In Other Waters Review Summary

Beautiful visuals and art: The game is praised for its stunning visuals, beautiful artwork, and unique art style. Players find the minimalistic graphics and clean visual language appealing and effective in conveying the game's ecosystem.

Atmospheric and immersive: The game's atmosphere is frequently mentioned as a strong point, with players enjoying the contemplative and immersive environment created by the music and sound effects.

Praised UI design: The UI design is consistently highlighted for its simplicity, intuitiveness, and aesthetic appeal. Players appreciate its minimalist and professional look, which enhances the overall gaming experience.

Engaging and unique storytelling: The game's story is described as captivating, engaging, and well-written. Players enjoy the unique and fresh storytelling approach, which adds depth to the game.

Detailed alien ecosystems: The game features detailed and realistic alien ecosystems, with unique creatures and ecological environments. Players appreciate the intricate descriptions and artwork of the alien species and environments.

Limited and repetitive gameplay: The game features limited gameplay mechanics and a relatively short duration, leading to repetitive and unexciting experiences. Players find the gameplay monotonous and lacking in variety.

Tedious controls and movement: Players report that the control scheme is tedious and movement feels cumbersome. The slow movement speed and odd movement mechanics add to the frustration.

Poor navigation and map design: The game suffers from poor map navigation tools, making it easy for players to get lost. The restrictive map design and lack of map tools contribute to a frustrating navigation experience.

Poor text readability: The game has issues with text readability, particularly with Chinese fonts being hard to read. The small text size and poor font design exacerbate this problem.

Slow start and pacing: The game has a slow start and pacing, particularly in the beginning. Players report that it takes a while for the game to get moving.

Exploration and discovery focus: The game heavily emphasizes exploration and discovery, with players frequently mentioning the joy of discovering new creatures and environments. This includes both ecological and scientific exploration, often through text-based interactions.

Text-based gameplay: A large portion of the gameplay involves reading and interacting with text. This includes text-based exploration, conversations, and descriptions that help players imagine the environment and progress through the story.

Interactive fiction and visual novel elements: The game incorporates elements of interactive fiction and visual novels. Players engage in narrative-driven gameplay with text adventure elements and visual novel mechanics.

Cataloging and documenting species: A significant part of the gameplay involves cataloging and documenting new species. Players enjoy the process of identifying and researching new life forms, building a taxonomy, and reading about different species and environments.

Collecting and scanning samples: A key gameplay mechanic involves collecting and scanning creature samples. Players enjoy exploring and collecting samples, which are then cataloged and documented.

Game performance issues: The game experiences periodic stutters, which can affect the overall gameplay experience. This issue seems to be a common concern among players.

UI-related bugs: There are several bugs related to the user interface that players have encountered. These bugs can hinder navigation and overall user experience.

Game is a bit slow: Some players have noted that the game feels a bit slow. This could potentially impact the pacing and enjoyment of the game.

Steam Deck compatibility: Some feedback mentions the Steam Deck, but without specific details on issues or praises, it's unclear what the exact concerns or positive points are.

Recommended for science and exploration enthusiasts: This game is highly recommended for fans of speculative biology, astrobiology, marine biology, and ecological exploration. It is also praised for its thoughtful storytelling and immersive narrative.

Recommended for niche and atmospheric games: The game is recommended for those who enjoy niche, unique, and atmospheric games. It is also suggested for fans of the developer's other works and those who enjoy chill, narrative-driven experiences.

Highly recommended overall: Many reviewers wholeheartedly recommend the game for its unique and enjoyable experience. It is praised for being a good time and worth playing despite some frustrations.

Consider price and gameplay depth: Some reviewers suggest picking up the game on sale or at a discounted price. There are also recommendations to add more depth to objectives and include achievements for lore exploration.

Recommended for specific interests: The game is recommended for AI enthusiasts and those interested in AI gameplay. It is also suggested for players who enjoy bingeing games for a better experience.

Community fair range: $7.50 - $10.00.

Game completion: 7.0h.

Story completion: 4.0h.

The game starts slow and tedious but becomes more engaging as players progress through the story and exploration.

Reported time to anchor: 2h.

Friction: Repetitive gameplay; Tedious controls; Slow start.

Unlock drivers: Story progression; Emotional core.

Chill Explorer: Casual, enjoys reading and exploring at a leisurely pace. Motivation: Exploration and relaxation. Stance: sale.

Science Enthusiast: Methodical, enjoys detailed exploration and reading about scientific topics. Motivation: Learning and exploration of scientific concepts. Stance: buy.

Critical Player: Analytical, looks for depth and development in story and gameplay. Motivation: Seeking a well-rounded and engaging gaming experience. Stance: deep sale.

Steam Deck: The analysis of user feedback for the Steam Deck experience reveals several key issues. The most prominent problem is the small text size, which makes it difficult for users to read the text on the screen. Additionally, users have noted that the controls are not very intuitive and take some time to get used to. The game's reliance on text for storytelling can also be a barrier for non-English speakers. Despite these issues, users appreciate the unique storyline and the overall visual design of the UI.

Localization font challenges: The game faces difficulties and emphasizes the importance of localizing fonts to better suit different language versions.