In Other Waters

An absolutely stellar game. Great story, amazing soundtrack, and fun tactile gameplay.

delightful exploration game, mellow and interesting.

A beautiful piece of art. Despite the elegantly small amount of game mechanics it manages to ramp up the tension when necessary and tell a lovely story.

An excellent, bite-sized glance into an aquatic, alien world. I find myself booting up the game occasionally simply for the ambiance, as the sound design is THAT good. Walking and reading is the main gameplay loop, but for how short it is, it's workable.
Verdict: Pick it up on sale due to the length, 8.5/10.

9 / 10
TLDR: Handcrafted.
A beautifully made game of exploration and discovery. The writing is superb and, though the UI is sublimely minimalist, it still manages to convey feelings of both wonder and dread. Both the colour palette and audio - and their changes as the game progresses - are fantastic.
Though strongly story-driven, In Other Waters remains an actual game without quite becoming an "experience" or walking-sim. Not too long - about a dozen hours - it won't outstay its welcome, but instead leave you wanting just a little more.
Wonderful.

As a person who's very passionate about fantasy world building and biology this game is a dream come true. Phenomenal story, had me gasping out loud several times, and the way the game forces you to go at a consistent pace really adds to the suspense of a lot of moments. I struggled at a few moments to figure out where to go but it wasn't anything a little bit of exploring and backtracking couldn't fix. 10/10.

love the game very creature coded, we need more fanart of the silly creatures and a plush of the cutest one. i beg.

Originally posted on Dragon Quill. Comments are enabled there.

A game with a similar premise as Subnautica: You are a biologist who has landed alone on an oceanic alien planet, and must explore its life and secrets. The gameplay is much simpler than Subnautica: the interface is an abstract top-down map and you can only move between specific points. There are some light survival mechanics, as you lose oxygen and power as you traverse the seafloor and must restore it with scavenged materials, but you’re never far from a checkpoint and you’re given plenty of items to keep yourself topped up. All in all, it makes me feel like this would have been better as a novel; the gameplay adds little beyond potentially causing you to miss out on lore hidden behind a path you didn’t take. It also auto-advances text despite not having voice acting, which was baffling and frustrating. Give me time to read!

The story itself was good, if a little on the simple side. The speculative biology was fun, and I liked that there was a focus on fungal and sessile organisms, which are often overlooked in media. The lack of defined gameplay probably contributed to this, as there was no need for giant sea monsters as in Subnautica. It also managed to have an anticapitalist environmentalist message that ended on an optimistic note, which was nice.

Very interesting and engaging game. I enjoyed exploring the alien ecosystem, and the choice to position the player not as the protagonist, but the suit worn by the protagonist was an interesting one.

Whilst I did enjoy the descriptions and sketches of the ecosystem, it made me want to see it myself, so the only feature I would want to see added would be a camera or select photos of the ecosystem from EV's point of view. Still, it is a fun activity to imagine what i would look like to her, which was likely the intention,

this game is heartbreaking and beautiful, the UI is so unique and interesting
any specbio or ecology lovers will fall in love with this game

I enjoyed it a lot. The story reminded me of Subnautica but a little different. It is a simple game in both gameplay and story and you can complete it in one sit-down. I was actually expecting a little bit more and so am a little disappointed in that aspect but overall it is an enjoyable game.
The gameplay can get a little bit repetitive but at the same time it is short.

I don't think I will play it again but it was a fun short experience

In Other Waters is one of the best games I have ever played. I originally passed it over because the idea of swimming around cataloguing organisms didn't sound very compelling, but I immediately bought it after I played the developer's second game Citizen Sleeper, which was excellent. Well silly me because this game is even better than Citizen Sleeper.

It's essentially an oldskool text adventure where you navigate from node to node on a map and read the descriptions at each location, occasionally encountering an organism to catalogue, a sample to collect, a log to scan and so on. Unlike Citizen Sleeper, there is no annoying randomness or time limit mechanic, and for the most part you just get to explore the world at your own pace. The music is phenomenal, the perfect balance of ambience with melodic hooks to build familiarity and comfort.

For me, this game brought me back to my childhood years playing games like Battletech: Crescent Hawk's Inception, worlds that perhaps didn't have all that detailed of a core storyline - you could summarize this one in a sentence or two - but that felt backed by a rich lore that piques your curiosity and has you imagining all the other stories happening in its universe. There are a few clunky lines, especially toward the end where it gets a bit too on-the-nose with its environmentalist message, but for the most part I felt a connection to the main character and was thrilled to explore the world.

