![]() ![]() Rating: 7 out of 10ĭisclosures: This game is developed by Arachnid Games and published by Gambitious Digital Entertainment. Many games render alien worlds, but Diluvion actually transported me to one. The limited draw distance, slow movement speed and near-total lack of signposting will grate on players looking for immediate thrills, but I find it praiseworthy that Arachnid would place so many deliberate handicaps on the player in service of atmosphere and immersion - it’s a spell that worked on me the vast majority of its running time. However, all of its issues are worth enduring for the haunting and beautiful world that Diluvion portrays. Extending the length of play via fetchquest padding is never a good thing, but it’s particularly harmful in what is already such a slow-paced game. As wondrous as its three maps are to explore, they lose their mystique after players have become accustomed to them. I’ll also add that Diluvion is just a bit longer than it should have been. It begs the question why different NPCs have unique stats in the first place - it’s a promising idea that feels underdeveloped. Players can assign additional crew to man the various chambers (engine, guns, etc.) for improved performance, but they can’t determine which characters go where. Unfortunately, this aspect falls victim to bad interface design. Players are meant to toy with their ship’s attributes with an FTL-esque crew management mechanic, and there’s even a temporary slow-motion function to assist in making changes under pressure. ![]() ![]() Combat in Diluvion’s initial build was further hampered by the ship’s inability to move independently of the camera, but a quick patch has thankfully fixed that. Locking onto an enemy that isn’t stationary is borderline impossible, since the lock is lost if players stray even a few pixels while charging the shot. It doesn’t help that the sub’s torpedo launcher, meant to be a tide-turner, suffers from the world’s most fiddly targeting system. The room before the final boss (which players will have to replay if they fail to kill said boss) is a particular nightmare in this regard, ending the campaign on something of a sour note. It’s often overly-hectic and runs perpendicular to the otherwise slow, measured pace. As things progress and players venture deeper into the ocean, however, they begin engaging enemies far more accustomed to moving through water than humans are. Early encounters, mostly against pirates, are perfectly fine and play out like dogfights in slow motion. What seems at first like a mountain or a shipwreck may turn out to be something a bit less azoic.ĭiluvion didn’t need a ton of combat, but it’s here anyway. Since Diluvion makes great use of silhouettes, Arachnid often gleefully plays the misdirection game. Players able to slowly unravel this eerie world will be rewarded with moments of sustained awe and terror. I died a couple of times not just from straying from safe zones, but from not being able to find my way back in time.īetween this dangerous exploration and the sub’s slow movement speed, Diluvion is a game specifically designed for patient people - those who want to soak up the atmosphere and actually feel like they’re battling the elements in a steampunk underwater voyage. Venturing into new regions always carries the risk of not only draining one’s supplies and oxygen, but throwing off their sense of direction, as well. Instead, they must use a compass, a sonar, and their knowledge of their surroundings to determine where they are and which direction they should be traveling. ![]() There is a map, but it doesn’t actually tell players where their vessel is. Life under the sea is a nonstop struggle, and rarely does a player feel comfortable in Diluvion. Humanity doesn’t belong here - food is scarce, vision is limited, and diving too deep without a heavily reinforced submarine will end painfully. It depicts a planet on which angry gods have submerged human civilization and sealed it under an impenetrable layer of ice. Forget about space being the final frontier - there’s plenty yet to be discovered on our own planet.ĭiluvion, a Jules Verne-inspired underwater adventure from Arachnid Games, capitalizes on that otherworldliness. The ocean is such an inhospitable place that we’ve only explored about five percent of our own here on Earth. The lack of sunlight reduces one’s surroundings to silhouettes, and the weight of the water increasingly threatens to crush those too far underneath it. There’s something majestic and imposing about the bottom of the sea as the setting for a videogame. WTF The final area’s bizarre fixation on tetrahedrons. LOW Fiddling with the miserable torpedo targeting during a heated battle. ![]()
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