on my PS3) as an example for my non-gaming friends of what games can strive for.… Expand

   • 5 of 10 users found this helpful
5. qrpiech

   Mar 7, 2016

   6

   Short, but very emotional and relaxing indie game created by former developers of Bioshock. The setting is similar to Enslaved, but moreShort, but very emotional and relaxing indie game created by former developers of Bioshock. The setting is similar to Enslaved, but more depressing - the world is flooded, only parts of the highest buildings are visible above water, all covered in plants and seaweed. Your brother is seriously wounded and you need to gather some medicine and rations for him from the roofs of the buildings. To get there you use your boat and telescope (to locate interesting objects and mark them on your map). Then you climb up and search for hidden stuff.
   
   Submerged combines TPP exploration and some light platforming elements, though no skills or good coordination are needed, as it is impossible to fail here. You don't jump, you just move across ledges, pipes and branches and try to get all the secrets on your way to the top. What is more - there is no combat or violence in this game, but it contains some minor scares and sad moments - think of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons or Journey. The story is told without any words - the only text you see is your objectives.
   
   There are no technical issues with the game and it's optimized well, but you can feel the low budget. The world and character models look fine, but animations are unrealistic and jerky and platforming elements seem too easy and repetitive (thus boring for hardcore players). Soundtrack is lovely, though, as well as the atmosphere.
   
   If you like exploration games and simple, but touching stories - try it, you should not be disappointed.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. blubberguts

   Aug 17, 2015

   5

   I had seen screenshots and was looking forward to this game, but it was a disappointment.
   
   The start is good, city looks pretty, and yourI had seen screenshots and was looking forward to this game, but it was a disappointment.
   
   The start is good, city looks pretty, and your boat lands. You lay your brother down and start off to explore the city...what ? I can't jump? I can climb like goat but can't jump? Feels weird.
   
   So you explore the city....which consists of finding boxy buildings with bits of moss you can climb, and "bumping" into them. The game takes over and puts you on the wall. Hmmmm... you cannot fall. Also, there is only one path to climb each building. No enemies either. And my brother just lies there. All I can do is boat around and climb a preset path. Excitement is rapidly fading. This isn't a sandbox game it's just a game full of big boxes.
   
   There are three kinds of rewards: Climb the building completely and get rewarded with a look through the telescope to the next kind of building. Also, each building may have a box of health for your brother. It also may have little books on pedestals - if you get one it tells a "story" by showing you a single, brightly coloured heavily stylised image of something, and some grunts in an unknown native language. So what's the story? I don't know; the language is unintelligible and the pictures are so highly stylised I couldn't understand what they meant.
   
   So. No enemies. No way to die. Only one thing to do - explore. No-one to talk to. (Even your brother just lies there). No rewards except books I can't understand and health kits for my brother that don't do anything - you just "collect" them. Only one path up the buildings, apart from a secret area where a book or health kit might be.
   
   This game is pretty and that's it. It's kind of fake; what looks like a big city teeming with life turns out to be full of empty buildings (most of which you cannot climb) and nothing else.
   
   Oh man it was boring. Deleted and uninstalled. Let it submerge back into the depths from which it emerged. It's a terge.… Expand

   • 2 of 5 users found this helpful
7. esxdri

   Aug 5, 2015

   5

   I was really looking forward to playing Submerged.
   Well, is it good or bad? I might even tell you everything about this game, because itI was really looking forward to playing Submerged.
   Well, is it good or bad? I might even tell you everything about this game, because it lacks so much content.
   The graphics are nice and I like driving on a boat in the ruined city and finding unusual structures, but that is pretty much everything I like about this game.
   You spend most of the time climbing half-sunken buildings to look for medical supplies that your brother needs and it is highly repetitive and boring.
   This game will take you about 2-3 hours to complete and I am actually glad that it is not longer, because I never felt so bored hoping for the game to end in a long time.
   If you want, you can look for collectibles that reveal the city's story, but that is just more building climbing for a piece of picture. You can also find boosts scattered on the water that help you sail faster.
   5/10 - Visually nice, but repetitive and boring.… Expand

   • 2 of 7 users found this helpful
8. Idiota150

   Aug 6, 2015

   0

   Boring as hell with seriously dated graphics. Feels extremely cheap, little effort and money has been spent making this game. Destructoid'sBoring as hell with seriously dated graphics. Feels extremely cheap, little effort and money has been spent making this game. Destructoid's (critic) review is spot on. Don't waste your time or money on this garbage.… Expand

   • 2 of 6 users found this helpful

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