Song of the Deep

Shaky conclusion aside, Song of the Deep is a narrative rich adventure that successfully pairs Metroidvania gameplay with a dynamic underwater setting.

Insomniac has delivered a beautiful game, filled with emotions and solid gameplay. It's not perfect, but it is unique.

Song of the Deep is a good game you should play for its emotional story which is more complex than it initially seems. The mechanics are interesting and the fact that we don’t usually get many underwater adventures adds to its appeal. While there are problems—like the visual artifacts and storytelling decisions mentioned earlier—the story and gameplay make up for them.

Despite its interesting premise and good artistic design, Song of the Deep fails to deliver the metroidvania experience we hoped for, with a too heavy backtracking and enduring and boring battles. It's by no means a bad game and fans of the genre should be able to enjoy it, but this is not the Insomniac Games' Ori and the Blind Forest we hoped for.

Despite stumbles in its gameplay, I am a sucker for sappy stories, and that is what 'Song of the Deep' should be played for. There are many other games that provide engrossing, replayable platforming and puzzles, but with less warmth or none at all. I enjoyed my time with Merryn and her submarine but we sure did bicker a lot.

If you like your Metroidvanias it's well worth diving in.

The character, the voiceover, the presentation are all a change of pace from the video game status quo, and the sense of discovery the first half offers is welcome. But it's hard to shake the feeling of a game with potential that never quite figures out how to deliver on it.

A different take on the usual Metroidvania formula, but while the story and setting are charming the puzzles are rarely anything other than frustrating.

Song of the Deep occasionally shows flashes of promise, but ultimately they're just that: flashes and promises. Too often it feels like Insomniac was just going through the motions, leaving players with something of an empty shell of a new and impressive adventure.

Song of the Deep isn’t a bad metroidvania; it’s just very basic. It doesn’t do anything particularly well, outside of maybe its endearing story, but it isn’t absolutely unplayable either.