Song of the Deep | Xbox One

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Song of the Deep is quite a departure. It’s a small-scale project from the exceedingly busy developers at Insomniac Games, as well as a first for US retailer GameStop and their new publishing arm. Though there are some obvious cracks in the foundations, this venture ultimately proves fruitful, producing a beautifully warm and whimsical nautical adventure.

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam

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Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: GameTrust
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC
Players: 1 

A 2D Metroidvania-style game with layered backgrounds that add depth, Song of the Deep tells the story of Merryn, a young girl that shares a love of the sea with her father. When he fails to return from a fishing trip one evening, Merryn builds a ramshackle submarine and embarks to trawl the depths in aid of uncovering his fate.

Siobhan Hewlett offers a soft-spoken narration to the introspective story of perseverance. The narrative is presented with a fittingly child-like wonder, dour moments overcome by determination paving the way to a predictably happy ending that we wouldn’t have taken any other way.
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Similar whimsy permeates the design and makes exploring Song of the Deep’s gorgeous subterranean world an absolute treat. Environments are drenched in cascades of colour, occupied by fantastical creatures with charmingly twee animations, and filled with innumerable hidden treasures to collect. Occasional realms of sharp, jutting rocks and pitch-black trenches are efficiently suffocating by comparison.

Areas encircle one another to create an interconnected and cohesive world, comfortably accommodating the gear gating that comes hand-in-hand with the Metroidvania genre. You’ll frequently acquire items that grant abilities used to unlock new parts of the map, perhaps most significantly a diving suit for Merryn, allowing her to leave the sub and squeeze into tight spaces.

The items also help in solving puzzles, which can grow tiresome due to a lack of variation and abundant iteration of the same few concepts. The exact same can be said for the game’s combat, whereby your arsenal is bolstered - twofold when upgrades purchased with treasures are taken into account - yet most additions fail to evolve the system in significant ways, feeling superfluous as a result. We almost exclusively bashed the antagonistic schools of fish, crustaceans and invertebrates with the grappling hook from beginning to end.

We met Song of the Deep with an immediate fondness that was, at least in part, slowly chipped away.

One constant seal of quality persists in Jonathan Wandag’s stellar musical score. 

Boss encounters don’t do much to enliven combative proceedings, the three present simply serving as arenas in which you fight waves of the same standard enemies in their place.

Unfortunately, a number of tedious mechanics further hamper the experience. Naval mines awkwardly dangle from chains and escorting them routinely ends in disaster; this is frustrating in itself, but travelling back and waiting for another to spawn each time intensifies the feeling. The sub can be crammed into corridors that it isn’t keen on coming out of, pressing B to leave the map or pause screen will activate sonar and can scupper your progress during puzzles, whilst one particular chase scene is inexcusably bad. Enemies that can’t be combatted spawn atop you, executing insta-kill grabs from ludicrous distances as you wrestle with the controls that, in this instance, lack the necessary precision. 

One constant seal of quality does persist in Jonathan Wandag’s stellar musical score. It’s simultaneously magical and heavy with sorrow, mirroring Merryn’s internal struggle. It firmly anchors the player to the world and ensures it’s one they’ll want to stick around in, despite the issues.

​​Reminiscent of favourites Child of Light and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, we met Song of the Deep with an immediate fondness that was, at least in part, slowly chipped away. A beautiful story, an enthralling world, lovable characters and outstanding presentation don't excuse the fact that numerous gameplay elements - the area that matters most - simply aren't much fun to engage with.

Pros

• Touching story
• Charming characters and narration
• Beautiful visuals and soundtrack
• Strong world design
• A proper Metroidvania

Cons

• Weak combat
• Repetitive puzzles
• Annoying design decisions
• Some upgrades aren’t much good
• Bosses are rubbish

Score 7/10