Under The Waves
Stan, a professional diver in the North Sea, is struggling to overcome a life-changing loss during an extended mission underwater. Stuck in his self-imposed solitude, he starts to experience strange events and will have to make the most significant choice of his life...
Under The Waves is a adventure, underwater and exploration game
developed by Parallel Studio
and published by Spotlight by Quantic Dream.
Released on August 28th 2023 is available only on Windows
in 21 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Arabic, Czech, Dutch, Greek, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese - Portugal, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish - Latin America, Thai, Traditional Chinese and Turkish.
It has received 1,214 reviews of which 944 were positive and 270 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.5 out of 10. 😊
The game is currently priced at 29.99€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Under The Waves into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
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Requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5 4th Gen/ AMD Ryzen 3 4100 4 cores 3.8 GHz
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB/ AMD R9 290 HD 4GB
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 10 GB available space
Reviews
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Thank you to the Developer Parallel Studio and Publisher Spotlight by Quantic dream for providing a game to escape, explore and learn. My Steam rating: Very Positive Under the Waves is a simple third person story driven game that excels in almost everything it sets out to accomplish. Despite an oddity or two in the story and some QoL omissions the game is an absolute diamond for the genre and easy to recommend. In the game you play as Stan, a professional diver who has returned to his employer after a tragic family event to basically escape from everything. Stan believes this isolation will help him deal with this event though 3 yrs have now passed. You are not totally isolated as you will make a few phone calls to your wife and each day you will talk with an old family friend(also an employer of the Co.) who will give you daily Co. tasks and other story missions to follow. The game is perfectly paced as if only doing what is required would be around 6 hrs(guess) but to 100%(all the collectibles/crafting) takes 12-15 hrs. The only issue I have with the story is the game covers only 17 days and the ending where you are given a choice which was not needed. The story from the writing, voice acting and music are all incredibly done. But beware this story is not for everyone as it is about loss and even with a choice at the end, there is no happy ending here. One thing I wanted to highlight for the story was this game was sponsored and/or funded by the Surfrider foundation which is an environmentalist group who is battling to protect the ocean for all to enjoy. This is how awareness to a cause is done right in a game. All of the group's causes are in things found(collectibles) or during loading screens with facts and not a distraction in any way. I was aware of some of the information provided but I learned more info on the continued effects from the garbage we dispose of into the ocean. *The story, atmosphere, sense of loneliness and isolation reminded me of the movie Moon(great movie). I do not know if the dev team were ever aware of this movie but your minisub you travel in the game is called Moon. The game covers 17 days(there is a 10 day fast forward after day 3) where you will be given missions daily that are basically restoring power, fixing or cleaning equipment, all tasks to make sure the Corporations machines keep drilling. There are also collectibles to find, photographs to take and a crafting system to upgrade your mini sub and your gear. Luckily the game was not gamified and what I mean by that is air, gas, damage and there is no combat like in a lot of survival games. The main goal here is to experience the story and world and I appreciated that design for this game. In order to complete your daily tasks Under the Waves is somewhat of a scuba simulation game. Each day when you wake up you will make a cup of coffee, retrieve your daily task and go into the deep blue travelling in your one man mini sub called Moon. As you travel you will hit a sonar that will highlight items or locations to explore. These will provide crafting materials and collectibles which also provide a lot of backstory for the game. I highly recommend searching out a majority(some are on your path to a mission) as they provide a lot of information on everyone involved in the game and story beats that paint the whole picture. The crafting system is pretty basic where you will gain bonuses to your mini sub and your gear. However, there are enough items scattered about and the upgrades really are not necessary, just makes some things a lot easier. Under the Waves is a beautiful heartbreaking narrative story. It is not really a game as it is more of a simulation of stepping into the shoes of an underwater diver and trying to deal with a tragic family event. It does that while bringing awareness to a cause I'm sure we would all agree is sad. It does a great job by not prolonging the game with slogged out survival mechanics but trying to simply let you immerse yourself into the deep blue sea. Positives Beautiful detailed underwater world Story, writing, voice acting, music Exploration is awesome Choice to NOT gamify the experience Environmental information not forced into the narrative Negatives Choice at the end Barebone settings, KB controls excluded No true ultrawide 21:9 setting
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I have no idea what the mixed reviews are about. This is a little gem. A beautiful game with a well written story about drifting apart in a breathtaking underwater environment. The sound design is absolutely amazing. The visuals are great! The sense of being underwater is spot on. Played the whole thing on a Steamdeck OLED. 10/10 definitely recommended.
