Hardcore Droid
  • Home
  • Spotlight
  • Reviews
    • Action
    • Strategy
    • RPGs
  • Most Hardcore
    • Devices
    • Gifts
    • Gadgets
  • About Us
  • Clue_2023_Edition_00_title
    Clue 2023 Edition Review
  • Android-OS-Customization
    Beginner Basics of Android OS Customization
  • smartphone-gaming
    Mobile Revolution: The Impact of Smartphone Gaming on Online Casinos
  • NFL-24-on-Android
    Unlocking Madden NFL 24 on Android: A Game-Changing Experience
  • Android MiniAir Cover Image
    Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air Gaming Keyboard Review
  • Royal Cooking by Matryoshka
    Royal Cooking Review
  • Canadian-Mobile-Casinos
    The Security Behind Canadian Mobile Casinos
  • Tears of Themis Four Main Men
    Oath to Joy Event Coming to Tears of Themis
  • addictive-puzzle-games
    The Nine Most Addictive Puzzle Games on Mobile
  • android-13
    Everything You Need to Know about Android 13 and Why It Matters for Gamers
  • Dragonheir: Silent God title
    Dragonheir: Silent Gods Out Now
  • Knightcore Sword of Kingdom Official Promotional Artwork
    Strategy RPG Knightcore: Sword of Kingdom Opens for Global Pre-Registration
  • mobile-live-casinos
    How To Find Mobile Live Casino Sites With The Best Bonuses
  • mobile-esports
    Mobile Esports Ascend: Unpacking What It Means, Its Impact and Challenges
  • gaming-the-future
    Is Gaming the Future of Education?
Hardcore Droid
Hardcore Droid
  • Home
  • News
    • News
    • Spotlight
    • Interviews
    • Consoles
  • Reviews
    • Action
    • Adventure
    • Strategy
    • RPG
    • MMOs
    • Racing
    • Indie
    • Hardware
  • Best Of
    • Top 10 Games
    • Best RPGs
    • Best Action
    • Best Puzzlers
    • Best Strategy
    • Best Indie Strat
    • Best Indie RPGs
    • Most Hardcore
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Game Jobs
    • Archives
    • Attributions
    • Opportunities
  • Platformer

Reveal the Deep Review

  • January 13, 2016
  • Nick (Catfish_Maw) Walker
Android Action
Spread the love

I love the ocean. Marine Biology fascinates me, I learn as much about ships and boats as I can, and I’m suspicious that my entire fascination with Lovecraft is based upon the fan-made, underwater gurgling sounds so commonly associated with his works. So, naturally, I have a huge bias towards Lazy Monday Games’ Reveal The Deep, a game where you are a diver set to explore a sunken ship (curiously categorized as an “Android Action Game”).

This is one of those games where the atmosphere and art direction draws in a certain crowd and lets them forget about whether or not the game’s actually good. A quick glance on steam will show the raving reviews, mostly from people acknowledging how much the murky underwater feel of the game connected with them. As much as I can like a game for its mere presentation, I can’t recommend it on those terms, at least not with any conviction.

Android Action

I had a grand time being hypnotized by the shadowy enclosure of the ship. Its tattered skeleton hums a soft blue when confronted by my Diver’s headlamp, and the ambience of the sea is punctuated only by either my footsteps, or distant squeals of decrepit floorboards and rusty, agitated iron beams. It’s dark, claustrophobic, and disorienting: exactly the kind of thing I’m into, but all that didn’t stop me from realizing the game gets kinda boring after a bit.

You explore the ship using a streamlined movement system, in which swipes left and right move you in a direction, upward swipes cause you to jump, and downward swipes cause you to crouch. You figure out puzzle after puzzle as you descend into the bowels of the ship, learning of its crew and circumstances along the way via well-written flavor text. Sometimes platforms are visible only once your headlamp is turned off, creating a time-travel mechanic as you see into the ships’ unbroken form, but usually you are just walking and jumping.