It's the kind of game where it ends just before the loop gets stale, and you're left wishing that you could take off the planet and land on another one then do it all over again. Imagine if Mass Effect or Starfield had this kind of bespoke storyline and ecology on every uncolonized planet! But perhaps it's good that it leaves you wanting more, so you're not left with any sense of frustration or tedium, just the memory of great music, great writing, simple but evocative color palettes... Truly a gem.

Not for me, I think youtube Essayists oversell this title. This is a clearly intricate game with dedicated lore but having to repeat the same prcoedure EVERY turn gets kind of boring just to read some descriptions of alien fish. Its an interesting game and clearly the abstract nature of not showing you images helps your imagination do the rest of the process when coming into contact with this alien world. However the repetitive nature of the movement system makes it too tedius to play than more than an hour. Its basically an All UI game and while that souds super cool its really tedious sometimes.

Storytelling in videogames can take many forms, and it's always interesting when someone comes up with their own formula, like In Other Waters.

Relaxing and cerebral - another game that reminds me of Le Guin sci-fi, and involves no violence or murder :)

The work put in to fleshing out the life-forms I studied alongside Ellery Vas is really very impressive. And as I pieced together her past and that of the Earth she had left behind, it started to seem very much like where our own is headed.

10/10 would roleplay as a benevolent AI with a mysterious past again.

Fascinating worldbuilding and excellent story and writing

A short game of quiet contemplative exploration, surrounded by soothing synth wave music and immersive soundscapes. This is a relaxing experience with a simple story and mechanics that don't demand too much of the player.

The story is told through Ellery's observations as you (the AI in her dive suit) scan the environment and discover what happened to this ocean planet and her friend Minae, the scientist who was exploring this planet before her.

Recommend for people looking for a short yet immersive story that you can complete in a single sitting.

Another game I can't easily decide whether or not to recommend it. I love the story idea and vibe of exploring the oceans of a new planet as the AI of a xenobiologist. I hear it has a great story. I'm a huge fan of walking simulators, low key exploration games, etc. But the movement is so. sloooooow. There is a huge map to explore and no clear markers or indicators, which OK that is a choice, but makes for lots of retreading. Each step forward takes 3 clicks and like 5 full seconds. So you are slowly crawling through the map, picking up random spores, and no indication of whether you collected the thing indicated on the map back at the base. No way to warp back to the base either.

Overall it feels like real science; fascinating, compelling, achingly slow, full of trial and error and setbacks and retreading. The game could be so much more accessible if movement was made faster and smoother. The controls are hard to get the hang of too, maybe I could get used to it if I put more time into it but after over an hour I was still hitting the wrong buttons, and I don't have the patience to crawl across the map.

Nice little atmospheric game. It starts quiet simple, but once you dive into the story and start to use the keyboard shortcuts (only 3) the game becomes very smooth and the hours pass without noticing. :)

Nothing has caught my eye quite like this game. The minimalist UI and deep story has kept me hooked. Not to mention the music, absolutely hypnotizing. I use this game to relieve any stress I have and it's a truly calming experience

The gameplay is too tedious, combined with too bare-bones, for the narrative to carry it.

The immersive sound design, peaceful soundtrack, detailed storytelling, and ocean setting came together for an engaging game! Experiencing the story through simplified 2D gameplay was something I didn't mind. It felt like it gave room to let my mind wonder. My fear of oceans was definitely a double edged sword throughout playing this game. Loved it!

beautiful storytelling, simple mechanically but beautiful atmospherically. Exactly what an indie game should be.

This is a great game, if you're looking for something which is lighter on game play but still has a world building

Incredible looks and soundtrack, the story telling is amazing. For this price this game is a steal, one of the best singleplayer games I've played in a while

I bought this game because I really enjoy speculative biology, alien life sort of stories. You don't even get to see the creatures though. Just drawings of them. The drawings are good though. I did not finish the game. I never really had the interest in finishing it.

What a beautiful looking UI to accompany such a rich description of the world through in game readable files. This game was so much fun to play through and I appreciated that it was short and that it allows you to finish discovering all the fauna and flora in the game after the storyline. This game had such fantastic music and sound fx, but it really needed a voice actor. A dedicated voice actor would have elevated the game to new heights. Honestly, such a good game.

fantastic sound design

In other waters is amazing, the artwork is beautiful and the story is addicting.
I understand why some people might hate it for not being a fast paced fps or their style but i will recommend it every time.
11/10

This game was very enjoyable. The pacing is on the slower side but in my opinion that helps the anticipation build as you slowly learn information. It is, at it's core, an exploration game. As long as you don't go in expecting to be met with challenging puzzles, you'll find the artwork, the story, and the world-building are all delightful. I was emotionally invested and unlike some games, the ending left me satisfied. While it may not be a great game for replays, my first play through was very rewarding.

