Aquamarine
- January 20, 2022
- hitcents
Get on Steam"Aquamarine" is a single-player, turn-based mystery strategy game with stunning visuals. As The Seeker, a lone space traveler, players must survive in an alien ocean by studying its ecosystem, solving puzzles, and managing their inventory. Featuring open-ended survival mechanics, the game encourages exploration and discovery while uncovering the secrets of the alien planet.
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Reviews
- The game features stunning visuals and a beautiful soundtrack that create an immersive atmosphere.
- The Explorer's/Story Mode allows for a chill, story-driven experience without the stress of survival mechanics, making it enjoyable for players who prefer exploration.
- The world-building and art style are captivating, reminiscent of 70's sci-fi comics, and provide a unique and engaging experience.
- The game suffers from frequent bugs, including crashes and unresponsive controls, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustration.
- Resource management is poorly balanced, often leading to situations where players can become stuck or run out of essential supplies, detracting from the intended relaxing experience.
- The controls and mechanics can be counterintuitive and confusing, making it difficult for players to navigate and enjoy the game fully.
- gameplay38 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews are mixed, with some players finding it frustrating and punishing due to counterintuitive mechanics and resource management, while others appreciate its meditative and immersive qualities. The game is visually stunning and features strong survival mechanics, but many feel that the gameplay often takes a backseat to the aesthetics, leading to a disjointed experience. Overall, while some enjoy the chill roguelike elements and engaging puzzles, others are deterred by glitches and a lack of coherence in gameplay.
“As for the game itself, the mood is great, gameplay mostly delivers on the 'chill roguelike' premise, and the puzzles are not too hard but engaging.”
“The gameplay is meditative and immersive, and as many others note, the artwork and sound design/score is impeccable.”
“The survival mechanics are strong and mix together well with the roguelike exploration and puzzle solving.”
“Ultimately, I feel way too frustrated with this game; it's punishing despite my best attempts. I'm disappointed because I originally backed this on Kickstarter years ago, thinking I'd have a fun 'relaxed-paced' time, but the game has been nothing but anxiety-inducing due to frustrating resource mechanics.”
“Energy drain and laggy/choppy loading makes gameplay abysmal.”
“The mechanics and controls are very counterintuitive, making the experience frustrating.”
- graphics21 mentions
- 76 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's comic-style graphics are widely praised for their beauty and immersive quality, creating a stunning atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. However, while the visuals are a highlight, some players feel that they overshadow gameplay, which can lack intuitive guidance and stability. Overall, the art and sound design are considered exceptional, contributing to a meditative and relaxing gaming experience.
“The comic-style graphics are gorgeous, the music perfectly atmospheric, worldbuilding great. I've really been enjoying the whole atmosphere and just spending time looking at the art and the creature animations.”
“The gameplay is meditative and immersive, and as many others note, the artwork and sound design/score is impeccable.”
“Really fresh game with stunning visuals and music.”
“Bummed because I love the art style but not willing to risk any more time to lose everything again.”
“The art is amazing and it's almost worth keeping just for that, but unfortunately the gameplay takes a distant backseat to the visuals.”
“It feels like it was designed for someone who already knows how to play, and the visuals are focused entirely on looking beautiful, meaning they lack any consideration for how they can be used to guide your actions and make the controls feel intuitive.”
- story18 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story mode, particularly appealing to fans of chill, exploration-driven narratives, allows players to engage with the plot without the pressures of survival mechanics. While the pacing is slow and the story unfolds in small doses, it offers a captivating atmosphere and beautiful visuals, though some players noted a sudden and overwhelming ending. Overall, the story mode is recommended for those who appreciate a relaxed storytelling experience, despite some stability issues.
“As a huge fan of beautiful and chill story-driven exploration, I really enjoyed the explorer's/story mode that was added in an update and lets you opt out of the survival aspects and attacks.”
“It's a shame it's so unstable, but I'd still absolutely recommend this game's story mode for players like myself who are drawn to original settings, beautiful visuals, and peaceful exploration, and the relaxed setting for those who'd like a mild challenge.”
“I love the mellow atmosphere and storytelling style (and the Moebius visual style is awesome!)”
“The ending was a bit of a sudden info dump, but fascinating to find out that there was a lot more to the story than I'd thought.”
“This is very much a linear item-collection story with extra steps.”
“The pace is slow and the story comes in small doses, but I kind of dig that.”
- music11 mentions
- 82 % positive mentions
- 18 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric quality, enhancing the overall immersive experience alongside the stunning visuals and comic-style graphics. Many players find themselves captivated from the moment the menu loads, although some express frustration with gameplay issues that detract from the enjoyment of the soundtrack. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's aesthetic appeal, despite technical glitches affecting playability.
“This is one of those games where I'm drawn right in from the moment the menu loads and the music starts playing.”
“The comic-style graphics are gorgeous, the music perfectly atmospheric, worldbuilding great. I've really been enjoying the whole atmosphere and just spending time looking at the art and the creature animations.”
“Really fresh game with stunning visuals and music.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its stunning comic-style graphics, immersive music, and excellent worldbuilding, creating a mysterious and captivating environment. Players enjoy the detailed art and creature animations, which enhance the overall experience, making it a visually and emotionally engaging journey. The mellow storytelling style further contributes to the enchanting atmosphere, making it a standout feature of the game.
“The comic-style graphics are gorgeous, the music perfectly atmospheric, worldbuilding great. I've really been enjoying the whole atmosphere and just spending time looking at the art and the creature animations.”
“Based on the art and world atmosphere alone, I'd say you should check this out.”
“I love the mellow atmosphere and storytelling style (and the Moebius visual style is awesome!)”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported as somewhat buggy, with issues like unresponsive controls and freezes affecting the experience. However, the developers have been proactive in addressing these bugs, responding quickly to user reports on Discord. Overall, while stability remains a concern, the game's support is commendable.
“The game is nice, but there are still frequent bugs (unresponsive controls, freezes, and so on).”
“A little buggy and just not that fun.”
“Yes, the game was buggy upon release, but at the same time, they were always really quick in their response to bug reports on their Discord.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to cumbersome inventory management that detracts from the overall experience.
“The only other thing that really bothered me was the tedious inventory management.”