Android Action

Now, you may be asking how that’s a bad thing, since “walking and jumping” is indeed the backbone of every platformer in existence (unless you count VVVVVV I guess, then it’s only the former, you nitpicker). But the reason this fails in Reveal the Deep is the lack of complexity in the platforming. You move at one set speed, unable to do anything to expedite your slowly trundling diver. As it stands, navigation through the gloomy corridors is engaging only when it leads you to a new story note or puzzle. Otherwise, you are merely watching the low-frame shuffling animation in utter boredom. Since you will inevitably get lost while exploring and have to back-track multiple times, a method of making movement interesting would have been crucial to avoid boring the player. To give a couple famous examples, 3D Mario games have a multitude of ways to change your momentum and upwards velocity for the sake of saving time and involving players more; similarly, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night has that cute back-dash thing that makes you go slightly faster. One is far more complex than the other, but the point is that even something as simple as a limited “sprint” that needs to recharge after it’s short use can add layers of depth to a game’s flow.

I like exploration, I like the motif, I like the writing and how it fuses with a two-worlds mechanic. What I don’t like is being bored while I play a game, and despite the glimmer in my eyes in the first 30 minutes of my playtime, it fled quickly, and soon the lovely visuals were the only thing tacking me down and keeping me from just quitting to go play Counter-Strike. I’m in the middle of the road on this one.

 

Is it Hardcore?
3

Kinda...

Atmospheric yet sluggish exploration game.

Nick (Catfish_Maw) Walker

Nick is bad at video games, which he sees as a plus: The more times he dies, loses, accidentally deletes a save, etc., the more time he has to observe the pixel-by-pixel machinations. He enjoys writing, coding, listening to Jazz, and talking people's ears off about the history of the 3DO or whatever.

Previous Article
  • Platformer

Geometry Dash: Meltdown Review

  • January 12, 2016
  • Kathryn Haro
View Post
Next Article
  • Adventure

The Martian: Bring Him Home Review

  • January 14, 2016
  • Matthew Noojin
View Post
You May Also Like
Super Cat Tales: PAWS load screen
View Post
  • Indie
  • Platformer
  • Reviews

Super Cat Tales: PAWS Review

  • Mayra Reynoso
  • September 16, 2023
Run Slash Run title
View Post
  • Action
  • Platformer
  • RPG

Run Slash Run Review

  • Daniel DeAngelo
  • August 6, 2023
Fireball Wizard Title
View Post
  • Action
  • Platformer

Fireball Wizard Review

  • Daniel DeAngelo
  • July 24, 2023
Lost Words Beyond the Page
View Post
  • Adventure
  • Platformer
  • Puzzle

Lost Words: Beyond the Page Android Review

  • Daniel DeAngelo
  • June 21, 2023
Doodle Run Banner
View Post
  • Free Games
  • Platformer
  • Reviews

Don’t Touch: Doodle Run Review

  • Mayra Reynoso
  • April 26, 2023
Super Meat Boy Forever Official Trailer Screenshot
View Post
  • Action
  • Adventure
  • News
  • Platformer

Super Meat Boy Forever Launching on Android and iOS April 20, 2023

  • James Bell
  • April 6, 2023
View Post
  • Action
  • Platformer
  • Reviews

Demon Go!: Escape from Hell Review

  • Mayra Reynoso
  • January 26, 2023
That's a cow promotional
View Post
  • Action
  • Indie
  • Platformer

That’s a Cow Review

  • Mayra Reynoso
  • December 7, 2022
The Latest
  • Clue 2023 Edition Review
  • Beginner Basics of Android OS Customization
  • Mobile Revolution: The Impact of Smartphone Gaming on Online Casinos
  • Unlocking Madden NFL 24 on Android: A Game-Changing Experience
  • Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air Gaming Keyboard Review
  • Royal Cooking Review
  • The Security Behind Canadian Mobile Casinos
  • Oath to Joy Event Coming to Tears of Themis
  • The Nine Most Addictive Puzzle Games on Mobile
  • Everything You Need to Know about Android 13 and Why It Matters for Gamers
Meta
  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Hardcore Droid
  • Reviews
  • Spotlight
  • Hardcore
Core Gaming on the Android OS

Input your search keywords and press Enter.