Stirring Abyss
I have received a free key as being part of closed [i]beta test[/i]. Neither am I affiliated with the developers nor have I received any compensation for my review.
Stirring Abyss is a turn-based tactical game set in the depths of Lovecraftian ocean. It has been made by three-man indie studio Sleepy Sentry from A Land of a Thousand Lakes.
You will control a handful of Salem USS submarine’s crew members while exploring procedurally generated ocean floor missions, fighting strange enemies and managing resources at Salem to repair different parts of the vessel, unlock upgrades or craft items. Your goal is to save the crew by fixing the damaged submarine and leave abyss.
– Real player with 63.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Lovecraftian RPG Games.
yes i’d recommend the game, and while it sound odd’s, i’ve not followed it’s progress either or enjoyed the demo, so i’ll now give my reasons why i’d recommend it all the same,
the demo was ok, but for me i didn’t play enough or see enough to really say i liked the design or think that it was going to be long enough for me to really enjoy and play, as i have more than enough un started un finished game already, not played,…
my was i wrong, so very wrong tbh, as i saw many saying it was too hard and or too short, i thought well in for a penny in for a pound and jumped straight it, my play style is how i test, so no reading, no watching and with little thought going in, i started on easy in the story mode, and the rest is history, i died, many times and had little clue overall on what i was doing or doing right or wrong, so i stepped back and looked at the diver i was given, then understood what i was doing wrong, the design wasn’t wrong, it was the idiot who was playing it, firing a speargun from X numbers of hexes away and missing isn’t a issue with the game or design, but a lack of understanding on who was firing it, what skill or lack of they had and my understand on how things work under water for one, so the basic design is well done, now with the better understanding on just because a certain diver gets given a certain item, doesn’t mean there the best person for it, so like any RPG, understanding stats is key to longer play, level and skills, items used are key to staying alive, progress from story missions are only a small part of the game, side missions giving items needed to stay alive and gain more exp and level up for the story means 13 missions alone, your not going to get the extra ability to really do the game justice unless really skilled, which i’m not so good at, so learning how the game works, getting the extra pieces of equipment, leveling up and altering your stats to stay alive for longer is key, not just endless grind and lucky dice roles, alter your base sub, add more items, build more, search more and research more is key to happy and longer game play, so what on the surface seems a easy to play game, becomes something with more depth than of first inspection, most won’t get to the 4th diver and really get into the game in under 3 to 4 hours of play, so won’t understand or enjoy this, the first few hours of the game, aren’t really the game at all, just the tutorial and the basic’s of how it plays, it’s mid to late game, which really makes this shine, then again what do i know, i tend to test more and game less and die often, but with trial and error and 7 hours in, i’ve find the depth of the game which for most may or could stay hidden from less time in game, don’t take me word for it either, spent the time, it’s worth it, as 2 hours won’t get you anywhere or enough into the game to really see either, yes it’s a challenge, but those who refuse to play on anything other than the hardest setting from day one, will be in for a hard game unless you pick up more than the basic’s and are lucky from the off, so either way play and enjoy and see you at the bottom of the sea, with luck you will get the parts needed to repair the sub and use that as a base to explore, finding new bits and bobs, maps, plans and items and parts to level up your every growing crew, to carry on the mission in hand, if you die to often, just take a step back and see what’s killing you and ask why? as some crew are better when surrounded while other have the skills needed for other task, plan to use them correctly and the game is more than just doable, but enjoyable and not just a challenge, but fun into the depth.
– Real player with 56.8 hrs in game
Depths of Sanity
I was introduced to Depths of Sanity at PAX East in 2018, and tried it twice more at two more PAXes prior to this early access release. The handful of devs I spoke with made their inspirations and intentions very clear with their game, and I was immediately interested. They also gave me a couple of small plush sea creatures. :D I saw no issue picking up the game as soon as it was available.
For those unfamiliar, DoS is a metroidvania set in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, and tells the story of oceanographer Abe Douglas. Following an event known as “the bloop”, a real-life event involving an ultra-low frequency subsonic vibration, the crew of the submarine Baroness are sent to investigate, and subsequently disappear with only garbled distress calls for clues. Abe, who personally assembled that team, including his own son Clay, feels personally responsible for the situation and takes an armed, one-man submersible to investigate. What he finds and learns from the Baroness' crew logs defies his understanding of the world and history in ways that might feel very familiar to certain fans like myself.
– Real player with 19.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Lovecraftian Submarine Games.
