In Other Waters Review (Switch)
Summary: Jump Over the Age delivers an amazing story set on an alien ocean planet.
3.5
It's Okay
Imagine yourself deep below the ocean surface surrounded by marine floras and alien aquatic life forms. You slip deeper down into the abyss but yet you do not feel the underwater currents or the cold temperatures of the water. No, you are the AI of an advanced dive suit used by xenobiologist Ellery Vas, who is searching for her missing partner. Imagine assisting Ellery Vas as she categorizes all the life forms on the ocean planet Gliese 667Cc as travel through the unknown… You are now In Other Waters.
Now I said imagine all of those things because that’s pretty much all you can do with this game. To me this didn’t feel much like a game at all and more like an interactive book. You play the AI in some advanced dive suit to Dr. Vas as she searches for her missing partner. You will spend the game reading text as the Doctor gives details about everything that is around you and everything going on. Now this is all very well written and interesting and don’t even get me started now how well the music really sets the atmosphere, but the actual game play left much to be desired.
The actual game play is pretty boring if I’m honest. It’s basically just a bland hub simulator where you move around from node to node with the doctor chiming in from time to time to give some descriptive narration. I mean most of the time you will be looking at a boring circle with some unimaginative blips that you will need to scan to move along a topical map of the ocean floor. The scanning will need to be done so you can gather resources like oxygen for the doctor or power for the suit to get through rougher parts of the ocean. It was a nice touch to try to add some game play, but most it just felt like a hollow attempt to add some challenge.
Now I cannot say this game was terrible by any means, because I really did enjoy the narrative journey it took me on. The writing was so well done and the fact that you are really limited to how you can interact with the doctor was a very interesting choice. Mostly you can just respond with yes or no and somehow it just works. This games story an amazing mystery and it really pays off, it’s just too bad the “game play” really sets the game back.
If you are looking to read a game with an amazing story, atmospheric music and very little game play, then In Other Waters would be right up your alley. This is a game you can take it easy with and just enjoy the story the writers want to take you on. It will hold your hand and tell you a tale. I’d like to say that it has more to offer but that’s it, and honestly that’s not a bad thing. I would of like to have been more involved in the games story and I would have loved for there to have been more to look on the screen, but you’ve got to respect what this company has accomplished. They set out to tell their story and they did it in the best way they thought possible. This game may not really be what I look for in my video games, but I can see how others would love it, and I respect Jump Over The Age for their work. I’m giving In Other Waters 3.5 out of 5 stars.
About the Author
Jeremy Carr Jeremy Carr is a DC fanboy at heart and an avid gamer. He also claims that he is NOT addicted to Destiny 2 and firmly states "I can quit anytime I want..." Jeremy loves bingeing Star Trek The Next Generation and keeping up with comic book news. He enjoys indie comic projects and fully supports projects featured on Indiegogo.
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