The ocean is something that intrigues and terrifies me in equal measure. So much still to be discovered, so much mystery, far too much deep inky blackness for all that to be found in. It’s such an alien place beyond the relatively shallow seas, and that is the part that fascinates me the most. The thought of what could be out there, still unearthed by humankind. There are stories still to be dreamed up regarding that great unknown, and Insomniac have done just that with its latest game, Song of the Deep.
Down in the Bubbly Blue
The product of Gamestop’s first foray into publishing, Song of the Deep sees Insomniac scale back from the grandiose, colorful 3D worlds of Ratchet & Clank and, er, that other one that wasn’t Fuse. Here, it goes for a lavish-looking 2D Metroidvania-style adventure with an interesting wrinkle.
The game begins with a young girl named Myreen being regaled with the tales held in the songs her father sang about the many adventures he’s had at sea. Myreen never quite believes these tall tales of lost underwater cities and ancient sea-dwelling races, but that all changes when her father goes missing. This determined child knocks together a crude submarine and sets off to find him in the ocean, and discovers her old pa’s stories are all true, the good and the bad.
The game is presented like a children’s story, complete with a choice selection of lovely illustrations and a wonderfully sing-song narration throughout. The art design for Song of the Deep is beautiful. You can see the obvious influences of Ratchet & Clank in there, but it also reminded me strongly of the sumptuous art style of Rayman Origins and Legends: That hand-drawn look that is hard to top when done right. Every sea creature you come across is an intriguing caricature of their real-world counterparts, and the various areas you’ll explore are flush with detail, especially in the backgrounds that teem with life and adds depth to the two-dimensional oceanscape.
The lush green sea gardens, the threatening gloom of The Maw, even the crumbling ruins of a dying civilisation, each area in Song of the Deep is brimming with character. The narration brings rhyme and reason to the introduction of each new place and does well to include the puzzles you’ll have to solve into the storytelling. For so much of Song of the Deep’s run, the story, the gameplay, and the presentation flow together beautifully.
Deeply Troubling
Being a Metroidvania-type game, Song of the Deep has a sprawling map of differing oceanic areas that have sections and secrets that cannot be accessed until you’ve upgraded Myreen an/or her submarine with equipment that can do so. Your first tool for the sub is a grabber claw, which can be used both as a weapon against enemies and for breaking weaker barriers, and for grabbing and interacting with certain objects in the game world such as levers, treasure chests, and shells. You’ll follow up with more upgradeable tools for the sub that help you progress from then on, including a boost for getting through strong currents, an on-board rocket launcher that comes in three flavours (explosive, magma, and icy), and sonar that shows up hidden areas. The rate at which these upgrades are introduced is pretty well paced, giving you incremental amounts of power to play with each time before reminding you there are still obstacles that are beyond your current setup. This opens up the game nicely, piece by piece, always leaving you with a regular sense of progression. The satisfying nature of a Metroidvania-type is in that progression, and Song of the Deep is pretty good at it for the most part..
While exploring the sea is easily the most appealing part of Song of the Deep, there are pockets of the game that feel out of place, and in some cases frustrating. Puzzles are rarely more threatening than a simple ‘match this to this’ formula, but more than once you’ll find a puzzle that seems deliberately cheap or long-winded. Similarly, as the game draws to its conclusion, there are set piece sections that go on too long and have spotty fail states that ruin the sense of progression the rest of the game has kept up nicely. In normal circumstances, the floaty control of the sub is manageable enough, but when things get chaotic, or the game requires efficient timing, the control setup is too fiddly by far, becoming the cause of much frustration.
For example, there’s a chase sequence nearer the end of the game’s 6-8 hour story that feels more like a game of chance than an effective use of your agility and responsiveness, and it goes on just too long, and if you fail, you have to do the whole sodding thing again. Another example comes from any of the times you’re ‘ambushed’ by multiple creatures and have to systematically take them out. You just end up blindly lashing out with the claw and/or the rockets in the hope of destroying everything swiftly. To put it bluntly, there’s little skill involved and you’ll likely get hit regardless.
Sing When You’re Swimming
Song of the Deep is a nice change of scenery for Insomniac, which shows off a softer side after the loud brashness of Sunset Overdrive and colorful chaos of Ratchet & Clank. While that’s wonderful to see, as is the presentation of this story, it doesn’t hit the right notes consistently enough to be as good as it could have been. For every inspired bit of art design and smooth progression, there’s a formulaic puzzle and a frantic, fumbling bit of combat. A shame really, as a bit of tweaking to the late-game pacing could have done wonders for Song of the Deep. As it is, this is a highly charming nautical adventure that’s sprung a few leaks as it gets deeper.