Holly Faye Dixon
A Deep Dive Into
Codename: Ocean Keeper
Last month, I was approached by RetroStyle Games to play their new demo for Codename: Ocean Keeper, a Rogue-lite bullet-hell game that is a blend of Subnautica and Vampire Survivors: a perfect balance of monster-induced stress and calming diving mechanics.
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I have a guilty confession to make: bullet-hell Rogue-lites are not my favourite genre.
When I played Vampire Survivors, I felt like my eyes were sizzling. Famously, the flashing lights and visuals are so explosive and chaotic that seizure warnings were necessary for people prone to epileptic fits. I found it incredibly difficult to focus or understand what was happening on screen in the short bursts between hordes. More so, I am often frustrated by the nature of bullet-hells, specifically the fact that I fundamentally cannot control my weapons, and my primary objective is dodging projectiles. Not that I am particularly skilled when I am in control of weapons (as anyone who has experienced relentless friendly fire in a game of CSGO with me can attest) but bullet-heavens are typically my preference for making me feel like my actions count.
This being said, Ocean Keeper was the refreshing, soothing alternative to the frenzied fast pace style of fan favourite Vampire Survivors. This underwater utopia champions two major game play mechanics: diving for precious resources and fending off hordes of swarming sea monsters. I can conclude that this is no bullet-hell that I swore off, more a peaceful bullet-purgatory. This is a controversial opinion, but the several hours that I played of this demo were not nearly half as stressful as two minutes of Vampire Survivors.
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Diving is tranquil in Ocean Keeper; divers use their diggers to uncover sparkling gems from the sea bed, set to oceanscapes and pensive music, as a welcome break from combat chaos. Even with the dreaded timer ticking away in the background - counting down the player’s oxygen and the arrival of the next swarm of monsters - deep diving to collect currency was undeniably satisfying. It was pleasantly nostalgic of the 1999 Mr Driller arcade game that I played on repeat as a child.
Even for a combat novice like myself, the hordes of monsters were also surprisingly easy to tackle. Using the mouse to point and aim (and occasionally fleeing slowly to avoid being lunged at by water spiders), I survived at least two rounds in a row each playthrough without a great deal of stress as the creatures descended from all angles at a manageable, leisurely pace. One of my favourite parts of Ocean Keeper was the randomised hordes of sea monsters in all their glory; from creepy glowing water spiders to stealthy snakes rising from the sand to tentacled sting ray hybrids shooting lasers, the different designs and kill styles of these fascinating creatures succeeded in putting me on edge for each new wave, never knowing which direction my new enemies would come from.
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Player patience may be the main downfall of Ocean Keeper. Without any upgrades, the robotic playable spider moves very slowly, almost painfully so for those impatient to explore the map or sprint in a cowardly fashion from monsters. To upgrade Mech Speed, it is necessary to grind through multiple rounds to earn hundreds of in-game metacurrency, ten gems at a time. Simple enough, except, there are also limits on the number of gems that can be collected per dive (called the Carry Slowdown), as divers will become lethally slow if they pick up more than six resources at a time; this makes it impossible to stockpile mass amounts and forces players to slow down. During one playthrough lasting two hours, I had only amassed 1,500 in-game currency, which I spent as frugally as possible on three upgrades - and I honestly could barely notice the difference in the gameplay afterwards.
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Players will discover that almost every aspect of game play will need at least one or two upgrades, from the Mech Speed, Carry Slowdown, digger power to weaponry and skills. Without upgrades, the game can become tedious and snail-paced as players grind to afford items that typically all cost 500 each. While this does make upgrades hugely desirable, my suggestion to developers would be a more strategically tiered pricing system, whereby more essential qualities like Mech Speed and Carry Slowdown are made cheaper and more attainable. This will fast track the player’s ability to enjoy and succeed in Ocean Keeper, without feeling worn down by high pay walls for every item.
One of the first things I noticed about Ocean Keeper in the demo version is the tutorial. The text seems to run quite fast and skip quickly without any prompts from players impatiently hitting buttons. I found the blur of information quite hard to read and take in during the first minute, and then I mourned its absence afterwards, as I couldn’t seem to find a way to double check the tutorials or read hints and tips in the settings. I actually learned a lot about the game’s mechanics from a YouTube reviewer (Subjectively Unbiased), but not directly from Ocean Keeper itself.
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The descriptors on items in Ocean Keeper are currently sparse to non-existent; I assumed that expensive weapons would deal more damage, but didn’t know what the difference in combat style would be from looking at the product in the shop. It isn’t obvious what paying for Carry Slowdown or Cave Indicators will do until it is already on your build. Perhaps a lot of these features are obvious to bullet-hell Rogue-lite veterans, but to newcomers, figuring out the basic information about weapons and equipment from walkthroughs online instead of from in-game descriptors, hints and tricks may be a huge learning curve to overcome, and some may be left behind. However, this can easily be solved with the addition of some extra tutorials by the developers, which we can hope to see in future versions.
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Keeping track of which caves have been excavated and which are still untouched can be a bit of a nightmare in early gameplay. The cave entrances (blue, glowing entities that look like anemones) are all identical, so if players stray from their starting spot, they will immediately struggle to remember what parts of the map they have conquered. There is a Cave Indicator upgrade, and while I wasn’t able to earn enough money to maximise its full potential, its base level didn’t clearly show me which caves I had started to explore, and which were still on my to-do list. Nor was I congratulated for the caves I completed successfully, which brings me to the difficulty and reward system.
Download the Demo for Codename: Ocean Keeper Here and show your support for RetroStyle Games’ newest venture by Adding To Your Wishlist.
The sheer amount of grinding required at the start of this game creates a very level playing field. Even skilled gamers probably would find themselves grinding for quite a while to earn the upgrades needed to create an effective build; even novices can methodically chip away at the repetitive gameplay to climb their way up the upgrades ladder to speedier, more thrilling gameplay. Perhaps developers might consider adding another level of skill to gameplay, to challenge players or deviate from the rinse, repeat cycle of diving and combat. Perhaps more rewards and acknowledgement of achievements are needed to celebrate players who succeed. Take for example the game over screen, which displays the player’s kill scores and statistics, but doesn’t rank them from previous achievements or praise improvements. This is an easy fix that I would definitely recommend.
Codename: Ocean Keeper impressed me as a bold stand out in a market where massively popular bullet-hell and ocean-based games like Vampire Survivors and Subnautica reign supreme. While I believe there are still many steps left to take to steer the Ocean Keeper demo on the path to be a beloved favourite, this is undoubtedly a strong start to a promising newcomer in the Rogue-lite genre.
Download the Demo for
Show your support for RetroStyle Games’ newest venture by Adding Ocean Keeper To Your Wishlist.