Under The Waves

 PC
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15
  1. COGconnected
    Sep 25, 2023
    74
    Although some mechanical elements suggest other games, Under the Waves uses deep sea exploration for its twin themes of personal grief and environmental exploitation in a unique way. There’s a lack of technical refinement here and there, and the messaging gets heavy-handed at times. Under the Waves is actually about something which puts it ahead of many other games in the survival crafting genre.
  2. CD-Action
    Nov 13, 2023
    70
    The best parts of Under the Waves are the moments when you can peacefully explore the depths of the sea and observe the creatures that inhabit them. The story about an evil corporation and a man who can’t cope with loss is clunky and introduces an unnecessary emotional weight that spoiled the whole experience for me.
  3. GameSkinny
    Sep 7, 2023
    70
    Under the Waves is one of those games that you have to complain about, but overall you still like it. First of all, the game takes not so much the plot or gameplay as the atmosphere. Lamp retro futurism, stunningly beautiful water depths, excellent simulation of marine life, Stan's beautiful nightmares (no matter how strange it may sound) - and all this is accompanied by well-chosen music. The audio-visual series is on top, and thanks to him you forgive the game a lot. If you like nautical themes or just meditative projects where you don't have to rush and kill someone, take note of Under the Waves.
  5. Games.cz
    Sep 12, 2023
    60
    Diving into the depths of Under The Waves unveils an immersive underwater world brimming with captivating exploration, atmospheric density, and an emotionally charged narrative. However, the overall execution appears as if the creators were assembling the Titan submarine – a touch rough around the edges. Technical imperfections disrupt the illusion of seamless immersion, and the redundant crafting along with its narrative inconsistency simply break the spell at times. Yet, it undeniably possesses a certain charm underneath.
This publication does not provide a score for their reviews.
This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation.

In Progress & Unscored

?
  1. 3DJuegos
    Aug 31, 2023
    A beautiful submarine adventure game with a good narrative, awesome art style and funny exploration. [Recommended]

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. grihajedy
    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/    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »