Not gonna lie, I came here to see the comment "dont rely on the sonar", realized I was bein a goof by not looking at the coords lmao Good game once I figured it out and felt super dumb :) Always love to see what KIRA does
First, the bad: Could not tell what to do/where to go. Found a couple of tapes, explored the entire map, did not find anything of note. Had to eventually quit. Sonar does not appear to reliably lead you to any objects of interest. Really unfortunate, was greatly looking forward to this. I understand it was made quickly for a game jam though without much opportunity for play testing.
If you continue working on this concept, some proposed additions:
1. Ambient atmospheric life support noises 2. A robot arm for collecting the tapes 3. The sonar monitor doubling as a down-facing video feed using one of the buttons, maybe some other views to toggle between (up, left, right, rear, opportunities for spoops to appear on the monitors when this is happening) 4. Finite but generous O2 supply which visibly dwindles over time to furnish constant low level anxiety 5. Finite battery which also dwindles as you use it up, see above 6. Ability to surface in order to replenish O2 and battery (from solar) on missions in shallow water, but not deep water missions 7. Drop weights (which can malfunction for a few spoop moments) 8. Increased variety of marine life (Obviously you did not have time for this, even the whale was nice though)
Having said all that, some well deserved praise: This control scheme rocks for a submersible game. Piloting the sub while simultaneously being able to look around inside it to operate the controls, I mean. I'm shocked I haven't seen in done in any big budget games before.
It'd also work very well in VR, looking around with your head, reaching around to push buttons/flip switches with your own hands, some spoops happening *inside* the sub itself. Like when you turn around, after perhaps seeing a moving shadow on the wall of the sub to one side, or hallucinations where there's another bubble window behind you, very fertile concept for horror and very intuitive/capable mechanics!
I would very much like to see this expanded into a full game with expanded mechanics and modernized visuals, especially if it supports VR. It's got a lot of untapped potential, there's nothing like it in the horror space to my knowledge.
I wrote the in-game dialogue and consulted on marine technology details for Narcosis, a well received VR deep sea survival horror game, and would be happy to lend my talents to such a project if ever you felt inclined to move in that direction.
Thanks for the feedback! Yeah using the coordinates to get to the barrels is the main objective, but some people use the sonar exclusively for some reason. The game does have a progression and an end, but without scanning the materials and following the coordinates it doesn't progress.
I think people use sonar initially, because they think it's a exploration horror game. Where the objects are hidden until they bump into it, like how slender the 8 pages was. Also I think some people don't realize their being given the coordinates under the tutorial prompts. I know it took me a few seconds to realize those were coordinates.
This was a lot of fun to just explore and pilot the sub. I love the PS1 style. The lighting, the sound design, the textures were all fantastic! I managed to find one of the hidden tapes and would love to play more to learn more about the cryptic story being told! Very impressive for a game jam entry and I look forward to exploring more when I get the time! Cheers!
very cool atmospheric submarine simulator, love the tension the rigid tasks provide under the apparent pressure, wish it's explored and built upon more
Ocean Horror is always great! Loved this one. Controlling the sub took a bit of getting used to but after that it was no problem. Great use of sounds, slowly builds up a creepy atmosphere as it gets darker and you start to descend further down. Excellent work! Also didn't realize this dev is the same who made Lost In Vivo, another gem.
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
This is a very interesting ocean horror game! Though, I wonder how many VHS tapes there are within the waters. I only found a few so far.
Check the game case for a hint to where they are
Alright, I'll do that. Thank you, Maple.
Man this one freaked me out. I need to watch a video of it now so I can see the ending better, but overall this was a smash success.
Not gonna lie, I came here to see the comment "dont rely on the sonar", realized I was bein a goof by not looking at the coords lmao Good game once I figured it out and felt super dumb :) Always love to see what KIRA does
Full play No Commentary
I find under the ocean to be absolutely terrifying. You did an incredible job at replicating that feeling of exploring its depths.
