World of Diving
- August 26, 2014
- Vertigo Games
Get on Steam"World of Diving" is a VR-enabled online game that allows players to explore the ocean, interact with marine life, and discover sunken treasures in a vibrant underwater world. Players can customize their diver's appearance and equipment, and collaborate with others in multiplayer mode. The game also offers a community-driven development, where players can create and share their own content, and contribute to the game's future features.
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Reviews
- The game offers a beautiful underwater environment with stunning graphics and immersive experiences.
- It provides a relaxing gameplay experience, allowing players to explore and take pictures of marine life.
- The multiplayer aspect is enjoyable, enabling players to dive and explore together.
- The game has been abandoned by the developers, with no updates or new content since 2017.
- Gameplay is repetitive and lacks depth, with many areas still marked as 'coming soon' and unfinished.
- Technical issues such as crashes, poor optimization, and a confusing interface detract from the overall experience.
- graphics95 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the realistic underwater visuals and atmospheric design that enhance immersion. While some players find the graphics stunning and well-executed, others criticize them as mediocre or not meeting expectations for a diving simulator, particularly in terms of character animations and overall lifelessness of the ocean environment. Overall, the visuals are generally considered a strong point, though there are concerns about performance and the need for further optimization.
“Graphics are awesome, and love the character customization.”
“Atmospheric game with a lot of stunning visuals and a fair amount of depth.”
“The graphics are very smooth looking and you really feel as though you are diving somewhere in the Pacific with not a care in the world other than making sure your camera is ready to take those snaps when you need to.”
“Graphics are mediocre, interface menus are confusing and touch controls are absolutely terrible.”
“Graphics are just not good enough for this kind of game.”
“The graphics are more in line with those aquariums in the show where the customer doesn't have enough time or knowledge to be able to look after a 'real life' aquarium with living rock and coral being substituted with acrylic, silicone, rubber, painted pieces that are too bright and unnatural.”
- story83 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely absent, with players describing the missions as repetitive fetch quests that lack depth and variety. While some missions involve interesting tasks like taking photos or exploring, the overall narrative experience is considered dull and unengaging, leading to a sense of boredom over time. Despite the potential for a richer storyline, the game is primarily seen as a casual diving experience without significant story elements.
“The extra missions and challenges were fun, and there are plenty of them!”
“Two hours of fun diving missions under diverse pretenses.”
“I feel like I really am scuba diving and I can either do the missions or just swim around and check stuff out and collect treasure along the way.”
“The story is nonexistent.”
“The missions are all the same and it's basically just so boring after a while that it becomes unplayable.”
“I would've preferred a real storyline like in Endless Ocean 2, but this game is far from that.”
- gameplay33 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay primarily revolves around diving, exploring underwater environments, and taking pictures of marine life, but it is criticized for being limited and lacking depth. While some players find the concept enjoyable and appreciate the design of wrecks, many express disappointment with the overall execution, including bugs, unfulfilled promises of realism, and character customization that does not impact gameplay. Overall, the experience is described as fun but ultimately underwhelming and in need of significant updates.
“Having said that, the gameplay is pretty fun.”
“You can explore the sea for treasure to unlock new gear (which is only aesthetic), explore wrecks with a group of people, which is really fun since the wrecks are designed in a nice way, and picture taking is picture taking, though there are challenges, which are nice and spice up the gameplay.”
“Yes, I like the gameplay.”
“I really like the concept, but the gameplay and almost everything in this game is just disappointing.”
“World of diving's gameplay is very limited.”
“Character customization has new gear again, but they don't seem to affect gameplay.”
- stability18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- -6 % neutral mentions
- 89 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users reporting frequent crashes, freezing at the main menu, and persistent game-breaking bugs. Despite some positive aspects like community content and graphics, the overall experience is marred by a lack of effective support and ongoing technical problems, leading to widespread frustration among players.
“The game is quite bug-free, featuring community-based content, nice environments, decent graphics, and good customization options. It offers a great variety in maps, missions, and free play, along with solid multiplayer and cooperative modes.”
