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Song of the Deep

By going against their own grain, Insomniac Games has crafted a true winner with Song of the Deep, which is one of 2016’s most hypnotic and charming games.
76%Game Brain Score
story, music
grinding, stability
84% User Score Based on 1,198 reviews
Critic Score 69%Based on 38 reviews

Platforms

PCPCP4Playstation 4P5Playstation 5WinWindowsXOXbox OneXSXXbox Series X|SPlaPlayStationXboxXbox

About

"Song of the Deep" is a metroidvania-style underwater adventure game where you play as Merryn, a young Irish girl in search of her missing father. Explore the mysterious depths of the ocean, discovering ancient ruins and mythical creatures, while upgrading your submarine and solving puzzles to progress. With a focus on atmospheric exploration and discovery, the game immerses you in a beautifully realized underwater world.

Song of the Deep screenshot
Song of the Deep screenshot
Song of the Deep screenshot
Song of the Deep screenshot
Song of the Deep screenshot
Song of the Deep screenshot
Song of the Deep screenshot
Song of the Deep screenshot
Song of the Deep screenshot
Song of the Deep screenshot
Song of the Deep screenshot
+1

84%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,236 reviews
story301 positive mentions
grinding51 negative mentions

  • Beautiful graphics and art style that create an immersive underwater atmosphere.
  • Charming story with a heartwarming narrative, enhanced by excellent voice acting.
  • Engaging puzzles and exploration that encourage players to discover hidden treasures and upgrades.
  • Combat can feel repetitive and lacks depth, with limited enemy variety and simplistic mechanics.
  • Controls can be clunky, especially with keyboard and mouse, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
  • Some puzzles are tedious and may require trial and error, which can detract from the overall enjoyment.
  • story
    690 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of *Song of the Deep* is characterized as charming and heartwarming, following a young girl named Merryn on her quest to find her missing father in a beautifully illustrated underwater world. While the narrative is often described as simple and somewhat cliché, it is enhanced by engaging voice narration and a storybook presentation that appeals to both children and adults. Despite some criticisms regarding predictability and pacing, many players appreciate the emotional depth and artistic integration of the story within the gameplay.

    • “It's beautifully drawn, has fun exploration and combat, excellent music, and has a great story.”
    • “The story is whimsical, but mature, and it's told by a narrator with a lovely voice that makes it all just feel complete.”
    • “With a touching story, great narration, inventive and challenging puzzles, gorgeous visual design, and a good soundtrack, Song of the Deep is a true gem of a game.”
    • “The story was also super disappointing.”
    • “The story is very cliche, the themes are ham-fisted, and the foreshadowing is ridiculously obvious.”
    • “The story left me completely uninvested; the characters failed to make me sympathize or care at all about them, and the overall plot just felt weak.”
  • music
    531 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in "Song of the Deep" is widely praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the game's atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its calming and enchanting qualities. The soundtrack effectively complements the game's visuals and narrative, creating a captivating experience that draws players into its underwater world. While some found the music occasionally repetitive, the overall consensus is that it significantly contributes to the game's charm and emotional depth.

    • “The music struck me as absolutely gorgeous and well orchestrated, while the gameplay and story kept me quite entertained with its many upgrade features, puzzles and exciting events, akin to the Ori series.”
    • “The music, story, and art are all balanced wonderfully into an artistic masterpiece of a game.”
    • “The atmosphere and music are also pretty great.”
    • “The music is very, um, watery - which got a touch dull after a while.”
    • “The music is passable, but not particularly memorable, and some of the sound effects randomly play much too loudly.”
    • “Pacing was boring, ship controls aren't quite as solid as you'd like, music is forgettable, story and characters are bland, way too much unnecessary narration, same old boss mechanics and mob enemy sequences, barely satisfying ending.”
  • gameplay
    413 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Song of the Deep" is a mixed bag, with many players finding it enjoyable yet simplistic and occasionally tedious. While the underwater exploration and puzzle mechanics are praised for their charm and creativity, some reviewers noted issues with clunky controls, repetitive combat, and a lack of depth in gameplay variety. Overall, the game offers a visually stunning experience with a captivating story, but its gameplay may not satisfy those seeking more action-oriented or complex mechanics.

    • “Fantastic gameplay, cute story, great music and art direction, I really loved it.”
    • “The gameplay is enjoyable, and I found it quite easy to control with a mouse and keyboard; however, I am primarily a PC gamer and that is what my hands are used to.”
    • “The gameplay is fun, and the game's map is huge and expansive, with so much variation in its environments.”
    • “The gameplay itself is a bit disappointing.”
    • “I don't like this, because this is an exploration game, I want to move around, locking me in an arena and forcing me to fight waves of not very challenging enemies is not a very entertaining experience, which pads out the gameplay and slows you down.”
    • “The gameplay is very stale and repetitive; I don't have much played time in the game, but I can't bring myself to stomach the basic concepts.”
  • graphics
    318 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning beauty and artistic style, often compared to titles like "Ori and the Blind Forest." Players appreciate the vibrant, well-designed environments and the charming, storybook-like visuals that enhance the overall experience. While some noted minor issues with graphical performance and clarity, the overall consensus is that the visuals are a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere and enjoyment.

