Deep Ones

https://www.sometimesyou.com/

Deep Ones is one of the most unintuitive games I’ve ever played that’s constantly undermining itself whenever it starts to become enjoyable.

At first, I liked the unique style and setting of Deep Ones, but the more I played, the more I realized there were some issues with the game. The controls felt too stiff, the time it takes you to fire more than once is too long, and the exploration as a whole felt too long and uninspired for long segments of the game. This is an inexpensive game that might be fun for you, but be ready for an experience that could end up feeling boring and frustrating.

THE STYLE OF THIS GAME IS  A SELLING POINT BUT  WHAT YOU ACTUALLY HAVE IS A SEXUALLY-CONFLICTED BULLDOG WITH A FACELIFT

Odd pacing, limited and sluggish control, janky enemy movement, and frustration are all pretty well constants in this title which makes no sense given its appearance that can’t be consuming more than a fraction of the system’s power. For whatever merits it could possibly have it is simply an exercise in aggravation to play and has pretty well nothing to really enjoy. This offends me on a few levels, both in terms of the perception people may walk away with about indie games but also what they may think about the quality of games from the age of the Commodore 64 or ZX Spectrum that the graphics in Deep Ones mimics. Regardless of the comparatively primitive graphics games may have had in that era even then this would have still been an awful game. If you still are interested in the title be sure to check out the available demo first and be really sure you want to waste your time, let alone your money, on it.

Overall, Deep Ones is not a very deep game. It’s as simplistic as its visual inspirations with slightly awkward and clunky mechanics. I can appreciate the visual style and as a nostalgia trip for those pioneering gamers in the mid-80’s. But standing as a game on its own it’s just a little too uncooked and not particularly compelling to play despite the potential. A mixed bag of level design plus controls being too stiff and unresponsive for my liking. It’s short, but cheap so it’s not the end of the world if you think it looks interesting, but for me, it’s below average as far as the gameplay goes, although other things around Deep Ones do rescue it somewhat, making it not an entirely wasteful experience.

A puddle cannot substitute for an ocean

Deep Ones tries its best to be as obnoxious as possible in several different areas. There's almost something decent here but the amateur execution hurts the game as a whole.

It’s a tidy little game overall. I liked the aesthetic and I’d say the music was forgettable but it sent me back to my youth. The game is fairly lengthy and reasonably challenging. It’s also very niche and a lot of people will miss out on a little nugget of history recreated here. Unfortunately it’s not perfect and the occasional poor signposting held up progress at times. If you want a taste of the 80s or a tough little platformer I recommend you have a look at Deep Ones