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- Nordcurrent
- Nordcurrent
- Nordcurrent
- Nordcurrent
Ocean's Heart
Released On: Jan 21, 2021
79
6.2
All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
79
70% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
30% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
79
70% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
30% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The number of quests and hidden places to unveil shows up the amount of dedication and attention to detail instilled in the project, with every sidequest expanding and adding information to the lore of the game without feeling tedious at all no matter how long you take to traverse these vast lands. Whether you rescue your loved ones, talk to consumed gods or just kill Leshys, whatever path you travel will have hours of fun ahead, while you try to find the Ocean’s Heart.
Ocean’s Heart is a good game with a specific audience in mind. The overall atmosphere and the presentation will capture the attention of anyone who has had even a casual relationship with the classic Zelda releases. But the game has more to offer than a simple homage and adds humor, cool levels, solid combat, and a quirky look that make it unique. Using the sword, bows, and bombs to get through enemies and puzzles is simple and engaging throughout. There are moments when the difficulty spikes a little too harshly but that’s compensated by the simple continue system. The map can be unhelpful and the borders between spaces a little hard to always detect. But Max Mraz knows how to make the player feel welcomed inside the world he builds and I cannot wait to see what he can deliver next, after Yarntown and Ocean’s Heart.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 17 User Ratings
6.2
47% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
35% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
18% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 17 User Ratings
6.2
47% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
35% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
18% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Ocean's Heart is a nice Zelda clone in 8 bit style. The story is pretty good. The graphic are 8 bits but there is a lot of details in them. The sound is a max bag since some of it is very generic. There is a lot of side quests. They are dungeons and they are pretty straight forward. So maybe one or two are more complicated. The city design of Over... was a bigger challenge to understand at times. The fighting was decent maybe overlay simplistic. And the level of challenge was more aimed at young kids, especially regarding boss fights. I give it 77%. You can feel it was a product of love and homage to Zelda, and it was well done.
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PC
Ocean’s Heart is a game that clearly comes from a place of deep affection for the classic Legend of Zelda games, and it does a fine job of channeling those. But with its gorgeous setting and endearing hero, it also finds its own place within the space of “Zelda-likes”.
In the great pantheon of top-down 2D Zelda-alikes, Ocean's Heart is right up there with the lovely Blossom Tales. The world is well designed, the items and abilities are perfectly judged and it is aware enough of its influences to feel like a loving tribute rather than a cynical clone. Combine this with some nicely written dialogue and you have a winning formula. A great remedy for the January blues and a nostalgic trip back in time.
Ocean’s Heart is a love letter to its genre, and I feel like it’s one that does it justice. I really enjoyed this game and all it had to offer. The main story, as well as the side-quests, keep you interested and immersed in the world you’re exploring, the visuals are full of color and charm, and the gameplay, while basic, is elevated by constant puzzle-solving and exploration, making it harder to get bored. If you have it in you to ignore the clunky controls (which I did) then you will find a lot to enjoy about this game.
Ocean’s Heart is a quirky action-adventure game with a lot of charm added in. It is a breeze to play, but if the controls weren’t always so precise, it would be easy to fully immerse in this archipelago and see where the tides take Tilia. Combat is simple but fun, puzzles are in the same boat, and the game puts an emphasis on exploration and adventure with an easy-learning curve. Jumping in to the game to sail the seas searching for the next upgrade and for clues to what happened to Tilia’s family is an interconnected and wholesome endeavor, leaving the player plenty to enjoy and experience.
Ocean’s Heart is a charming, albeit uninspired, Zelda-like 2D adventure that wears its influences a bit too heavily. Despite that, Ocean’s Heart would feel right at home on SNES, featuring a lovely 16-bit pixel art style that really shines through. Old-school Zelda fans will likely enjoy it and as a retro-styled RPG, it still comes recommended despite these flaws.
This is a loving homage to Zelda and specifically, feels like a mashup of Wind Waker and Minish Cap. If you love those games, you should absolutely take a look at Ocean’s Heart. There is definitely some indie jank here but I’m blown away by how well this game recreates the Zelda magic.
+ Classic Zelda gameplay: Bombs, Arrows, Dungeons, Heart Containers etc.
+ Amazing pixel art, clearly channeling The Minish Cap
+ Excellent world design: Clearly inspired by Wind Waker. It's made up of countless small islands that are connected by bridges, swamps, etc. No sailing, which gives the game a unique vibe even compared to WW and Phantom Hourglass
+ Giant world full of secrets. Mini dungeons, sidequests, and collectibles are everywhere.
