I absolutely love "Song of the Deep"! I got the PS4 version as soon as I saw the box sitting on the shelf of the game store. It just pulled me to it the same way so many other good games just manage to draw you to them. Good games have a tendency to pull you towards them. Not quite the same power of attraction that you get by seeing Mad Dog Macree or "Plumbers don't wear ties" (pdwt - don't even look it up, I still can't believe it was even released, then again, if the CDi not only made it to market, but mystically came to have 216 game titles, mpeg movies not included in this count. I suppose anything's possible). Heck, the 3DO had such crappy games that it took about 2 years for developers (users too! poor devils.) for someone to realize that the 1st version of the 3DO controllers were missing a minor bit of functionality, I have come to cherish in most game systems I have played (not the CDi, of course, but ..others that had releases actually considered games.), but especially automobiles that I drive. It was the minor matter of the capability of moving diagonally. What kind of half #@$ software were people willing to buy, including racing and fighting games for this not to be an issue? I suspect "Pdwt" was a social experiment just to see if indeed the 3do crowd would buy anything. Maybe mind control was involved. I digress.. I have the tendency to go off topic from time to time. Just in case one of you hadn't noticed. Back on the subject of "Song of the Deep": I was sad to hear that still, in mid 2025, there were no plans of expanding on the universe with a 2nd game. Since it came out in 2016, it's probably safe to say if one will come out, they aren't in any hurry to do so. Although it seems that a guy by the name of Brian Hastings has put out a book referred to as a 'companion book' to the game since it expands on the story and gives more background and depth. The protagonist is the same. The chicklet (little chick) in the submarine) named Merryn. In fact, a second book is planned. Dangit! They could easily have gotten those two and made expansions for the game! they wouldn't even have to change anything in the game, just use the same engine!! That annoys me to no end. It's like that game "Dust". I think a 3 year old wrote that script. Or the family cat lay down on the keyboard for a while. Someone said, meh. good enough. ripped it out of the dot matrix printer and sent it in for integration with the magnificent game that resulted. That's how good it was. It had somewhere between a (on a score between 1 to 100) 3 and a -2 as far as it's story was concerned, yet the game play was so fantastic and the sidekick character was so adorable, seriously, like that cat from shrek, kind of adorable! That there didn't need to be any writing or even any decision making in the whole adventure fiasco. You just kept played using up those hidden energy reserves that us gamer types take out of Gosh knows where when we are that close to collapsing from lack of sleep, drooling and barely making sense, so much so that your pet gelatinous orb in the corner is starting to think you are coming on to it. Or..crap, I don't have a pet gelatinous orb! Drat..., did I somehow text Gorlok to come over instead of typing in the konami code? (I must be brain damaged, we think to ourselves. I couldn't possibly have done that more than once!) Yet you still manage to keep going for that whole extra half hour until you find that damn save point that's already 45minutes overdue and hopefully will last long enough to double check the save message before you collapse from from lack of sleep and mana. I said all that and didn't mention the actual gameplay! holy..* I salute any persistent reader who managed to get this far. Grandma doesn't count, but I can always count on her for at least that one upvote! This game has a great back story. It almost takes you back to when you were a little kid and you get to take a break in the middle of the day where they give you a cookie and some milk then tell you a story to get you into that sleepy contented mood for that short nap. It really has a pleasant story that has enough realism to stick to the fantasy world standards of logic and probability, so that you don't start doubting what they tell you on your way in. Instead you start immersing yourself into the story of Merryn and her fear for her dad who seemed to have gotten lost and by Jove! She's going after him! In an adorable little submarine, Merryn, (she's the stories chicklet, remember?) goes into the ocean and in the backdrops that often have several backdrops doing parallax at the same time (for those of you born after y2k, that means you have one backdrop with holes in it and behind that you have another backdrop that is moving. It was developed by this company called Parallax back in the 80's or something. this game doubled down on that trick to make sure you have a truly stunning journey into the deep! There will be flooded cities, sunken ships, skeletons and a whole lot of swag. Although it takes forever to gather it if you make bad choices on how to upgrade your little craft. Hey, it only takes one or 2 times to figure this out, so don't worry. It is a perfect mixture of 2d action, comfy and beautiful graphics, in addition to the excellent soundtrack perfectly tailored to fit the game, that set the perfect mood for exploring civilizations long lost even to legend! Even the obligatory puzzles (which usually suck) aren't that terribly annoying! The background story is well thought of and they keep spoon feeding more of the story to you bit by bit to add to the mystery. Game play, as you might have guessed, is not meant for veteran numb thumbs only which would make it impossible for the novice player, nor does it appeal exclusively to the entry to mid level only gamers because it's too much of a breeze for the experienced players out there. There's so much to explore and easter egg's to unearth that it keeps you coming back for more even if it isn't that tough. The great thing is that it won't impede your gf or younger sibling from managing to get into the game and since the game is very appealing to most audiences, I would say it will keep them coming back for more until they figure out how to advance and gain progress in the game. As for the younger sibling, they might even figure out that their controller has been unknowingly disconnected, yet again, during today's play session! Enjoy!
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