Under: Depths of Fear Game Cover

"Under: Depths of Fear" is a survival horror game that immerses you in the traumatized mind of WWI veteran, Alexander Dockter. As the ocean liner you're aboard fills with water, you must evade vengeful entities while trying to escape. This tense experience challenges your ability to overcome both the elements and your fears.

Reviews

64%
Audience ScoreBased on 163 reviews
story25 positive mentions
stability12 negative mentions
  • The game has a unique and immersive atmosphere, effectively capturing the tension of being trapped on a sinking ship.
  • The jump scares are well-placed and contribute to a genuinely creepy experience, keeping players on edge.
  • The story, while short, is intriguing and explores themes of trauma and guilt, enhancing the horror elements.
  • The gameplay can be frustrating due to unclear objectives and repetitive mechanics, often leading to trial-and-error situations.
  • There are numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt the experience, including issues with door interactions and character movement.
  • The game is relatively short, with many players feeling that it doesn't justify its price, especially given the lack of content and polish.
  • story55 mentions

    The game's story is generally well-received, praised for its intriguing premise and effective environmental storytelling that reveals a dark past. However, many players feel the narrative is somewhat predictable, short, and occasionally undermined by bugs and gameplay issues, leaving them wanting a richer experience. Overall, while the atmosphere and execution have their merits, the story's depth and clarity are often seen as lacking.

    • “The story unfolds through environmental storytelling and scattered documents, revealing glimpses of the dark past and the horrors that lurk within.”
    • “It did a great job expressing the horrors of war, as well as creating a unique story.”
    • “All in all, I enjoyed the story and how things were executed.”
    • “I don't know, I don't get the story myself, really.”
    • “But ultimately the story seems uninspired and relatively obvious from the start.”
    • “The story is weak; you must escape a sinking ship while being chased by a monster. Congrats.”
  • gameplay50 mentions

    The gameplay in "Under: Depths of Fear" is criticized for being repetitive, tedious, and poorly explained, with many mechanics feeling derivative and lacking innovation. Players often find themselves frustrated by trial-and-error elements, nonsensical hints, and a reliance on opening numerous doors to progress, which detracts from the overall experience. While the game has a strong atmosphere and some effective scares, the unpolished mechanics and bugs significantly hinder its potential.

    • “Under: Depths of Fear combines exploration, puzzle-solving, and stealth mechanics to create tension-filled gameplay.”
    • “Not too difficult nor too easy to complete, good sound design and passable mechanics, and scares that were very well timed and not gratuitous - was peeking around corners for almost the entire game!”
    • “Still worth playing for the buildup and gameplay.”
    • “The game is pretty repetitive and boring and also features pretty annoying mechanics.”
    • “It's difficult to pinpoint what exactly makes 'Under: Depths of Fear' so unenjoyable; perhaps it's the conglomeration of frustrating elements and mechanics that it features.”
    • “It's almost as if the developer rounded up all of the most hated horror game mechanics and decided to shoehorn them into one title; invulnerable one-hit kill enemies, stealth that doesn't quite work as intended, too few matchboxes that are never placed where you need them the most, a weapon that serves no purpose, notes that you don't fully get to absorb because the game doesn't pause as you're trying to read them, unforgiving checkpoints.”
  • atmosphere30 mentions

    The atmosphere of "Under: Depths of Fear" is widely praised for its immersive and spine-chilling qualities, effectively capturing the essence of psychological horror through strong audio design and a foreboding environment. While the setting and art design are noted as exemplary, some reviews mention a lack of polish in character models and textures, which slightly detracts from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the game successfully creates a unique and haunting atmosphere that resonates with players, making it a solid entry in the atmospheric horror genre.

    • “With its atmospheric setting and emphasis on psychological horror, Under: Depths of Fear aims to deliver a spine-chilling experience that tests the limits of courage and sanity.”
    • “The atmosphere both amazed and terrified me, whether it was sloshing through flooded hallways while being chased by a disfigured soldier, or watching a door you were sure protected you from imminent danger slowly open to reveal nothing.”
    • “The sound design on this game is phenomenal, and the music fits perfectly with the game's atmosphere.”
    • “I recently played Amnesia: Rebirth, and was personally very disappointed with its atmosphere and storytelling.”
    • “I def dig the whole underwater/sinking ship horror vibe, but this game just doesn't have much atmosphere and is very unpolished.”
    • “Ok, despite the fact that it does atmosphere well and it's scary, I don't know where to go most of the time and could not progress past the point on G deck where it floods the lower level and drowned a few too many times to put up with it anymore.”
  • graphics21 mentions

    The graphics in 'under' receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the moody environments and decent visuals, while others criticize issues like choppy frame rates, repetitive textures, and lack of detail in certain objects. Overall, the graphics are considered acceptable for an indie game, but they do not stand out as particularly impressive, with some players noting that they contribute to the game's haunting atmosphere despite their flaws.

    • “The atmosphere is amazing, graphics and sound... well it's indie game standard, but don't let that fool you, it works on you.”
    • “Graphics are beautiful.”
    • “It has good graphics and the storytelling is great.”
    • “The graphics were pretty bad with the choppy frame rate in some places, especially if the textures were repetitive.”
    • “Some graphics of objects that can be rotated 360 degrees lack a matching backside texture and are just a blank white (while the front could, for example, be a rough piece of paper).”
    • “The visuals are blurry when you turn too quickly and crouching and standing up is jarring.”
  • stability12 mentions

    The game's stability is notably poor, with numerous users reporting significant bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, such as softlocks, unresponsive objects, and frustrating mechanics. While some players found moments of enjoyment, the overall consensus is that the game is plagued by issues that detract from its potential, making it difficult to recommend in its current state.

    • “It has so many fantastic ideas but executes them so poorly that you end up first frustrated with the buggy, glitchy, and nonsensical gameplay mechanics, then doubly so when you realize just how incredible this game could have been.”
    • “Played on Linux using Proton and it did load and run, not sure if this game is very buggy or Proton is the problem. First bug found once you put out a match you cannot light another one. Second bug and game breaker has to do with not being able to pick up an object I need to continue the game. I can only view the object and put it back down, no way to take the object and use it. I tried reloading a save and also resetting my save on the options screen to start all over again, these bugs still happen, so yeah do not buy this game in its present state.”
    • “Unclear objectives, constant key collecting, frustrating level design, and a host of bugs and glitches made for one of the most irritating game experiences I can recall in recent memory.”
  • music6 mentions

    The music in the game is highly praised for enhancing the overall atmosphere, with haunting oldies complementing the horror elements effectively. Reviewers appreciate the phenomenal sound design and fitting musical score, although some express a desire for more ambient sounds to enrich the experience further. Overall, the combination of music and sound contributes significantly to the game's immersive environment.

    • “Great experience, great music, and great environment.”
    • “The sound design in this game is phenomenal, and the music fits perfectly with the game's atmosphere.”
    • “As an avid horror fan, I did like the scares and the haunting oldies music as we discover Alexander's crimes in WWI and his outcome.”
    • “Atmosphere-wise, this game does it pretty well; the music, the ambiance, the sounds of the water rushing in, and the voice acting are not bad at all.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    The grinding aspect of 'under' is criticized for being tedious and reliant on trial-and-error gameplay, which detracts from its otherwise strong premise and atmosphere. Players find the maze-like levels frustrating, leading to a lack of direction and enjoyment, making the grinding feel more like a chore than an engaging challenge.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
    • “The grind is satisfying and offers a real sense of progression.”
    • “It sounds great, but is brought down by tedious, trial-and-error gameplay.”
    • “When all of this is coupled with the cramped, maze-like levels (the in-universe architect who designed this ship was clearly high on cocaine), 'under' quickly becomes a tedious experience, rather than a horrifying one.”
    • “'under' has a fantastic premise, good graphics, some very moody environments, and a few effective jump scares, but its tedious trial-and-error gameplay, lack of direction, and frustrating gameplay mechanics just aren't worth it.”
  • humor4 mentions

    The humor in the game is derived from its unintentional comedic moments, such as amusing character reactions and bizarre monster appearances, which often disrupt the intended scary atmosphere. Additionally, the quirky voice acting adds to the humor, making for a unique blend of fear and laughter, despite the game's overall cheap feel and numerous bugs.

    • “Funny to see their reactions.”
    • “The game feels cheap and plays cheap; the amount of bugs in this game is honestly funny, not fun but funny.”
    • “This breaks the scary vibe for me as I just start laughing when a monster morphs out of a wall in a very odd manner.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is largely criticized, with users finding it unengaging due to a lack of a compelling story and clear objectives, resulting in a janky and boring experience that fails to evoke any significant feelings.

    • “The story lacks depth and fails to evoke any real emotions, making it feel janky and boring.”
    • “There is no clear objective, which leaves the narrative feeling aimless and unengaging.”
    • “Overall, the game doesn't deliver any emotional impact, leaving players feeling disconnected from the story.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

3hMedian play time
3hAverage play time
3-3hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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