Reviews VideoGame / Endless Ocean

This game is So Okay Its Average

In addition to being the one who launched this article, I'm pretty much the only person ever to neither love nor loathe this game. It combines three of the things I really look for in a game (open-ended exploration, Under The Sea portions, education value that doesn't interfere with the story) with... I don't know, something missing.

Let me elaborate. The game feels shallow (no pun intended) because there are a profound lack of stakes. No, I'm not talking about the whole eschewing-combat thing, nor am I attempting to make a comparison to Castlevania. I mean the way it all feels like you can, at any time, return to the surface and stop all this at the push of a button (as indeed you can). That's why my favorite part of the story is when you go to search for the White Mother. Sure, you can go back to the boat at any time, but you'll break poor Kat's heart. That's an example of how deep, involving gameplay can be crafted without resorting to actual danger or combat - a standard to which the rest of the game, sadly, does not live up.

So go ahead. Buy Endless Ocean. It's certainly a great game - the open-ended exploration is ingenious and immensely fun, and all the real species of fish caused a little biology-nerd squee from this and surely many other tropers - but it is, sadly, just a great game. Not a great experience.