While this game is in early development, I have to say it was fun to experience! Too bad I finished all three available chapters st the moment. It is hard to put the game down since it really hooks you in. I’m surprised it isn’t more known. I really hope this game continues it’s development because I genuinely enjoyed playing it. So please keep up the good work and for the viewers of this comment, please give the developers your support in any way you can!
– Real player with 7.8 hrs in game
Thalassophobia
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Thalassophobia
A game that borrows inspiration from the roguelike and survival genre alike and puts you in an instant fight for survival against mysterious creatures, starvation, insanity and more.
Be prepared to fail over and over again while you keep learning how to keep a good balance of yours crews needs and safety.
– Real player with 4.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Lovecraftian Horror Games.
I bought this to do a review of it for YT. Never before have I heard myself so depressed after a video. It isn’t from the melancholy of Lovecraftian literature either.
Gameplay:
Aesthetically it reminds me of retro-indie games. Pretty good in that regard. However I’m not a fan of the GUI trying to move out of the way while I’m attempting to use it (infuriating to say the least). It took me about 15 minutes to learn the mechanics and I’m still not sure I have all of it with an hour of playing. I got the furnace once, but I’ve not seen it since and died soon after, considering the game doesn’t teach you how to use it. I tend to succumb to sanity being exhausted, but it’s impossible to keep my crew sufficiently saturated and not crazy. Frankly it’s not fun for me to die and die again with little to no progress being made so I don’t want to play it anymore.
– Real player with 1.0 hrs in game
We Need To Go Deeper
1. Amazing soundtrack that fits the atmosphere of the game completely. Which counts for battle and management of the ship into starting and or in between a adventure.
2. Anything game-breaking is immediately fixed usually by the awesome developers who spend so much of their time burning their eyes on the screen just to hear everyones suggestions and reports out.
3. Active developers in the community speaking and having conversation with the community in which they take ideas on from. (not that they need to, they’re not obligated to always respond or do work for everyone)
– Real player with 392.3 hrs in game
This game is so much fun. When you have even one other human to play it with, it is a comedy of errors as you try to manipulate your ship (which steers like a cow at the best of times, and a rock most of the time) into the depths of the Living Infinite, discovering all sorts of crazy new weapons and costumes along the way.
When you have even one other human.
It SAYS it’s playable single player, but that’s absolutely laughable. You can fill your submarine with a crew of bots that will nominally do things like slam their weakest wrenches against the holes in your ship or fire at every small enemy on your screen (even if it’s something you SHOULDN’T BE FIRING AT, like the totem that will spawn a ghost if you shoot at it but is perfectly safe if you steam gently past it)… but they won’t help you if you want a turn on the shooty shooty guns and want someone else to steer your yellow submarine. Nor will they help you bust through walls in your caving adventures if you happened to be holding an item that does not damage walls (like the chemistry set).
– Real player with 214.0 hrs in game
The Shore
Opening/ Information
Reading a review is not enough? Want to see some footage? Check the link and watch some game footage for yourself and decide if this game is worth your time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LT0M3aWkDI
The Shore is a running simulator with most of the mandatory Lovecraft Creatures (the old ones) and a protagonist who will not die automatically by looking at them.
This is the first game developed by Ares Dragonis who is entering the world of Steam with this game.
– Real player with 8.1 hrs in game
Review of the initial release.
Ebbs and Flows
Introduction
The Shore is a Narrative-driven Walking Simulator with some light combat and puzzles, heavily inspired by H. P. Lovecraft. You are Andrew looking for your daughter, Elle, on an island known for its unique geographic makeup; black sand and jagged, protruding rocks. And home to many shipwrecks. You’ve come to this little, unusual island in hopes of finding your daughter, only to find a bounteous sweeping phenomenon beyond the importance of your daughter.
– Real player with 7.2 hrs in game
Cthulhu: Death Escape / 克苏鲁:死亡逃脱
Try the Prototype Version for Free!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1456230/Cthulhu_Death_Escape___Prototype/
You Cannot Escape… The Ancient Old One is Awaken….
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Unique Underwater World- Dive Deep to Discover a Unknown Underwater World that No One‘s Been There Before..
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Danger is in Everywhere - Monsters will randomly cause big troubles and put you in extreme danger. You must hide or fight to survive…
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Items Respawn Randomly - Every time the situation is different, try your best to collect coins as many as possible…
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Interactives - Interact with different ancient equipment to solve puzzles and more…
Secret of Sardinia
Secret of Sardinia is an open-world adventure game full of mystery and mythology. Swim, translate, explore, and discover!