+ Lot of freedom to explore at your own pace. Most of the game is optional content and even the first main dungeon can be skipped
+ Feels like BOTW or Souls at the start where you're so weak and just want to explore to get stronger
+ Weapons and armor can be incrementally upgraded with hidden items, incentivizing exploration.
+ Enemies don't drop hearts or money. I didn't like this at first but it's one more thing to make you want to explore and find upgrades and chests
+ Main Dungeons are good too, especially in the second half of the game. The ship graveyard is probably the best 2D Zelda dungeon I've played
- Some control oddities: Can't use joystick and d-pad, only 2 item slots, menu-rotate buttons cannot be used for other function. Hopefully these can be patched
- Difficulty fails to keep up as you progress. There is an in-world difficulty toggle that I'd recommend for veterans. You can turn it off if you don't like it
- Enemies respawn in overworld whenever you go into a cave or house which is really tedious. Thankfully doesn’t happen in dungeons
- Item roster is pretty weak, few puzzles require anything but bow and bombs
- Magic is similarly worthless, you can’t get 3 of the 4 spells until you’re at the very end of the game
- The story lacks urgency and direction, even if the writing is good. You’re just trying to find your father for the entire game and you slowly get pulled into stopping some pirates, with little reason to care
- My biggest issue is there are too many villages and a few of them are too large. It can take an eternity to talk to every single NPC to get sidequests when you just want to explore the world. I was skipping all NPC dialog by the time I was halfway
- The game also starts with back to back villages so I really disliked the first hour. But stick with it for a couple hours and hopefully you’ll be as hooked as I was.
Ultimately these problems are pretty minor. I cannot understate how excellent the world design and exploration are in this game is. It’s a massive, well-constructed world that’s bursting with secrets that are actually valuable. It’s got some rough edges but the core Zelda experience shines brightly in this gem. Many Zelda-style, such as Alundra (too many dungeons/puzzles) or even Twilight Princess (too linear, worthless secrets/money), fail to capture the sense of adventure that this game has, even if it isn’t as polished. I’m shocked more people aren’t talking about this game and if nothing else, this game is MUCH better than the very generic Blossom Tales.
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PC
Ocean's Heart' ın fragmanlarında ve ekran görüntülerinde harika görünmesine rağmen; ne yazık ki oynarken aynı şeyi hissedemedim. Ben de muazzam bir Zelda hayranıyım fakat bunun üzerinden yapılan karşılaştırmaları ve eleştirileri bir kenara ayırarak söylüyorum ki beni asıl hayal kırıklığına uğratan şey kesinlikle kontrollerdi.
Kontoller ile ilgili oyunun başında bizleri bilgilendirici bir kısmın eksikliği bir tarafa; oyun içerisinde eylemleri gerçekleştirirken hangi düğmelere basmanız gerektiğini size söylememesi oyunu inanılmaz baltalayan bir hadise olmuş. Üstelik kontrolleri ayarlayıp farklı tuş atamaları yapabileceğiniz bir kontrol seçeneğinin ayarlar kısmında bile yer almaması oyun için başlı başına hayal kırıklığı oldu.
****/2Rl4dmn
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PC
i had high hopes for Ocean's heart, but it was clear from the get-go that a polished game, this is not. First off the controls are just plain wonky, why is "action" the same button as "roll" with no option to separate the two? most of the times i'm rolling when im trying to talk to someone, or talking to a sign when i'm trying to roll... WHYYY?? speaking of rolling, the game has no run button but the roll does make you faster. meaning you're just constantly mashing roll everywhere you go. third, the quests are absolutely terrible. Your "mission" from the get-go is just unimaginative. The quests all boil down to.. oh you should talk to X, maybe they know what to do. then you proceed to go to X. which then forwards the quest. "you should go to Y" which then proceeds to you to the next part. Sidequests? just as boring. "hey someone over there wants you to get something", goes to npc, "hey, i want you to get get this for me" like.. what. who writes these dialogue? everything is just mediocre. Skip this one even if it was free.
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PC
Summary Ocean’s Heart is an epic top-down action RPG in which you explore a beautiful archipelago as a young woman named Tilia. Take on contracts to fight monsters, descend deep into ancient dungeons, defeat menacing foes, and unravel the mystery of Ocean’s Heart. All done in beautiful, bright pixel art.
Platforms:
- PC
- Nintendo Switch
Initial Release Date: Jan 21, 2021
Developer:
- Max Mraz
Publisher: Nordcurrent
Genres:
