GeoDepths
- October 20, 2023
- A Little More Games
- 8h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"GeoDepths" is a single-player Adventure game where you play as a surveyor for an interstellar mining company, journeying deep below the surface of a distant planet. Pilot your drill to find resources, upgrade your drills and base, and explore caves filled with mysteries and unique plant life. The game takes about 6 hours to beat, with a focus on building up your homebase and uncovering the fate of previous explorers.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a relaxing and cozy experience with a solid gameplay loop of mining, upgrading, and base building.
- The graphics and atmosphere are charming, creating an engaging environment for exploration.
- It's impressive for a solo-developed game, showcasing a lot of love and effort put into its design.
- The game is relatively short, with many players completing it in around 6-10 hours, which may not justify the price for some.
- Gameplay can become repetitive and grindy, especially in the late game, leading to a lack of depth.
- The story and exploration elements feel shallow, with limited interaction and not enough unique content in caves.
- gameplay94 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a simple and addictive loop focused on mining and resource gathering, which some players find enjoyable despite its repetitiveness. While the mechanics are straightforward and lack complexity, they are well-executed and polished, offering a relaxing experience without survival elements. However, the game may feel shallow to those seeking deeper interaction or more extensive mechanics, leading to mixed feelings about its overall depth and value.
“The gameplay loop was thoroughly satisfying - mining, upgrading, mining faster.”
“Simple, but well-executed gameplay loop.”
“Great game to scratch that mining itch and it's pretty clever about the gameplay.”
“Gameplay is as simple, boring, and repetitive as in Roblox games.”
“No survival mechanics like hunger or thirst, no combat, and no complex automation.”
“I wish there was a maybe review, as this game falls into the maybe for me. It's nicely done and enjoyable for the first couple of mining expeditions you do, but eventually it just turns into 'gather x resource by driving over to it on the map.' Unfortunately, the gameplay isn't really interactive with the player, which makes the game feel a bit empty.”
- story66 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered simple and somewhat underwhelming, featuring three possible endings and told primarily through scanned logs. While some players appreciated the integration of exploration and base-building elements, many found the narrative linear and repetitive, with a completion time of around 5 to 9 hours. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop to the gameplay rather than a focal point, leaving players with mixed feelings about its depth and engagement.
“The story was fine, had some minor spelling mistakes, but the game does look nice style-wise. I usually don't like the flat polygonal look, but this game does it well.”
“During mining, you gather materials and uncover interesting flora/fauna and story in discoverable caves, while the base building part functions as a home point where you can refine your materials, upgrade your drill, research new technology, and build machines to make it all possible.”
“I really liked the use of exploration to build on the story, and I really hope a game comes out with those toy models from base building.”
“The story was fine (had some minor spelling mistakes), endings were kinda underwhelming but the game does look nice style-wise; I usually don't like the flat polygonal look, but this game does it well.”
“You'll finish the story line in just a day's grind.”
“There are a couple of caves with very small snippets of story, but it just gets incredibly repetitive.”
- graphics38 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are described as charming and endearing, with a unique art style that enhances immersion despite a low polygon count. While some players initially perceived the visuals as "bare-bones," many found them pleasing and easy on the eyes, contributing positively to the overall atmosphere. However, there are mentions of minimalism in the graphics, suggesting that while they are enjoyable, they could benefit from additional detail and exploration elements.
“Endearing graphics and environments.”
“The graphics, while simple, are pleasing and easy on the eyes.”
“Charming graphics, and mechanically solid.”
“Meanwhile the graphics might be described as 'bare-bones' judging solely by the polygon count, but this is a false first impression!”
“Only downside I would say is the poor graphics; however, some would term that as part of its charm.”
“Most of these caves can be summed up by 'find the one or two things to scan then leave.' The art style is unique and the environments work well with it; there's just not much there to explore.”
- grinding32 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 16 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience. While some describe the resource gathering as tedious and repetitive, especially in the early and late game, others appreciate the balance and incremental upgrades that help mitigate the grind. Many agree that while grinding is present, it doesn't feel overly burdensome and is a typical expectation for this genre.