“The game runs smoothly with minimal bugs, providing a rich community-driven experience. The environments are visually appealing, and the graphics are decent, making for an enjoyable gameplay experience.”
“With a focus on stability, the game delivers a bug-free experience, complemented by a variety of maps and missions. The multiplayer and cooperative features enhance the overall enjoyment.”
“Bought this game with high hopes for some fun underwater experiences, and I can't get it to load past the main menu before it freezes and crashes.”
“Starting in November 2014, World of Diving has become the culmination of false promises of progress, game-breaking bugs, eye-splitting visual glitches, dysfunctional online servers (used for authentication and multiplayer), a failed and forced migration to Unity 5, and a game with a backward-moving progress bar... all of which make for a very angry user community.”
“Each update is released with 'new features' that no one asked for or wanted, and introduces new glitches while none of the ongoing game-breaking bugs seem to get fixed.”
- music14 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it lacking in quality and options, such as the inability to turn it off. While some appreciate the ambient sound design that focuses on ocean sounds, others suggest that the addition of calming background music, especially during underwater segments, would enhance the experience. Overall, the music is seen as a weak point, with calls for improvement in both quality and customization options.
“World of diving: graphics are sweet you look like you are really there, sound is good and music is not too bad at all.”
“With some relaxing music.”
“Music and sound effects of a game with very low quality.”
“Pathetic options menu (you can't even turn off the in-game music to play your own).”
“In terms of sounds, the game has a very ambient sound design; there isn't music, there are only the sounds of the ocean.”
- monetization14 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The game's monetization strategy heavily relies on microtransactions, requiring players to either invest significant time grinding or spend money to customize their characters. Many users express frustration with the game's unstable performance and perceive the monetization as a cash grab rather than a genuine effort to enhance gameplay. Overall, the presence of in-game purchases detracts from the initial casual experience promised by the developers.
“I was able to ignore the always online, the microtransactions.”
“You can customize your character, but expect to either need to play the game every day and grind for dozens of hours, or purchase microtransactions.”
“What they have delivered over the past couple of years is a completely unstable, unplayable fantasy game with built-in monetization and in-game purchases, with small and broken maps.”
“The only downside is I believe there are microtransactions, just a warning for those who will have none of that.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is criticized for being poor in certain areas, leading to significant performance issues even on high-end PCs. Users report that the game struggles to run smoothly, particularly when played on VR systems like the Vive.
“I didn't play long... I had a high-end PC, but the game needs more optimization.”
“Optimization is bad in some places of the map.”
“Every time I try this game for my Vive, the performance just blows.”
“Didn't play long... I had a high-end PC but the game needs more optimization.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is praised for its stunning visuals and depth, making it a great choice for exploration. However, some users feel that improvements in lighting and shadow are necessary to enhance the overall mood and atmosphere.
“Atmospheric game with a lot of stunning visuals and a great amount of depth.”
“I love this game; it offers great exploration and a captivating atmosphere.”
“The visuals create a rich atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.”
“This game needs a lot of work with light and shadow for it to have any kind of mood or atmosphere.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users generally find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and not enjoyable, suggesting that while it may be worth attempting for achievement hunters, it is not recommended for a fun experience. However, they acknowledge that the game serves as a strong option for experiencing underwater VR gaming.
“If you do it because of the achievements, you can give it a try, but I would not recommend it; grinding is not fun.”
“The game itself is a little tedious, but as a means to experience underwater VR gaming, I'd say it's the best choice.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by the comical reactions of the fish, particularly when one is unexpectedly pulled away, leaving both the fish and players in a state of bafflement. This amusing visual creates a lighthearted and entertaining experience.
“It looks hilarious when a fish is suddenly pulled away sideways, and the look on its face is just as baffled as the players.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While the game features impressive exploration and graphics, some players have reported experiencing discomfort, such as queasiness and headaches, when using the Oculus Rift, which detracts from the overall emotional experience.
