Under The Ocean Steam: “From Waterlogged Clown to Survivalist Ninja: Episode 2” by TheSpearMaster

Laugh your way through the basics of tool wielding 🙂
Official Website: www.underthegarden.com
Available on Steam:
The Dream Team:

Paul Greasley- Idea man. Developed the original Under the Garden

Michael Reitzenstein– Programmer. Landed his first job on this game, thus making him quite possibly the luckiest gamer I know.

Chris Geehan– The Music Man. Shake them maracas!
Philippe Martins– Speaks French. Also does something related to that new-fangled-whiz-bang-hoobie-doobie-3D-c­haracter animation.

Review:

So in it’s current and clearly pre-release state, I would give the (game on a scale of 0-10):

Graphics (9) They are gorgeous– the game can run a little slow depending on the higher end graphics options, but that is part of the development process.

Music (10) Go Chris! The initial music and sounds to this game are amazing, calm and melancholy depicting the little guys a initial fate. It is incredibly calm. I hope that in the future the music will become more tropical and uplifting as the little guy makes discoveries and reaches milestones.

Controls/ Playability (8) Alright, even in its pre-development state, the game is very playable with the latest update. However, there are still a few kinks that need to be worked out, such as getting the inventory items to stick more easily into the inventory and not to the wall– I’m almost thinking a separate inventory bag might be the way to go, or make the background unmanipulable when in inventory mode. Also, for assembled weapons, like say the spear 😉 I’d like to be able to re-equip it without having to awkwardly place it back in inventory, or just let me craft a slingshot. The most frustrating aspect for me though, is the rope because they often seem to be placed below the ledge you’re climbing to and they’re hard to jump up and away from. However, using the ladder strategy or airplane technique I found (see my videos) appears to overcome the current development phase.

Replay Value (10) I will abide by standard practice here, but I would love to give the replay value a 15 on a 10 point scale. The game is just amazing, because there’s always somewhere new to explore, something new to find, and something cool to make: the suspense and depth to which you can go with it now, even in development, is simply remarkable! For example, since finding the bear, I almost hold my breath every time the screen changes, wondering what’s waiting on the next set of screens for me, and then wondering what I can make with the things that I find– the true meaning of adventure, exploration, and even creation.

Overall (9.5) Even in the early development stage this game is revolutionary by combining a robust physics and crafting engine with sandboxy randomized emergent gameplay, if they did nothing else for this game, I would still play it. A lot. And because of it’s makes many different methods of play accessible all at once, the game can fit almost any mood you’re in, whether it be the go out and explore and kill stuff mood or the stay home and build a turbine mood. Thus, you don’t necessarily have to switch to another game when you’re in a different mood, you can just play this game a different way and it accommodates you! –TheSpearMaster

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