Ancient Mythology
Locate magical bottles that contain the voices of departed souls. Collect stone fragments to rebuild the Tablets of Ages – ancient writings which tell the forgotten lore of Sardinia. Examine the Tablets’ cryptic markings and identify hieroglyphics to translate its legends.
Fish-Fantasy
Control Sam the Sardine using a carefully-crafted swimming mechanic that lets you move with 360 degrees of freedom. Test your skills with trials scattered throughout the ocean to attain union with the sea herself and unlock new abilities. Master these techniques to avoid the gaze of the unliving, lest you decay.
Open Seas
The Sacred Basin. The Giants’ Grave. The Cursed Cavern. The Undercurrent.
Swim through four connected realms to find the answers you seek – and then travel beyond. Unlock entrances to hidden caverns revealed by the Tablets of Ages.
Features
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Fluid and customizable swim controls
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Four haunting realms to explore
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Hand-drawn, fully translatable hieroglyphic language
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Hundreds of collectible bottles and fragments
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Original mythology communicated through immersive voice acting
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Beautiful, original soundtrack
Copyright attribution for “Secret of Sardinia” can be found here .
Siphonophore
I was a beta tester for Siphonophore so I’ll go into a bit more depth about the game.
TL:DR - I enjoyed my time with the game, The gameplay loop is simple and fun, Boss fights are challenging and the game’s story kept me interested while at times a little confused.
Gameplay/Difficulty
You start off with a basic cannon like weapon which you will be using for a majority of the game with new weapons and colour upgrades becoming available once you have defeated each boss. You also have a dash ability that can be used to propel you short or long distances with momentum affecting how far you travel. The creature also has some weapons to deal with enemies and is more useful against the bigger enemies you encounter.
– Real player with 13.3 hrs in game
Tip: Hold E and use scroll wheel to enable progress.
So far I don’t think it’s a masterpiece. The gameplay is lacking due to the large number of enemies, important indicators communicated exclusively through the HUD, and near complete lack of distinction between food and foe.
However, it’s worth playing. The aesthetic and sound design are just like in the trailer, and the dialogue while probably thoughtless gibberish is entertaining to read (except in the extended tutorial that entirely misses the core issue).
– Real player with 1.7 hrs in game
X-COM: Terror From the Deep
My personal favorite of the first two XCOMs. But that comes with disclaimers. The first is play it with OpenXCOM to deal with some of the bugs.
Good: UFO Defense had good music, the but the music here is insanely good. Creepy, ominous, and uses variants of the same thing. It has a creepy Cthulu vibe in general. Ion armor looks much better than power armor, and you can see the soldiers face’s in the inventory screen all the time.
Alien (sonic) weapons are much better balanced than UFO’s plasma tier because the sonic weapons all have clear strengths and weaknesses. So you have to bring a mix of them. The underwater maps look great. The underwater dungeons look even better.
– Real player with 191.8 hrs in game
Ok, before I get into the good, the bad and the ugly, I should say that I DO recommend this game, the reason I’m saying this is that my initial review may sound quite negative. I am writing this just moment’s after playing terror from the deep and I wanted to have a clear view of the game, so without further a due.
This is, without a doubt, THE MOST INFURIATING GAME I HAVE EVER HAD THE MISSFOURTUNE OF PLAYING!!!
This game did the impossible; it managed to be harder than UFO defence! HARDER!
Right, lets go through this in a bit more detail.
– Real player with 95.6 hrs in game
Reveal The Deep
Greenlight, Indie, Horror walking simulator - Immediate question was it worth playing? Answer - YES. DEFINITELY YES. Was it worth the $1 US? It is definitely worth more than that actually.
Storyline: In 1901 the passenger/cargo ship Eurydice sunk with everyone on board and no survivors. What happened on board and why is that diver even there in the first place is the big mystery. (Unlimited oxygen supply since the player is in a dive suit walking around this dilapitated wreck going deeper and deeper into its bowels searching for answers.) Besides just who is that diver? (No spoiler, I will let the player figure it out.)
– Real player with 9.9 hrs in game
[]uSee written review below[/u] or watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0hLT7Jv_Ac
TL;DR: SKIP TO CONCLUSION!
Reveal the Deep is a casual atmospheric exploration game. If you enjoy exploring the unknown, then you will most likely appreciate this game.
The game completely revolves around exploration, and finding out where you need to go, and then how to get there. You move around underwater and explore the sunken ship. Wherever you are facing with your light is all that you can see. You can turn your light off or on, and you will sometimes see different things or different paths you can take to keep progressing.
– Real player with 4.0 hrs in game