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.
Mac OS
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game features stunning visuals and a beautiful soundtrack that create an immersive atmosphere, reminiscent of 70's sci-fi comics.
- The Explorer's/Story Mode allows players to enjoy the narrative and exploration without the stress of survival mechanics, making it accessible for those who prefer a chill experience.
- The world-building and creature animations are engaging, providing a unique and relaxing gameplay experience that encourages exploration.
- The game suffers from frequent bugs and crashes, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustration, especially for players on certain systems.
- Resource management is poorly balanced, leading to situations where players can easily run out of essential supplies, resulting in a punishing experience rather than a relaxing one.
- The controls and mechanics can be unintuitive and confusing, making it difficult for players to understand how to progress and utilize the game's systems effectively.
- gameplay18 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews are mixed, with some players finding it frustrating and anxiety-inducing due to punishing resource mechanics and counterintuitive controls. While the game offers a visually stunning experience and engaging puzzles, many feel that the gameplay lacks coherence and enjoyment, overshadowed by its beautiful art and sound design. However, others appreciate the meditative and immersive aspects, particularly praising the survival mechanics and roguelike exploration, suggesting that it may appeal to those who enjoy aesthetically pleasing and chill 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.”
“The mechanics and controls are very counterintuitive, making the experience frustrating.”
“A beautiful game with a poor gameplay loop is not a good game.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning comic-style art and beautiful animations, creating an immersive and atmospheric experience. While the visuals and sound design are considered impeccable and enhance the overall vibe, some players feel that the gameplay suffers due to a lack of intuitive design that leverages the artwork effectively. Overall, the game's aesthetic is a major highlight, making it a recommended choice for those who appreciate original settings and peaceful exploration.
“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.”
“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.”
- story9 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's story mode, praised for its beautiful visuals and chill exploration, allows players to focus on narrative without the pressures of survival mechanics. While the pacing is slow and the ending feels abrupt with an info dump, the overall storytelling style and atmosphere are engaging, making it a recommended experience for fans of story-driven games. Players appreciate the original setting and are curious about future developments in the narrative.
“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.”
“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.”
- music5 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric quality, enhancing the overall experience and drawing players in from the start. While the soundtrack complements the stunning visuals and art style, some players have noted that gameplay issues detract from the overall enjoyment.
“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.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % 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 engaging environment. Players appreciate the art and creature animations, as well as the mellow storytelling style, which enhances the overall 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.”
“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!)”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have several bugs, including unresponsive controls and freezes, which detracts from the overall enjoyment. However, the developers have been proactive in addressing these issues, responding quickly to bug reports from the community.
“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.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly highlighting the cumbersome inventory management as a significant source of frustration.
“The grinding feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I found the grind to be a major chore, taking away from the enjoyment of the game.”
“The constant need to grind for resources becomes frustrating and detracts from the overall experience.”