This was cool! I had a fun time diving beyond my craft's maximum depth allowance.
First, the bad: Could not tell what to do/where to go. Found a couple of tapes, explored the entire map, did not find anything of note. Had to eventually quit. Sonar does not appear to reliably lead you to any objects of interest. Really unfortunate, was greatly looking forward to this. I understand it was made quickly for a game jam though without much opportunity for play testing.
If you continue working on this concept, some proposed additions:
1. Ambient atmospheric life support noises
2. A robot arm for collecting the tapes
3. The sonar monitor doubling as a down-facing video feed using one of the buttons, maybe some other views to toggle between (up, left, right, rear, opportunities for spoops to appear on the monitors when this is happening)
4. Finite but generous O2 supply which visibly dwindles over time to furnish constant low level anxiety
5. Finite battery which also dwindles as you use it up, see above
6. Ability to surface in order to replenish O2 and battery (from solar) on missions in shallow water, but not deep water missions
7. Drop weights (which can malfunction for a few spoop moments)
8. Increased variety of marine life (Obviously you did not have time for this, even the whale was nice though)
Having said all that, some well deserved praise: This control scheme rocks for a submersible game. Piloting the sub while simultaneously being able to look around inside it to operate the controls, I mean. I'm shocked I haven't seen in done in any big budget games before.
It'd also work very well in VR, looking around with your head, reaching around to push buttons/flip switches with your own hands, some spoops happening *inside* the sub itself. Like when you turn around, after perhaps seeing a moving shadow on the wall of the sub to one side, or hallucinations where there's another bubble window behind you, very fertile concept for horror and very intuitive/capable mechanics!
I would very much like to see this expanded into a full game with expanded mechanics and modernized visuals, especially if it supports VR. It's got a lot of untapped potential, there's nothing like it in the horror space to my knowledge.
I wrote the in-game dialogue and consulted on marine technology details for Narcosis, a well received VR deep sea survival horror game, and would be happy to lend my talents to such a project if ever you felt inclined to move in that direction.
Thanks for the feedback! Yeah using the coordinates to get to the barrels is the main objective, but some people use the sonar exclusively for some reason. The game does have a progression and an end, but without scanning the materials and following the coordinates it doesn't progress.
I think people use sonar initially, because they think it's a exploration horror game. Where the objects are hidden until they bump into it, like how slender the 8 pages was. Also I think some people don't realize their being given the coordinates under the tutorial prompts. I know it took me a few seconds to realize those were coordinates.
Amazing game as usual though!! I know I loved it.
Made a video
This is an interesting game overall. I really like how you can explore the world through the sub. Nice job.
Here's my channel for other games I have played. https://www.youtube.com/c/Levont
This was a lot of fun to just explore and pilot the sub. I love the PS1 style. The lighting, the sound design, the textures were all fantastic! I managed to find one of the hidden tapes and would love to play more to learn more about the cryptic story being told! Very impressive for a game jam entry and I look forward to exploring more when I get the time! Cheers!
pretty good game overall
This was spooky great work.
Not bad for a horror game made in 10 days, keep up the good work! The idea is pretty unique too
Now we see the Dread XP community getting into the Game Jams, and here's some great work from one of them, KIRA. Excellent game. Congratulations.
very cool atmospheric submarine simulator, love the tension the rigid tasks provide under the apparent pressure, wish it's explored and built upon more
the visuals for this kind of remind me of noctis IV, also the 3d model for the game box is a nice touch!
earliest i've ever been to a kira game ayooooooooo
very atmosferic game.... really enjoyed playing it
Show post...
nice game
Cool game.
An impressive game for something made in 10 days, as always, great demonstration of your talent, KIRA.
Awww thank you Neco!
Great use of sounds, slowly builds up a creepy atmosphere as it gets darker and you start to descend further down. Excellent work! Also didn't realize this dev is the same who made Lost In Vivo, another gem.
really cool!
Neat little game