It’s not hard to recognize an Insomniac Games title. The characters are over the top and the weaponry is just as unique as the setting. With games such as Ratchet & Clank and Sunset Overdrive, the developer showed us what the team is capable of. Song of the Deep is a completely new experience and some might even say it’s not an Insomniac Games product. It certainly offers a different and fresh experience but the game comes with some flaws.
An emotional story
The first thing you’ll notice when you boot up the game is the great presentation of the story. You control Merryn, a young girl who lost her father. She constructs a special submarine to travel the ocean in search of her missing father. Insomniac Games made sure the story would leave an impact and added some very emotional dialogues into the game. It reminded us of the start of the gorgeous Ori and the Blind Forest. The story of Song of the Deep is very emotional but never reaches the same heights as Ori and the Blind Forest. What does work to the advantage of the story, are the graphics.
Everything in the game looks extremely colorful and good. It would have been rather boring to recreate the real ocean for a game like this; instead, the studio went for the fantasy approach. During your quest, you’ll see some exotic creatures such as mermaids, giant jellyfish and a lot of other monsters. The submarine is extremely small so you’ll always feel the danger of the enemies; you’re just a little object in a giant world where you don’t belong. There are a lot of things going on in the background to make this impact even bigger. Song of the Deep is 2D game but thanks to the creatures in the background, you’ll have the feeling of diving into a vibrant 3D environment. The soundtrack really matches with the scenery so the game manages to set a certain atmosphere right from the first mission.
A Metroidvania approach
When it comes to gameplay, Song of the Deep can be called a Metroidvania game. It’s a genre that’s created thanks to Metroid and Castlevania. Basically, it means you’ll be discovering your environments as a 2D side-scroller but encounter locked doors you can’t open. Later, you’ll get a new upgrade or new weapon, allowing you to open up those locked doors. This also means you’ll need to backtrack to a location you’ve visited before in order to advance to the new grounds. Song of the Deep adapts the genre perfectly and manages to narrow the backtracking down to a minimal. It’s even not that bad to revisit an area thanks to the great graphics.
Small girl versus huge ocean
Combat, surprisingly, forms the biggest part of the gameplay. Your primary weapon is a claw, which allows you to interact with objects, latch onto certain objects to activate levers or kick away enemies. Later on, the submarine will be equipped with magma torpedoes to melt down ice and freeze bombs to cool down hot areas. These weapons are useful in combat but also serve a purpose in the multiple puzzles of the game.
As said before however, these puzzles aren’t the biggest part of the game. Fighting off the enemies is. They’ll come at you in big waves from time to time and you’ll even have to face some big bosses in order to advance. It’s during combat that you’ll discover the biggest flaw of the game, the controls.
It’s a little too hard to control the submarine and it always feels too heavy to maneuver easily. This means you’ll end up getting hit by an enemy more than you would like. It’s not the biggest problem out there since there are plenty of checkpoints and the sub doesn’t go down that fast. But it’s something the team should have fixed. There are some segments in the game where you need to dive away as fast as possible but thanks to the hard controls, the sub isn’t always responding the way you would like it to, which results in some frustrating moments.
Impressive puzzles
Unlike the combat, the puzzles truly are surprisingly good, which makes it even worse that those aren’t the main attraction of the game. Most puzzles revolve around the same task but thanks to the gorgeous environments and enemies, it never feels like doing the same. Sometimes, you’ll even have to control Merryn separately from her sub. Things get most interesting when you need to combine Merryn and her sub to open up new paths. There’s something about leaving the safety of your ship behind and venture into the dangerous waters as a fragile little girl. Those puzzles offer the most fun in the game. The other involves some more traditional tools such as lasers and mirrors or objects you need to guide to safety. Not every puzzle is as good as the following but overall; the puzzles sure are offer some of the best parts in the game.
Conclusion:
Song of the Deep is a very different experience created by Insomniac Games, but it’s not a bad one. The setting and story are incredible but never reach the same heights as the ones found in similar games. That being said, the Metroidvania approach works great for the game and both combat and especially the puzzles offer a lot of fun. If you want to dive into a gorgeous ocean filled with dangerous enemies and incredible views, this is the one you should be playing right now.
