Song of the Deep

« Song of the Deep is also a great game. Its spunky protagonist had me rooting for her until the heartwarming conclusion, and I didn’t want to leave the game’s enthralling world. It’s one of the most original titles of this year, and certainly one of the most fully realized. »

« Insomniac Games' Song of the Deep is an excellent metroidvania whose underwater setting gives the genre a nice twist. Its map is impressively large, and it packs many inventive puzzles that are fun to solve. It looks and sounds brilliant too. The boss battles are a little on the weak side however, but they don't take the shine off what is otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable and very sweet exploration game. »

« Song of the Deep’s experience stays faithful to the game’s name in more ways than one. The game by Insomniac does indeed feel like a melancholic yet enticing song from a time long gone, awing the listener with its grace and tales of mysteries which may not exist. In the end, it’s the journey which is truly important, and the enjoyment one can get out of it. And there’s plenty to be had in Song of the Deep, despite some issues here and there. »

« Song of the Deep is as beautiful as it is challenging, as picturesque as it is magical. This labyrinth exploration gets better with every hour. »

« Song of the Deep tells a compelling story and presents enjoyable, captivating Metroidvania gameplay set in an enthralling underwater world. »

« Song of the Deep is uninspired only when it comes to its boss encounters, which end up being repetitive gauntlets of angry anglerfish enemies. Everywhere else, the game overflows with detail and creativity. »

« Song of the Deep is a very good metroidvania style game, with challenging puzzles and a big map to explore. A good story and great presentation combined with interesting aquatic corridors and creative mechanics make us forget some minor design problems and technical issues that could be polished better for the final game. »

« It has a few bumps along the way, but as a first attempt in the genre, Insomniac proves they’ve got the talent and heart for a game of this nature and for $15 it’s an absolute steal, totally worth player’s time. »

« This is one of the best under the sea metroidvanias I have ever played. The controls are intuitive and flow well. Going in I expected the movement to be floaty and annoying, however it was the opposite! Definitely a must play on PS4. »

« An absolute joy to play. Gorgeous visuals, sounds, and commentary. Fluid controls that kept a smile on my face at all times. A wonderful Metroidvania. Highly recommended »

« Average submarine-based metroidvania game. The story is told like a children's fairy tale and is much more coherent than Child of Light (if the rhyming dialogue in that game irritated you then you'll like this one more). As a young girl, you go searching for your father, who went missing on a fishing trip. You build yourself a rickety submarine and go off exploring looking for him. Along the way, you meet magical creatures that help you, in a typical children's tale manner. The tone of the story is a bit dark, but not too dark for children. As an old man, I didn't get much out of it. Nothing amazing and nothing stupid (such as big plot holes) happen; The story is just average all-around. The gameplay is decent. Controls are easy with your left stick controlling your thrust and direction simultaneously. You get a close-rage hook weapon that fires in whatever direction you're currently pressing, and you get several missile types that all home-in enemies. This is by far the easiest ship-based game I've played recently. If you're looking for a challenge, you'll want to increase the difficulty. Battles are fairly easy. As soon as I learned I could spam my rockets and monster drops would quickly replenish my rocket energy, I did just that. Only a small number of enemies require special tactics - the only one I remember being giant crabs that you must hit from behind after they perform their attacks. Metroidvania mechanics are not great. Exploration is okay, but there's not enough variety in the environments and you always know where to go next (thanks to big X's on the map). So there's not much reliance on your own exploration abilities. You're also railroaded into the items you need to get to the next area. For example, right after you beat a boss, you get an item or skill that allows you to get to the next boss. The items and skills aren't too interesting. You get a hook early that lets you open doors, you get different rocket types that break down certain barrier types, you get lights that make some impassable creature walls disappear, and you get a multi-purpose sonar that opens walls, damages enemies, and activates certain devices. These are all okay, but none really stood out as being unique or amazing when compared to other metroidvania games. There's a few puzzles in the game, with the light puzzles being above-average and somewhat unique. You'll reflect light beams on reflectors and your knife (you can exit the sub later on) to activate various doors and other devices. You'll have to combine the beams sometimes into different colors to activate certain devices, and stronger beams hurt you, enemies, and exploding devices that you'll need to move around. The light puzzles are the most memorable part of the game for me. So this is an okay metroidvania game. Not recommended unless you really want another average metroidvania to play. Though it would be a great game for kids to practice their problem-solving abilities while letting them experience a good "take action to save your father" story. »

« Overall, this game is a joy. It has a lighthearted mentality combined with a mystical atmosphere in which you can explore an underground world. You also gain more feats during progression, which freshens up the gameplay multiple times. You can then reach areas you had to skip previously. While the most time it is relaxing to play, here and there you will find yourself in a tight spot. The cute graphics are adorable on top of that. If you like side scrolling games with these attributes, it is a must-play. »

« Very enjoyable and pleasant game with great game design and music. At times it can be annoying, but still fun »

« Song of the deep is a pretty good adventure that doesn't costs much for great visuals,great puzzels and good music. It was like i was Nemo,which is a good thing Unfortunately the game is short and has bugs and wasn't a game that will stay long in my head »

« This was a great, entertaining and, in spots fairly challenging game that left me with a good, happy and satisfied feeling when I was done. The artwork and underwater physics of the little sub were excellent I thought, it was a pleasure playing this game. »

« One of my factors when judging a game is on how much I pay for them and the amount of enjoyment I get out of them. For $20CDN I have to say the 15 hours I spent on Song of the Deep was an absolute steal. The game has a nice story with easy and relaxing gameplay. The graphics are quite beautiful although I did encounter a few framerate drops in certain parts, but nothing that took away from the game. For a game I never thought I'd even consider buying, it's one I look forward to revisiting once again, soon. »