Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival

About

Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival is a single player survival shooter game. It was developed by RetroStyle Games and was released on May 2, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

"Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival" is a game where players explore the ocean floor on a robotic spider, fighting off sea monsters and gathering resources to upgrade their machine. The game features a huge arsenal of weapons and a meta-currency system for customization. Players can discover lost remnants of civilization and mine resources in caves while trying to survive in this underwater world.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 520 reviews

gameplay54 positive mentions

story9 negative mentions

Engaging survival loop that keeps players focused and entertained throughout runs.
Beautiful underwater visuals and a calming soundtrack enhance the overall experience.
Satisfying mechanics that blend mining and combat, with a good balance of challenge and strategy.

Game can feel repetitive and grindy, with limited content and enemy variety.
Some players experience bugs and issues with UI clarity, particularly in menus and during gameplay.
Difficulty spikes can be frustrating, especially for newcomers, leading to a steep learning curve.

gameplay
125 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
53%
4%
The gameplay of "Ocean Keeper" is characterized by a blend of addictive roguelike mechanics, combining mining and combat phases that create a unique and engaging experience. While many players appreciate the solid core mechanics and atmospheric underwater setting, some criticize the pacing, lack of depth, and repetitive gameplay loop, particularly in later stages. Overall, the game offers a fun and strategic experience, though it may require further refinement to enhance variety and balance.
- “Ocean Keeper, developed and published by Retrostyle Games, is an inventive underwater roguelike that merges survival mechanics, mining, and fast-paced defense gameplay into a tense and addictive loop.”
- “The combination of fluid movement and engaging fights makes the gameplay incredibly addictive.”
- “The gameplay loop is addictive, with good execution of the roguelike aspects of the game.”
- “In the end, it just didn't take very many runs to complete the story and the mechanical progression isn't satisfying.”
- “Really boring gameplay loop.”
- “Gameplay loop boring with roguelite upgrades giving 0.1 per point when base values are like 5 or 10.”
story
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
84%
10%
The game's story is generally perceived as underwhelming and poorly executed, with many players finding it short, confusing, and lacking in depth. While some appreciate the light narrative elements and environmental storytelling, the progression often feels tedious and unclear, leading to frustration over locked upgrades and vague objectives. Overall, the story fails to provide a compelling reason to continue playing, leaving many players hoping for improvements in future updates or sequels.
- “The story unfolds through environmental storytelling and interactions with the game's world.”
- “The game’s story is complemented by its intriguing setting and gameplay-driven narrative, making each dive an adventure in itself.”
- “A great roguelite game with a solid sense of progression and light story beats to keep you interested.”
- “The story is quite short, enough so I thought it was part of an extended tutorial.”
- “In the end, it just didn't take very many runs to complete the story and the mechanical progression isn't satisfying.”
- “The progression is locked by doing small missions where you have to find an object, you get a small clue and then you have to find it while mining and fighting, and when you complete a mission you have to play a few times before the story continues, which I felt was annoying.”
graphics
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
32%
7%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their stunning underwater aesthetics, vibrant environments, and unique art style, which many reviewers found superior to its inspirations. Players appreciated the detailed isometric graphics and intricate mech designs, although some noted inconsistencies in asset quality. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the immersive gameplay experience, making it a standout feature of the game.
- “The underwater world is beautifully crafted, with stunning visuals and immersive gameplay.”
- “Deeply in love with this precious game, the graphics, the music and the whole idea behind it.”
- “The dark ocean artwork creates an amazing atmosphere.”
- “Everything looks and feels AI-generated as the art style is incredibly inconsistent. For example, the icon for the machine gun turret looks nothing like the 3D model in-game, and that's true for multiple other assets.”
- “It was very surprising that the art styles between dig/exploration mode are so different from mech/combat mode.”
- “It's not possible to set graphical settings.”
music
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
30%
15%
The music in the game is generally praised for its ability to enhance the atmosphere, with dynamic shifts between tranquil and intense themes that keep players engaged. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, contributing to the immersive underwater experience, although some note that it can feel limited or poorly paced in certain areas. Overall, while the music is well-received, there are suggestions for improvement in specific parts of the game.
- “The music shifts dynamically between tranquil exploration and high-intensity battle themes, keeping players on edge even during moments of calm.”
- “I love the underwater aesthetic, the soundtrack is killer, and the lore is super interesting!”
- “Excellent gameplay and excellent musical accompaniment.”
- “The sounds are a bit cheap, and music could be added in some parts of the game, such as the main menu.”
- “The designs and art are very contrasting; the music feels forced and not well-paced with the game itself, making it feel less polished and more of a constant turn-off.”
