Under The Waves Image
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5 Ratings

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  • Summary: Under The Waves is a narrative-driven adventure game about the engulfing power of grief.

    Set in the depths of the North Sea in a techno-futuristic 1970s, professional diver Stan is struggling to overcome a life-changing loss and embrace a new future. The isolation of the deep sea is a
    Under The Waves is a narrative-driven adventure game about the engulfing power of grief.

    Set in the depths of the North Sea in a techno-futuristic 1970s, professional diver Stan is struggling to overcome a life-changing loss and embrace a new future. The isolation of the deep sea is a fitting manifestation of his state of mind, and as Stan retreads further into his self-imposed solitude, he starts to experience strange events far beneath the waves. He will eventually have to make a difficult choice... stay lost in the depths forever, or break free to the surface and to the rest of his life.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 15
  2. Negative: 1 out of 15
  1. Aug 29, 2023
    90
    Under the Waves is a fantastic game that uses the vastness of the ocean to craft wonder and solitude, moving you from avid adventurer to sad man in a way that feels dynamic and intimate no matter the task you’re completing.
  2. Aug 29, 2023
    90
    Under the Waves is one of the biggest positive surprises of the year. The developers of the indie game have crated one of the most beautiful gaming worlds in the last months. Water effects and the life under the sea looks stunning. But the adventure offers more than just beautiful graphics. The Story about our main character Stan and his sad past is so good and heartbraking at the same time. For people who are in love with slow paced adventures, Under the Waves is the perfect game between the blockbusters Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield.
  3. Sep 18, 2023
    87
    This reviewer can't go into too much detail about the story of Stan and Under the Waves - some things are best experienced by the player first hand after all, and the story that is spun along the seafloor is definitely one of those. Players will learn more about Stan through his isolation, all the while exploring the beautiful ocean. If you're a fan of oceanic visage, emotional stories, crafting mechanics, wide ranging exploration, or some combination of them all, Under the Waves might just be the game for you.
  4. Aug 30, 2023
    75
    It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel or do anything groundbreaking, but it’s a very enjoyable adventure with a story that deserves to be played.
  5. Sep 13, 2023
    75
    A high-level atmospheric experience, Under the Waves offers a truly immersive aquatic experience, enhanced by an absolutely memorable soundtrack (which you will undoubtedly want to listen to in your free time) and very convincing French performances. It's a shame that the story, although fascinating, suffers from a sometimes languorous pace, also hampered by laborious micro-tasks.
  6. Sep 4, 2023
    75
    It is impressive that the game combines the exploration of the meticulously crafted underwater world with a message of environmental protection. But, it's a bit disappointing that the main story was not easy to immerse due to bugs scattered everywhere, even though it is the core content of this game.
  7. A man might enjoy the story, but I am not a man, and I did not.

See all 16 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 1
  2. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Sep 7, 2023
    7
    7/10
    (2-hours review)
    Under the publishing house of the developers of "Detroit: Become Human", came out visually beautiful, with very
    7/10
    (2-hours review)
    Under the publishing house of the developers of "Detroit: Become Human", came out visually beautiful, with very high-quality smooth animations, with an emphasis on atmosphere, realism, which includes an educational aspect (created with the support of a European foundation), but, alas, in terms of gameplay - a fairly simple survival game,
    on the one hand, games about scuba diving is a strong deficit, and on the other hand, if they do something, then it is mandatory - a bunch of questions on the map, yes, no one forces you, but on every damn meter you can vacuum some sorts of plastic bottles, and each time getting out of the cabin and climbing back, you will have to endure 5-seconds meditative animations, and about the same with story missions, we just need to swim from point A to point B, find something, open some kind of valve with 1 button.. so that you understand how stretched the game is in this way - the opening credits will be shown to you only at the 3rd hour of the game, I personally went through only 2 days out of 17, you have a main hub here, of which there will probably be several (the map in the game is quite large), in which you will open a simple upgrading, meditatively sit and cinematically change the camera angle (by the way, it's cool that you can swim in the bathyscaphe in 1st person view), play 1-button mini-games, such as a punching bag,
    In the plot, it seems there is a backlog for some kind of mysticism, the main character has nightmares at nights (Alan Wake was immediately reminded), but I don’t think that this will “turn off” everything from the basic line - about a man who divorced his wife, now he has left everyone for "single" work and sometimes calls her.. about talking on the walkie-talkie, this is also far from the level of "Firewatch", just 2 men 40+ are constantly being sarcastic.
    If all you need is a beautiful atmospheric immersion from the 3rd person with sometimes cinematic shots, and you are ready to just relax on the "collectaton" of the same thing on the map, and somewhere in the background the plot can be a bit tangled, then you are need here - under the waves, yes.

    Subscribe on my Steam`s Curator`s page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41977550/
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