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It's a very nice and heartfelt title but bear in mind that this is mainly a *NARRATIVE* game beyond anything else, the survival and exploration elements being extras. It's immersive and has gorgeous visuals but is (very) slow paced, to the point where I'd argue it's essentially on rails, even if you have the freedom to swim in apparently whatever direction. After having finished it I'd recommend just following the prompts and not deviate too far from the path to enjoy the story and not waste too much time gathering stuff that is ultimately useless.
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What a nice change from running around killing people. Playing at 3440 x 1440 on Ultra,looks great plays smooth. Highly recommend for a nice chill out gaming experience.
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I have a lot to say about this incredible game. The game is a beautiful combination of engaging exploration and interesting missions combined with educational information. I had no idea what I was getting into. I saw its initial announcement trailer and immediately knew I wanted the game. I went on a blackout from any and all information about the game and was very surprised to see it was nothing like what I originally thought it would be. I expected an underwater Firewatch style game with possibly some underwater horror or Lovecraftian elements. To compare it to Firewatch would be a disservice to Under the Waves. It is an entirely unique linear narrative experience with lots of freedom for exploration at all times. It has looting, crafting, and resource management elements, but the game does a tremendous job at making sure none of that is tedious. Exploration is rewarding from a collectible standpoint, and to obtain non-necessary blueprint upgrades. Resources are overly abundant and never something you're worrying about. The game does indeed have horror elements and dare I say a small amount of Lovecraftian as well, however, it is never scary. It may be eerie at times, but it never becomes scary, and I very much enjoyed the tone the game set throughout. Diving deeper into how Under the Waves excels at some of its elements, first I want to discuss exploration. Exploration is wonderful - seeing new marine life, exploring caves, seeing UniTrench installations and the pollution they've caused, it's all very mesmerizing. On top of that, there's an educational aspect to almost everything you find, through commentary or logs. If you're someone sympathetic to climate change or environmental pollution then you'll find this game will do some very interesting things incorporating real-world issues into its narrative and gameplay. Under the Waves features some fantastic music, especially after the big story moments. It has phenomenal voice acting that make the voices you hear through calls feel like real people that you know. The story is very well done. It's a slow-burn that escalates with each passing day you play as Stanley. The game doesn't hold back its punches when you get to the finale and it does some very special things to ensure this is a story you will remember. What is the gameplay of Under the Waves like? The best description I can provide is cathartic. It is a no-stress environment. Crafting and looting is based on cleaning up the ocean by picking up plastic and metal debris which feels genuinely good to perform. I had an overabundance of materials I didn't need because every time I saw a plastic water bottle I felt the urge to pick it up. Exploring the ocean, seeing wildlife, following squids into caves, and interacting with your animal companions (I love J0) makes for a fantastically cozy time. This is a game you should play slow - take your time with it and just enjoy it. Take in the beauty of the scenery. Don't be in a rush to get everywhere. If this has sold you on the game - great! That leads me finally to a few recommendations I have for anyone just starting. -Test out the graphics settings. The developers took a risk with the film grain and whatnot and personally I enjoy the graphics much more with them turned off, and luckily the developers allow you to adjust them to your preferences. The game is beautiful and in my opinion, best experienced without the camera effects. -Frequently go to the surface with the moon vehicle and just look around. There's nothing special to be gained out of it but it looks cool and you see the world around you change as the game progresses. It's a small detail that has a big impact. -This game is meant to be experienced, not rushed. Explore. Go into caves. Enjoy the scenery and the fauna. -Turn your HUD off when outside of the moon vehicle. It's so much more immersive and generally not needed when in just your diving suit.
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Last Updates
| Steam data | 17 November 2024 23:14 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 22 January 2025 01:06 |
| Steam price | 22 January 2025 20:49 |
| Steam reviews | 21 January 2025 06:05 |
Online players
14
Developer
Parallel Studio
Publisher
Spotlight by Quantic Dream
Release
28 Aug 2023
Platforms