- “The music needs rework, and there are a few bugs that break the game sometimes, like you can't rotate the weapons very occasionally, but the core game loop is fun and it will be great.”
atmosphere
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
68%
16%
16%
The atmosphere of "Ocean Keeper" is widely praised for its stunning underwater setting, which creates a haunting and immersive experience. Reviewers highlight the game's vibrant color palette, detailed artwork, and effective sound design, all of which enhance exploration and contribute to its unique identity within the rogue-lite genre. Overall, the atmospheric elements are considered a standout feature, captivating players despite some gameplay limitations.
- “Its underwater setting gives it a unique identity, transforming a simple gameplay loop into a haunting, atmospheric odyssey.”
- “The underwater vibe is spot on — mysterious and atmospheric yet full of life and danger.”
- “Despite lacking a storyline and multiplayer mode, it captivates with its atmosphere and visual style.”
- “The atmosphere really draws you in, making exploration a visually stunning experience.”
- “First off, the atmosphere and color palette of the locations are amazing!”
grinding
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
6%
88%
Reviews highlight a significant divide in player experiences regarding grinding in the game. Many find the grinding tedious and repetitive, with long runs leading to minimal upgrades and a lack of meaningful progression, while others appreciate the grind as a satisfying aspect of slowly improving equipment and enjoying the gameplay loop. Overall, the grinding is described as overly tedious for some, yet engaging for others, depending on personal preferences for game mechanics and progression.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Secondly, I played for long enough to feel like I have a pretty good idea of what this entire game will be like going forward: a grindy slog where you perform the same tasks for uninspired, boring 'upgrades'— rinse-and-repeat.”
- “Overly hard and tedious... an endless grind for the 11 or so items you can unlock... you will be doing good after 40 games or so when you have 1 or 2 items unlocked and some 0.03% useless upgrades that are ridiculously priced... then, you will be met with a wave clearly designed to end the game regardless of your progress.”
- “I am okay with the kill, die, upgrade, repeat genre of gaming... but this is just not enjoyable as they have just made it overly grindy and tedious instead of creating a game with depth and serious development.”
replayability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
31%
19%
Overall, the game's replayability is highlighted by its strategic depth, procedurally-generated content, and diverse customization options, which keep players engaged. However, some users feel that certain aspects, like difficulty and variety, can diminish the experience over time. Continuous updates and community involvement are seen as key factors in enhancing replay value.
- “The strategic depth in choosing equipment upgrades, coupled with procedurally-generated mines, ensures replayability.”
- “Very varied roguelike with huge replayability.”
- “High replay value; procedurally generated levels and diverse mech customization offer significant replayability.”
- “You would also think this kind of game would have lots of replay value, but unfortunately it's quite boring to do runs because they become very easy, last for a long time, and you quickly notice there isn't much variety in the runs.”
- “Game has no depth, needs much more content and options to have replayability.”
- “High; procedurally generated levels and diverse mech customization offer significant replayability.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews. While some players report smooth performance with minor bugs and commend its optimization for various systems, others have found it lacking on the Steam Deck, struggling to maintain 60fps even on medium settings. The interface and visual effects indicate a commitment to ongoing support, suggesting improvements may come with future updates.
- “The polish in the interface, performance stability, and visual effects suggest a studio committed to long-term support, making the experience more rewarding with each patch.”
- “[td] runs smoothly with occasional minor bugs, generally well-optimized for various systems.”
- “Much better optimized for Steam Deck than other games of the same genre.”
- “I see a '1.0.0 - now available and optimized for Steam Deck' update and make the fatal mistake of playing this game on my Steam Deck.”
- “Extremely unoptimized.”
- “Performance on the Steam Deck also can't maintain 60fps on medium settings and there is not really a whole lot going on here visually.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
The game's stability has been criticized for frequent glitches, including sound issues and teleportation bugs that can disrupt gameplay. Despite these problems, some players still find the game enjoyable and note that it runs well overall, though mission quests can be buggy and lead to progress being locked.
- “Awesome game, no messing around. Even with the graphics the way they are, it runs great, and I love mining while being armed like a cyborg diver to squash bugs.”
- “In the time it took me to finish the game (7 hours, but plan to play more because it's fun), I've had 2 noticeable glitches: 1 where the sound glitched and caused 15+ second halts (not lag) and I intentionally died in a mine to avoid a possible crash, and 1 teleport into a wall (ending a run, but still getting rewards up to that point).”
- “The last update was a few days ago (August 26) and it's still buggy as hell.”
- “Updated for launch: buggy mission quests with unclear direction that locks you out of permanent progress.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express concerns that the monetization strategy feels like a quick cash grab, leading to a lack of trust and negative impressions of the game's financial practices.
- “I have a strong feeling that this game is just a quick cash grab.”
- “The monetization strategy feels overly aggressive and detracts from the overall experience.”
- “It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind paywalls.”