The Deep Ones
released on Nov 01, 2022
In a mysterious little town, inhabited by a strange tackle shop owner, the deep waters are stirring... Explore the foggy landscape and try to fill out your fish species logbook. Purchase items and upgrades to help you catch stronger and rarer fish. But beware, these fish won't be caught without a fight - they may just drag you down with them!
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Now this is some fishing horror!
Well, kind of. At the very least, its much more of a fishing game than the other indie games I’ve been going through. The gameplay loop is straightforward. Fish creepy critters. Sell for cash. Spend money to build up your ship. The better you build your ship, the less likely you are to get yanked into the water. The further out into the sea you can fish. The further out into sea you can fish, the better fish you can find. The risk being, if your ship isn’t strong enough, the fish is more likely to capsize you and dump your current cargo into the ocean. It’s a loop that does what it sets out to do and it’s addicting enough to fill out its hour long runtime.
There’s not much of a story building off that gimmick, but the game does a much better job of just capturing a Vibe. The PSX aesthetics, the chill music, it all feeds into the greater sense of unease and disquiet. The only character to talk to is the shopkeep and he’s genuinely quite friendly. The dark underbelly is more about the town trying to survive its hostile environment. Through that idea, the horror doesn’t quite land because the world ends up feeling shockingly warm. Because this shopkeeper is friendly, I’m sort of left to assume the town around him is friendly too. United together in a terrifying world, just trying to make it to the next day. Its not much, but its honest work. Its honestly kind of refreshing in a way to have the spooky town feel so nice to return to. There’s a lot I’m projecting onto the world given how small it is, but its how the game made me feel. You set sail, you get the work done, and you feed the town. That’s all we can ask for.
Well, kind of. At the very least, its much more of a fishing game than the other indie games I’ve been going through. The gameplay loop is straightforward. Fish creepy critters. Sell for cash. Spend money to build up your ship. The better you build your ship, the less likely you are to get yanked into the water. The further out into the sea you can fish. The further out into sea you can fish, the better fish you can find. The risk being, if your ship isn’t strong enough, the fish is more likely to capsize you and dump your current cargo into the ocean. It’s a loop that does what it sets out to do and it’s addicting enough to fill out its hour long runtime.
There’s not much of a story building off that gimmick, but the game does a much better job of just capturing a Vibe. The PSX aesthetics, the chill music, it all feeds into the greater sense of unease and disquiet. The only character to talk to is the shopkeep and he’s genuinely quite friendly. The dark underbelly is more about the town trying to survive its hostile environment. Through that idea, the horror doesn’t quite land because the world ends up feeling shockingly warm. Because this shopkeeper is friendly, I’m sort of left to assume the town around him is friendly too. United together in a terrifying world, just trying to make it to the next day. Its not much, but its honest work. Its honestly kind of refreshing in a way to have the spooky town feel so nice to return to. There’s a lot I’m projecting onto the world given how small it is, but its how the game made me feel. You set sail, you get the work done, and you feed the town. That’s all we can ask for.