“I enjoyed the gameplay, but others might not, as the main gameplay loop is gathering of resources ('oh, I need x to do this upgrade? I don't have any x left... gotta go mine more....'), but it wasn't tedious or onerous, just a normal 'you have to do some work to get this.'”
“Surprisingly not that grindy, and at the later stages where it does require mining tons of resources, there's upgrades that make it very quick, so it doesn't even really feel like a grind.”
“It was not too grindy; it could have added more hours to gameplay if there was more grind on resources, but that's not always a good thing. In my opinion, it was very balanced in that aspect.”
“The game loop of mining resources also became very repetitive and tedious in the long run.”
“Mining resources is a bit tedious and a slow grind, especially in the very beginning.”
“Towards the end, I felt the game to be a wee bit too grindy, kind of, but just as that feeling was about to really nag at me, I had everything unlocked and was on my way to deal with the final boss.”
- atmosphere20 mentions
- 90 % positive mentions
- 5 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its relaxing, cozy, and mysterious qualities, often evoking feelings of curiosity and slight eeriness without the presence of threats or combat. Many players draw comparisons to other titles like Subnautica and Tunnet, highlighting the unique blend of intrigue and creepiness that enhances the overall experience. Despite some critiques of the gameplay, the atmospheric elements remain a standout feature, contributing to a delightful and immersive journey.
“The atmosphere is great; it's relaxing, cozy, and mysterious.”
“Even if the total experience was kind of mediocre, I still do recommend it for its unique take on mining and its atmosphere, which almost gave me Subnautica vibes in the very start with fear and curiosity of the unknown.”
“Delightful and atmospheric, a pleasant 8-12 hour experience.”
“There are no threats; this is not a survival game, but the atmosphere in certain locations is pretty creepy.”
- music14 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised, with players highlighting the excellent soundtracks that can be controlled both in the base and during gameplay. The addition of a music upgrade for the mining machine is particularly noted as a worthwhile enhancement, contributing to an overall lovely auditory experience that complements the game's visuals and simple storyline. Many players express a desire for a soundtrack release, underscoring the music's impact on their enjoyment.
“One special mention for the music too - absolutely lovely music that really adds to the experience.”
“Sounds flow naturally, and as mentioned, the music upgrade was a great touch.”
“The soundtrack was a highlight.”
“Dev if you are reading this - soundtrack release please!”
- replayability6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game currently lacks significant replayability, with players primarily motivated to return for completionist goals like finding missing items or unlocking alternate endings. While some users express a desire to revisit the game for fun or to experiment with new builds, the absence of survival elements and engaging combat limits long-term replay value. However, there is hope for future updates from the developers to enhance this aspect.
“I know I'm intending to go back and try to see if I can find the missing scan items and maybe trigger 'ending #2' and a few things like that. Maybe even try to 100% the game.”
“Nice little game, not really replayable yet, but the developer is working on that.”
“I might start a new save file just for fun.”
“I don't know how much replay value it would have. I know I'm intending to go back and try to see if I can find the missing scan items and maybe trigger 'ending #2' and a few things like that. Maybe even try to 100% the game, but after that, since there are no 'survival' elements, I don't know what else I would do with my current save besides maybe build some new rooms just for the coolness factor, or possibly start a new save file just for fun.”
“It doesn't have replayability, combat, or narration, but that's fine.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game demonstrates strong stability with no significant issues reported, such as audio glitches or graphics problems. However, players have noted a minor freezing issue when entering the drill, which contrasts with the otherwise smooth gameplay experience.
“Small issue I ran into was every time I entered the drill, the whole game freezes for a moment when I undock, which is jarring when the whole rest of the game besides that action is entirely smooth.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally solid for most players; however, performance issues may arise when a large number of auto-drillers are in use, leading to noticeable choppiness.
“Performance - The average player probably won't run into this, but once you have a ton of auto-drillers loaded, the game can get pretty choppy.”