    • “The graphics are beautiful, the music and narration very fitting, and the gameplay is quite well done.”
    • “The visuals are probably the best part of this game.”
    • “The game's visuals look simply stunning.”
    • “I was running the game at 2560x1080 on ultrawide and never had a problem...except...graphical options are abysmal (I had to change the launch options to get ultrawide).”
    • “Too much foreground graphics in the way (seaweed, etc).”
    • “For reference, this is all on the lowest resolution (which is the only option, as specific graphic settings do not exist), on a computer that can quite comfortably handle a heavily modded Skyrim on high settings.”
  • atmosphere
    88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beautiful graphics, immersive soundtracks, and engaging storytelling, creating a captivating and relaxing experience. Players appreciate the atmospheric depth, particularly in the underwater setting, which enhances exploration and puzzle-solving elements. However, some reviews note that certain gameplay frustrations can detract from the overall atmospheric enjoyment.

    • “The atmosphere is established so masterfully by the story, the soundtrack, and the narrator.”
    • “The music, the sounds, and the narration make for an amazing atmosphere that kept me engrossed for the entire time I played.”
    • “Very atmospheric and full of wonder, Song of the Deep is another Insomniac classic.”
    • “This really killed the atmosphere of the game for me.”
    • “But I can't help but feel so frustrated by the combat that it completely breaks this atmosphere for me.”
    • “The art style for this game is wonderful, the music is serene, and the overall atmosphere is relaxing.”
  • emotional
    51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a heartwarming and touching story, complemented by beautiful visuals and a captivating soundtrack. While many players found the narrative to evoke genuine feelings and nostalgia, some felt it lacked depth or emotional impact, particularly due to issues like pacing and narration. Overall, the game successfully creates a wholesome experience, though reactions to its emotional resonance vary among players.

    • “The story is heartwarming and filled with lore, beautiful storybook-like art, and easy to learn controls.”
    • “With a touching story, great narration, inventive and challenging puzzles, gorgeous visual design, and a good soundtrack, Song of the Deep is a true gem of a game.”
    • “Beautiful, charming, and touching, Song of the Deep provides an enjoyable, worthy adventure despite its issues.”
  • grinding
    51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for its tedious and repetitive nature, with players feeling that both puzzles and combat become frustratingly monotonous over time. Many reviews highlight the slow pacing and the necessity of backtracking to find collectibles, which adds to the overall sense of time-wasting. While some players appreciate the charm and beauty of the game, the overwhelming sentiment is that the grinding elements detract significantly from the enjoyment and flow of the experience.

    • “There's countless ways this game just makes you feel like you're waiting on something or just grinding through ways the game can eat your time.”
    • “It's basically just a long string of increasingly frustrating and tedious (in other words, not fun) puzzles.”
    • “I feel like this game wasted my time; it's not awful, but it's mediocre at best and frustratingly tedious at worst.”
  • stability
    28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from numerous stability issues, including frequent bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, such as characters getting stuck, unresponsive collectibles, and erratic camera behavior. Players have reported frustrating experiences with the grabbing mechanics and various visual and audio glitches, which detract from the overall enjoyment. Despite some smooth gameplay and excellent art, the lack of thorough playtesting has left many feeling that the game is not adequately polished.

    • “Runs great.”
    • “Runs great.”
    • “Runs great.”
    • “Minor bugs and glitches are present; sometimes the character can get stuck, and you would have to wiggle her out of a corner. Other times, collectibles and enemies can get stuck, requiring a restart from a checkpoint.”
    • “However, it's riddled with glitches, and you need to be prepared for the pixelization on story cards, levers that don't work, and having to fight that boss again because something broke.”
    • “Things like multiple options being selected at the same time in menus, or the camera sometimes failing to center on the main character, or prices no longer showing in shops halfway through the game, or buggy animations (a chest got stuck in the opening animation and I had to reset once).”
  • replayability
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game has been criticized for its lack of replayability, with many players noting that it feels short and offers little incentive to return after completing it. While some mention that there are activities to engage in post-completion, the consensus is that the game could benefit from additional content, such as more bosses, to enhance its replay value.

    • “Plenty to do after you beat the game, including replay value and revisiting previously blocked areas.”
    • “The game offers a lot of enjoyable content that encourages players to return and explore different aspects.”
    • “The replayability factor is enhanced by the variety of choices and paths available, making each playthrough feel unique.”
    • “Not a bad ROI, in my opinion, but it's got basically no replay value.”
    • “I do not plan to return and I do not see replay value.”
    • “Rather short; I got all achievements and 100% everything in about 15 hours, and little replayability.”
  • optimization
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with players experiencing minor stuttering and performance hiccups, particularly during less action-packed moments. While some users found that adjusting settings alleviated these issues, others noted that controls, especially for keyboard and mouse, felt unrefined. Overall, while the game has a solid foundation, technical and performance problems detract from the experience.

    • “Song of the Deep has a welcoming setting and the foundations of a good game, but poor controls and performance issues leave it occasionally gasping for air.”
    • “Game runs just fine on deck with some minor stuttering/slowdown in some areas for literally no reason as nothing interesting was happening on screen.”
    • “[poor handling and physics, stuttered visual performance]”
    • “[camera issues, performance hiccups]”
  • humor
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by cute and entertaining puzzles, though they are not particularly challenging. Some players find the title amusing, but overall, the humor does not significantly enhance the gameplay experience, with some reviewers expressing disappointment and boredom.

    • “Funny, he doesn’t look that intelligent.”
    • “- Cute funny puzzles, even though they are not too hard, they are entertaining.”
    • “Funny genre title 'ability-unlockable labyrinth adventure' doesn't quite roll off the tongue as well, I suppose.”

Buy Song of the Deep

10h Median play time
10h Average play time
10-13h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 20 analyzed playthroughs

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