Submerged Reviews
The Uppercut Games game seeks to connect with the player in this adventure through the presentation of an attractive and mysterious world that unleashes captivating art. The pampering of details to create an environment of great beauty, such as lighting, weather, the night sky, or the day-night cycle helps to want to lose ourselves in the waters of this city, while we delight in a melancholic and evocative soundtrack. An experience that is far from perfect, but if it appeals to you in the least, you should try and feel.
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The game Submerged could have, and by all accounts wanted to be is still hidden here somewhere, but that hardly matters when it so fervently refuses to let you see it.
About as exciting as watching the tide come in.
A slow-moving pace and undemanding platforming might be a draw to the more brain-addled gamer, perhaps enduring a slow-moving Sunday afternoon or a comedown from a particularly Red Bull-heavy Friday night. Nevertheless, there's still an aching sense of potential behind Miku's adventure that will leave you thinking what could've been. As it is, Submerged is pretty forgettable, and sinks rather than swims in the wake of other superior indie journeys. Journey in particular.
Submerged is...Well, it exists. It wants to stand beside games like Journey, yet missed the mark so much on why Journey worked. It puts you in a world and expects you to be amazed, but never delivers any reason to become attached or really, a world pretty enough to just become absorbed into visually. Float on.
Submerged's beautiful setting and sunken post-apocalyptic world were not enough to offset the absence of combat and challenge.
Submerged turned out pretty horrible, and while its concept sounded okay on paper, sadly, the execution is an unbelievable disaster. Ugly, extremely rough, buggy and boring; Submerged should be cast off and is not worth the asking price at all. Anyone who might be interested in a, atmospheric exploration game should just play the HD collection of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, or get Journey.
Submerged can only be described as a huge disappointment that squandered its potential thanks to some terrible design decisions and being let out the door far too early. Its story is laughable at best, we couldn't muster up any care for the main character Miku and gameplay itself becomes a drag very quickly. The controls are dreadful and the core mechanic within gameplay, the climbing, is clunky and unresponsive. While the soundtrack is fantastic, it isn't enough to make us ignore the glaring problems the game has in terms of performance.
Submerged tries to go for the same vibe as Journey but falls short. The game world is interesting, but the brief stay in it is tiresome since you're only given one environment. The climbing mechanics are so easy that the courses don't provide any challenge, so the only tough part is in finding the supply drop locations. It doesn't help that the main story isn't very intriguing, and neither is the story of the city, especially since you figure it out faster via the cut scenes than from the illustrations you pick up. There's no need to rush and check out Submerged right away.
Submerged is skeletal and unoiled. It is damned by competence: a short story that checks the boxes, but in doing so leaves no mark. I fell asleep twice while playing it, shaken awake by Miku's worsening cough, just looking to fix up Taku and motorboat out as fast as possible. It's a game that has no ambition and says nothing, and through that, quietly stumbles, erodes, and disappears, leaving no impression, no haunting memories.
On a surface level, it looks like it ticks all the boxes for this new-wave of exploration games – that are rapidly gaining popularity with developers and gamers alike – but at a deeper conceptual and technical level is falls far short of it sources of reference.
As broken as the world is, it's also incredibly beautiful. The unfortunate part however, is that it isn't all that varied.
Submerged is underwhelming. It squanders a promising opening, and its slight mechanics will no doubt give ammo to those who question the validity of exploration titles.
Submerged is very pretty, but there isn't much to keep you playing and it's not worth the price tag.
Submerged doesn't want to see you fail, but it doesn't trust you to succeed without its help, either. It bears repeating: Children aren't morons. Submerged knows this, but it still treats its players like they're just kids.
Submerged is a flawed exploration game that relies too heavily on boring climbing mechanics and stiff animations, but its top-notch atmospheric setting and soothing, relaxing soundtrack might be enough to guarantee at least a foray into its flooded canals.
One of the most relaxing games I've played in ages. Submerged is a game happy to let the player explore, with minimal challenge making for an experience that focuses on player exploration and stopping to enjoy the view. The story of the children and the desolate world around them slowly becomes clearer, leaving just enough room for the player's personal interpretation.
A game of two parts, one that makes you feel so relaxed within its world and another that just about works, but feels like it doesn't quite belong in this experience.
'Submerged' is a special kind of game. I won't go so far as to say that it is fun for all of its tiny runtime, nor will I say that it's a half-baked mess of pretentious ideas. I did like that it offers a break from the zeitgeist of contemporary gaming in which bombastic, explosive shooters, faux-edgy action titles, and painfully difficult roguelikes seem to be all the rage. It's not for everyone, but go in with an open mind and you may find something interesting underneath the surface.
Submerged just ends up being a disappointment. Great ideas in the storytelling and presentation are lost with a poor connection to characters and truly lacking gameplay. All the great intentions in the world don't mean anything if they don't convey into a fun game experience. Go play Journey instead.