In Other Waters

Below is my written In Other Waters review. My video: In Other Waters - Gameplay

In Other Waters Image

Published • 16 August 2022

In Other Waters is a top-down point and click oceanic alien exploration game...

And there's much to discover on the expansive underwater planet. In this game you play as an artificial intelligence that assists a xenobiologist to explore an alien planet and find their long-time colleague. Remarkably, many creatures roam the oceans and samples can be transported back to the base for analysis. Each node on the map is a point of interest that is traversable, and the researcher recounts in more detail what they see in text. Sustain your oxygen and power by utilising world resources, and use different tools to overcome barriers.

Gameplay

The gameplay is tactile and slow-paced; the game is explored by clicking the buttons on the HUD and reading text monologues and log data scattered throughout. It feels like an interactive visual novel, so the story and world building are highly focused upon. This is not an action game, but the movement feels sluggish at times and there's more reading rather than playing. I like that the HUD offers control of the character and interaction with the world - nice to use a unique control scheme. The game is short and completed within a few hours, and I felt that it was lightweight to play. That's just my action-junkie side speaking through.

Audio Visual

The game is quite immersive with the audio and music, with spacey tones. The topographical maps are always cool to look at, even though I still just imagine collision walls instead of the sea mounds and trenches. So in that sense of graphics, you aren't shown a realistic view of the environment. The HUD changes colour in different biomes and depths, while remaining contrasty so it's easy to distinguish the map from HUD buttons and text. The taxonomic logs are very descriptive but it doesn't interest me greatly, and the game's story is quite forgettable. The area map is also confusing as well and I got stuck a few times trying to get to the right places.

Pros

  • Cool art style
  • Good sound design
  • Novel experience

Cons

  • Slow gameplay
  • Short game
  • No replay value

Conclusion

In Other Waters is a straightforward exploration visual novel that is not my kind of game. I score it 6/10.


Information

  • Release date: 2020
  • Developer: Jump Over The Age
  • Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch