Wake

About

In "Wake," players assume the role of a stranded engineer navigating a sinking ship, with the objective of reaching the surface. The game offers non-linear exploration, allowing players to choose their path. However, they must avoid the ship's malfunctioning security system to survive. This immersive experience combines survival and thriller elements for a unique gaming adventure.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

28%

Audience ScoreBased on 69 reviews

gameplay4 positive mentions

graphics4 negative mentions

The game features an interesting concept of escaping a sinking ship, which adds a unique atmosphere and tension to the gameplay.
Non-linear level design allows for exploration and discovery of hidden routes and items, enhancing replayability.
Some players found the platforming mechanics enjoyable and the game to be surprisingly fun despite its flaws.

The game suffers from terrible controls and a confusing user experience, making it frustrating to play.
The graphics are heavily processed with blurriness and visual effects that hinder visibility, leading to discomfort and difficulty in gameplay.
Many players reported technical issues, including long loading times, crashes, and unresponsive controls, which detract from the overall experience.

gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
59%
18%
The gameplay is centered around an intriguing premise of escaping a sinking ship using a metroidvania-style map, but it suffers from numerous execution issues, including poor controls, frustrating jumping mechanics, and a lack of a pause feature. Players have reported significant gameplay lag and repetitive experiences, with many mechanics feeling unpolished and inconsistent. Overall, while the concept has potential, the execution leaves much to be desired, leading to a disappointing experience for many.
- “The premise of the gameplay is interesting: you're trapped aboard a sinking vessel and must use a metroidvania-style map to navigate your way off the ship.”
- “Climbing out from the bottom of a sinking ship is a great concept and has a lot of interesting gameplay implications.”
- “I played the game initially on the easy setting as I wanted to get used to the game mechanics before I committed myself to the harder difficulties.”
- “Having to escape a sinking ship has plenty of gameplay potential, but I honestly can't think of a single game that's done it well.”
- “No matter how many times you change the condition under which you have to escape, the way up there is always the same: avoiding machine guns and fire, struggling to jump from one block to another because the jump mechanic only works when it wants to, and finally escaping through one of the three exits just to see the same ending.”
- “Absolutely horrid play mechanics (you cannot pause the game. Let me repeat: pausing - a feature near-standard in single-player video games since, I dunno, a bit after Pitfall - is not implemented. Let me repeat once more, this time using caps-lock, for super-emphasis: YOU CANNOT PAUSE THE GAME!!)”
graphics
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
59%
24%
The graphics of the game have been widely criticized for being blurry and poorly executed, detracting from the overall gameplay experience. Many reviewers noted that the over-processed visuals and lack of clarity hindered their ability to engage with the game, leading to frustration with controls and mechanics. Overall, the aesthetic choices seem to clash with the gameplay, resulting in a negative impression of the game's visual presentation.
- “The graphics have a coherent art style.”
- “Excellent pixel art and game with a great graphical overlay.”
- “While I don’t mind pixel graphics, I think in a world of digital artists, graphic designers, and modern technology, games should have so much more.”
- “Sadly, it's the dev's decision to consciously butcher his own game aesthetic that keeps any kind of decent game from coming through.”
- “Add some over-processed, blurry pixel graphics and a mysterious story that's never resolved (or is resolved at higher difficulties, which you won't play) and you have a real mess on your hands.”
- “The graphics are just horrible and blurry, no idea what most of the things are.”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
43%
43%
The story aspect of the game is widely criticized for being minimal and poorly executed, with many reviewers noting that it lacks a coherent narrative and fails to engage players. The random radio messages intended to provide context are seen as annoying and irrelevant, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the game's attempt to incorporate a story feels forced and unfulfilling, leaving players frustrated rather than intrigued.
- “Wake is the real good story of an engineer trapped on a sinking ship.”
- “Just some boring platformer with barely any plot in there.”
- “Story explanation: basically non-existent.”
- “There is no actual story to follow as the game takes an arcade style, focusing more on replayability, but for a game that centers around that, the radio transmitter messages that will randomly pop up as you make your way up top are a futility as they only state obvious things such as the alarming amount of water around you and there is no way to disable them either, so you will have to skip those each time you replay the game.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The music in the game has been widely criticized for its repetitive and annoying nature, with a short loop that quickly becomes grating. While some find it atmospheric, many users describe it as one of the worst soundtracks in gaming history, lacking variety and options to mute or change it. Overall, the soundtrack detracts significantly from the gaming experience.
- “The music is definitely interesting and atmospheric, even if the groovy music contrasts with the overall vibe, but it slows down as you die.”
- “The repetitive music features a cool, crunchy industrial guitar riff that plays continuously, creating a unique yet somewhat overwhelming experience.”
- “The music loop is short and terribly annoying.”
- “Even worse, this game features possibly one of the worst soundtracks in gaming history, with the same annoying song playing in the background over and over again, and no way to turn it off. But I guess since the effects are just as useless, you could just play the entire game on mute.”
- “-- repetitive music (a sort of cool, crunchy industrial guitar riff that gets repeated over and over and over again, lasting little more than a minute or so each time, until eventually it's not really 'sort of cool' anymore)”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
Overall, the game has been criticized for its low replayability, with many users noting that it offers only a brief period of enjoyment and lacks meaningful content to encourage multiple playthroughs. While it may be fun for a short time or for speedrunning, the repetitive elements and lack of a compelling story diminish its long-term appeal. Players suggest waiting for a sale rather than paying full price due to this limited replay value.
- “There is no actual story to follow as the game takes an arcade style, focusing more on replayability.”
- “I would not recommend paying full price though since game replayability is low in my opinion, but if you like indie games, get it on sale.”
- “If you want a quick game that doesn't really have any replay value, you can buy this game, but I would advise against it.”
- “Also, there is nearly no replayability value.”
- “There is no actual story to follow as the game takes an arcade style, focusing more on replayability, but for a game that centers around that, the radio transmitter messages that will randomly pop up as you make your way up top are a futility as they only state obvious things such as the alarming amount of water around you, and there is no way to disable them either, so you will have to skip those each time you replay the game.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a unique blend of isolation and tension, created by the absence of enemies and minimal NPC interaction, aside from a radio voice. The rising tide adds to the sense of urgency, while the groovy music contrasts with the overall intensity, contributing to an intriguing yet confusing experience. Overall, players find it to be an interesting and atmospheric environment that enhances the challenge.
- “You won't face any enemies or meet any NPCs aside from a nondescript person talking to you via a radio set, which in combination with the ever-rising tide gives the game a very unique atmosphere.”
- “Well...it's definitely interesting, definitely atmospheric (even if the groovy music belies this a little, but at least it slows down as you die), and definitely, erm...confusing?!”
- “Insanely challenging, tense, atmospheric.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization of Wake is notably poor, leading to significant performance issues that can overwhelm even high-end laptops, reminiscent of running demanding games like Battlefield 3 on ultra settings.
- “Wake is so poorly optimized that your laptop will think it's running Battlefield 3 on ultra high settings in high resolution.”