Highwater
- March 14, 2024
- Rogue Games
Although Highwater’s combat is frustrating at times, and its story is a tad derivative, it’s still an incredibly enjoyable and hyper relevant game because of its core messages and lore.
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Reviews
- The game features a nice and consistent story that resonates with potential future realities.
- The art style and sound design are praised for their quality, contributing to a distinct atmosphere.
- The game offers fun, mostly chill gameplay with enjoyable characters and a unique setting.
- The controls can be confusing, and the camera angles often hinder gameplay, especially during combat.
- The turn-based combat can feel slow and disrupt the game's momentum, leading to boredom.
- There are issues with dialogue pacing and a lack of player control over interactions, which can be frustrating.
- story7 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The story in Highwater is generally well-received, praised for its engaging narrative and relatable themes that resonate with potential future realities. While the character interactions and atmosphere are highlighted positively, some players find the linear gameplay and excessive dialogue detract from the overall experience, leading to mixed feelings about its execution. Overall, the story garners a score of 7/10, indicating a solid but not exceptional narrative experience.
“Highwater was a very fun, mostly chill game with a nice little story and fun characters.”
“Very nice little game with a very interesting consistent story that hits home, because it's pretty close to a possible future reality.”
“It has a very distinct and nice atmosphere to it, and I also like the storytelling through dialogues between the characters, even if there is no way to influence what they say.”
“Here, you can enjoy linear gameplay with no real exploration or map; forced slow pop-up dialogue and credits; no manual game saves; one difficulty setting; no RPG-style leveling up or retention; limited to no weapon selection or diversity; random character combat; unexplained or difficult to decipher gameplay battles, perks, or special abilities; very short story, etc.”
“The further I progressed in the story, the more annoyed I became with all the dialogues.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics are generally well-received, with many praising the art style and character design, though some users feel the visuals could use additional polish. Overall, the graphics are rated around 7/10, indicating a solid but not exceptional visual experience.
“I like the art style.”
“The stylized graphics look great, the sound design is fantastic and the characters are wonderful.”
“The graphic art style is great.”
“The visuals are okay but need a bit of polish.”
“The graphics feel outdated and lack the detail expected in modern games.”
“Character models are poorly designed and animations are stiff.”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The gameplay features enjoyable round-based combat, but the abrupt transitions between gameplay and cutscenes disrupt the experience. Overall, it received a mixed review, scoring 6/10.
“Overall gameplay and the round-based combat is pretty nice too.”
“The random cuts from gameplay to cutscenes are jarring; it just doesn't feel right.”
“Gameplay: 6/10”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The music in the game features a unique blend of serene yet quirky Euro-centric tunes that complement the turn-based gameplay, earning a solid 7/10 from users. Overall, it enhances the experience with its calming yet eccentric vibe.
“The music is a serene blend of euro-centric yet bizarre calming touring tunes that perfectly complements the turn-based gameplay.”
“The soundtrack adds a unique layer to the experience, enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.”
“The music is a bizarre mix of serene and potty-mouthed euro-centric tunes that just don't fit the game's atmosphere.”
“While the game has its merits, the music feels out of place and often distracts from the overall experience.”
“The soundtrack is a strange combination that fails to enhance the gameplay, leaving players feeling disconnected.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a distinct and appealing atmosphere, enhanced by engaging storytelling conveyed through character dialogues, despite the lack of player influence over the conversations.
“It has a very distinct and nice atmosphere, and I also like the storytelling through dialogues between the characters, even if there is no way to influence what they say.”
Critic Reviews
Highwater review – Wishy-washy
Highwater is certainly a looker (and a sounder(?)), but its predictable combat and uninteresting story make it difficult to drudge all the way through.
60%Highwater Review – A Flood Of Emotions
Highwater is definitely one for fans of Demagog Studio's other work, presenting yet another distinct gameplay experience set in the shared world. It's also a great little game in its own right with fun turn-based strategy encounters and charming characters.
85%Highwater (Nintendo Switch)
A very worthy addition to the Demagog repertoire, Highwater builds on the gorgeous and provocative world of the studio’s other games with a story-driven escape from a flooded planet. It is a sharp critique of late stage capitalism, but it populates the devastated world with a touching story, wholesome characters, and surprisingly engaging combat.
90%