Kinda like subnautica played from al-an's pov, or an ai running your ship&suit systems, its fun and calm while having an enjoyable story. Also notably less thalassaphobia for anyone who doesn't care for open water.

jogasso, otima historia, quase chorei no final

You know a game is full of itself when most of the trailer is about reviews from sites you've never heard of.
What little pics are listed here made me think this would be an Iron Lung type game where navigation is the main challange. But you just click on map nodes, and the game takes your there automatically, which seems to be the whole game.

Reading simulator. No map when you're out and about, so I have no idea where I'm going or where anything is.

This game is so simple yet so fascinating! The exploration loop is downright addicting and the music does its part to create a very chill, relaxing experience despite the threat of the unknown (hate hate hate the bloom lol). It grants a very unique experience and perspective and I can't wait to play more!

A decent and reasonably immersive game considering it's simplicity. Really could have done with the nodes appearing on the map as they become scanned.

Gorgeous game with an incredible soundtrack, so glad a friend convinced me to give a try!

I had totally forgotten what this game was about when I just bought it - had wishlisted it months ago. Going into it, immediately there's a feeling of not knowing where or who I am, which is absolutely perfect design. The music is beautiful and so is the story and gameplay. It's simple and it's relaxing - exactly what I needed today!

Imagine narrowing down your options to a few clicks, yet you still can't get how the hell you're supposed to progress. Its really disappointing, the game looked cool and the concept was interesting, but it doesn't seem to be that complex to be this unclear.

This was the first game I bought on Steam, and not once did I ever regret playing. If you love speculative ecology & exploration mixed with storytelling that can really make you think, this is an excellent game for you.

I first found out about this game in a video from Curious Archive, a channel that discusses speculative evolution projects as well as discussing interesting tropes in media. The description & clips shown of this game caught my attention, so when I finally made my own Steam account, this was among the first games I bought.

As I was exploring the environment of the water world, I found myself exploring every little nook and cranny I could find, trying to discover everything, wondering what new lifeforms were hiding around each corner, just waiting to be discovered. Simultaneously, I found myself wholeheartedly invested in the story.
Without spoiling too much, I will say that some aspects of the story left me with a few questions by the end, but in this case, I feel it works in the game's favor. I want to know more about this incredible planet! I want to see what other forms of life have appeared, how big they can get, how they adapted to challenges both native and foreign!

Don't be deceived by the simple-seeming appearance of the graphics or gameplay. While it may seem bland at a glance, once you start playing, you realize there is so much more to In Other Waters that, in my opinion, makes it worth every cent!

Simple cozy game

light on gameplay but the worldbuilding is good; it's also nice to look at

Beautiful and capturing

it's essentially a text based adventure within a claustrophobic environment and with unwieldy controls.
This is not for me, I get that some people might like it.

Amazing world-building and story, very cool art as well

A beautiful meditation on the wonder of the world around us and the importance of keeping it alive.

While this game, with its text-heavy exploration, abstract art style and not particularly exciting moment to moment gameplay might not be for everyone, If you are looking for a serene contemplative experience that lets your mind's eye wander, it might very much be for you.

The way I unearthed the layers of this alien ecosystem, specie by specie, description by description, each one more evocative than the last and revealing new aspects of the subject for me to imagine, just gripped me in its own unique way. A kind of zen sci-fi, fiction just for its own sake.

In other words I went on a walk after I finished it and saw a pretty blue bird. Instead of just smiling and walking past I took a picture of it and managed to find the specie to read up more on it. Call me Minae

An incredible story game that blows every other VN out of the water. Clearly a labor of love along every axis.

A treasured experience of mine. If you're interested in an intriguing world to explore from a audio/textual experience, this game is so wonderful! It's use of simplistic visuals gives the game a book like feel, where the details are filled in by what you read and hear as well as the sparse visual details available. The result is a world that feels rich and full of life that immerses you even if you can't see it, or at least if you have the right kind of mind to imagine it so :)

banger

I liked the game, and the way the world is explained, sometimes the contrast is not the best for reading, but other than that i really liked the story and the way the game works.