So Shinsekai Into The Depths is an underwater 2.5D sidescrolling adventure game built by a small team at Capcom. It’s an Apple Arcade exclusive released during the initial onslaught of games last September, and it’s really good. Like, really good. It’s not the easiest game to control, but the hour I’ve played of it so far has been a delight. There’s a great tone-setting soundtrack that reminds me a bit of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and the visual aesthetic is a feast for the eyes.
You play a scavenger that lives underwater, initially in the oxygenated carcass of a wrecked ship. While it’s implied by the game’s brief description online that you’re human, nothing about the suit you permanently wear or the technology around you really gives that impression. You look more froglike, both in your visual design and in how you move through the water.
The ocean is a dangerous place, but if you didn’t already know that you’re helped to very quickly realize it by the impenetrable wall of ice slowly eating away your available breathing room (no pun intended) from above. Right away, the game tells you the stakes: the world is freezing to death, and the ocean is no longer the relatively safe haven it was.
As you move from zone to zone, you pick up new weapons and tools, fight all sorts of interesting marine life like hermit crabs and jellies and sharks (none of which seem like they’re to any kind of scale), and mine materials to upgrade your suit, your abilities and your weapons. In fact, upgrading your suit is probably the most important task you have, as that’s what’ll allow you to dive deeper and deeper ahead of the encroaching glaciers.
Did I mention that you’re slowly but surely running out of oxygen the whole time? Yeah – that’s a thing. You don’t get a health bar in Shinsekai, just a breathing apparatus and extension tanks you can pick up. These can be damaged, and if you’re too reckless with a aquatic jump or against a set of enemies, the extension tanks will break. Finding them hasn’t yet been a problem, but who knows how that will change later on?
I’m having a lot of fun playing so far, and I think this is going to be the game I sink my time into while waiting for some of the larger releases (and some indies as well) this spring. It’s an interesting game, especially in the face of climate change, but I don’t know how seriously it’s engaging with that subject yet. We’ll see.
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