"Submerge yourself in one of the most immersive diving simulators to date".
Deep Diving Simulator (Deep Diving Adventures on console releases) is a first-person underwater exploration game by Jujubee S.A. Whilst focusing on exploration, the game also carries an enviromentally friendly theme to it. It launched on Steam for Windows and Mac Operating Systems on May 27th 2019 with console releases for Playstation 4, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch following soon after under the new title Deep Diving Adventures.
The game stars you as the newest assistant (or "sidekick") to retired scuba diver, Professor Adams whom tasks you with exploring many areas of the wide ocean collecting valuable treasures and cleaning the underwater habitat to make it habitable for the marine life. Along the way, you start to encounter more man-made areas and structures, all of which seem to have been forgotten from time.
A DLC for the Steam version that is essentially an expansion pack simply titled the "Adventure Pack" which unlocks two extra stages would be released on September 6th, 2019 with console releases being bundled with the DLC included.
This game provides examples of:
- Artistic License – Marine Biology: Swimming into an area of a stage where a shark resides will result in said shark attacking the player, even if they're at a distance from them. In reality, sharks do not normally attack humans (especially more than once) with the chance of attack being much rarer than getting struck by lightning. On a more bizarre note, Orca whales in the game behave the same way. Wild orcas in real life however are not aggressive towards humans whatsoever.
- Atlantis: The player will find puzzles on later stages that allow you to pick up certain items which are required to unlock the final level, which is themed after this.
- Big Boo's Haunt: One of the Adventure Pack's two levels has you exploring a supposedly haunted submerged mine. You don't actually encounter any ghosts, but the atmospheric sound effects and few moments in the stage imply it may actually be haunted.
- Character Level: Collecting objects and healing infected fish is vital for leveling up the player character as doing so rewards you with equipment upgrades such as increased max oxygen and decreased equipment recharge time.
- Character Portrait: The conversations you have with Professor Adams are merely composed of a dialogue box with a portrait of Adam's face, complete with voice acting. His portrait on occasion sometimes changes to have said professor wearing an accessory depending on which stage is selected.
- Collision Damage: Bumping into any part of a stage's environment, even the ocean floor can deal damage, requiring you to swim as carefully as possible, especially when in tighter spaces.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: The scanner when used highlights specific objects in different colours: Infected fish are green, hazards are red and collectables are yellow
- Continuing is Painful: Not reaching the surface in time before your oxygen runs out will result in you losing all the items you collected in that run of the stage.
- Derelict Graveyard: A few of the stages are these, with 'Silent Cove' being one for sunken boats.
- Eldritch Location: The final stage, 'Gate to Atlantis' is Exactly What It Says on the Tin. Solving the puzzle will open a large stone hatch which a mermaid will swim out of and take you with into the portal.
- Gangplank Galleon: Two of the game's stages, 'Pirate's Nest' and 'Queen's Gold' feature a shipwreck. The conversation you have with Professor Adams before starting the former stage even has his Character Portrait donning some pirate themed wear.
- Genre Shift: Played with. The game's aptly named DLC, "Adventure Pack" has a more adventure and fantasy themed focus.
- Green Aesop: The game's sub-theme. The player can collect trash and heal infected fish using the Eco-Gun's healing beam.
- Healing Shiv: The Eco-Gun serves as this, healing fish that are infected by pollution. It does have a separate mode for warding off predators however.
- Loading Screen: The game's loading screen when entering a stage will display a fact about the ocean or sealife in general.
- No Animals Were Harmed: To keep with the game's eco-friendly subtheme, combat or any form of weaponry (sans a knife) is absent. All the Eco-Gun's single charge mode does is scare off predators with harmless soundwaves.
- No Ending: Clearing the final stage activates a cutscene where the puzzle door opens to reveal a mermaid swimming out and up to the player character before dragging them into the portal with them before cutting to the credits without any explanation as to what happened to said character.
- Oxygen Meter: Obligatory in a game about scuba diving after all. Your oxygen slowly decreases over time but taking any damage can cause you to lose a larger amount of it. Some hazards such as sharks and sea mines deal the most damage. Leveling up however can increase the amount of oxygen you start a stage with, giving you more time to explore and collecting items such as seashells restores a small amount.
- Scenery Gorn: A handful of the stages aren't too pleasing to look at with a good few of them shrouded in murky fog and home to various submerged structures. The third stage, Forgotten Reef is the most repugnant with it being overloaded with trash, fishing nets and even home to a few sunken modern buildings.
- Scenery Porn: Many of the game's stages are genuinely beautiful and look almost realistic.
- Sea Mine: The stage, 'Deep Forest' is abundant in them. Swimming too near them or bumping directly into them can cause them to explode, dealing severe damage. They also appear in the following level, 'Silent Cove'.
- Shout-Out: One of the golden statues located inside the Sons of Horus temple is clearly Indiana Jones.
- Sunken City: Forgotten Reef, the third stage is supposedly home to one with various objects ranging from a hotel sign to an abandoned building.
- Threatening Shark: The game has these in almost every level. If the player swims into the vicinity of one, they will ram into the player, damaging them. Strangely, Orca whales behave the same way.
- Underwater Ruins: One of the stages, Sunken Temple, is evidently home to the ruins of a temple that's implied to have originated from ancient Greek times.
