Nauticrawl

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Good, Brief Adventure

Overall, a fun experience. The "puzzle" aspect was hardly an issue, maybe because I have basic knowledge of vehicle control schemes. The onboard computer UI was klunky, probably intentionally, but still was annoying. The story was decent. The mechanics were simple once you understood a few basics, e.g. you'll probably die one or twice while you learn them.

Worth a try on a deep sale (which is what I did) and it was a fun evening.

Very nice game. not too long, about 5h playtime. played it together with friends through family share. so my playtime is short. if you like exploring and finding out for yourself, you will probably like it.

The Joy In Learning How To Drive A Nauticrawl

A game where the player is left to figure out how to operate a complex machine in a hostile environment is quite bold and appealing. Understanding the machine does brings a sense of satisfaction and fondness to it despite its issues which shows the design works as intended. Beyond the other game issues, this short game is definitely worth trying.

What is disappointing though is how short or not as rewarding despite the initial complexity. Learning how to even operate the thing is fun early on but actually operating and progressing through is really awkward specially with a controller or a SteamDeck although a keyboard and mouse setup may be intended. With either control style, the camera swivels made me motion sick so a fixed camera accessiblity option would be appreciated. Aside from the small switches and font sizes, the nobs which require mouse holds feel so bad with a small screen or resolution for tiny adjustments without a mouse sensitivity slider. I just wish there was a keybinding option for every or even just most interactions given some ship movements have keybinds. I know what I need to do but the controls are ruining my immersion.

Assuming one is at peace with the controls, the game does not much have much complexity outside of micromanaging fuel and energy to the point where taking damage is optional. The map randomization is good but that is pretty much it as following signals is the only decision. No strong route planning or resource management to add flavor or depth in movement. I am a bit torn though about the game mixing turn-based and realtime movement or timings as demand precision with imprecise controls where I can see it adding a little variety. While there are other phases and machines, it highlights the limits of the game's concept where it loses the joy of its trial-and-error discovery.

Again, all this is wrapped up in a short game so most of the issues don't stay for long. In retrospect, the developer of the game made a VR successor which might be the more appropriate control scheme. Still, I do want more of this and recommend it.

Lovely little experience. I loved figuring out how things worked, and the aesthetic is incredible. In the future, I would just do three things a little differently.

1- The resources aren't as sparse as the narrative would make it seem. Fuel was so plentiful that I had to start selling it to offload weight, and the repair packs were far more common that I was using them. I think the main reason for this is that every turret has fuel, repair packs, batteries- and the only risk in getting them is raising an alarm. Who answers this alarm? Security drones, packed with fuel, repair packs, and batteries. This doesn't really damage the gameplay (it's mostly about managing systems, not resources), but it does undercut the tone a little.

2- The movement is interesting for a little bit, but does get tedious after a while. You're almost always sneaking around, and so setting your engines low and efficient is almost mandatory. This means you're quite literally crawling through the narrative, which is thematic for a big lumbering hunk of steel, but again, gets tedious.

2- The gates have no visual cue- the only way to tell there is a gate is to interact with the button. This doesn't really affect the rest of the game, but it did give me a little hangup at the start. I misread the description of the button to exit the starting area, and thought the gate was a little door to access the resources inside it. So, I opened it, grabbed the stash, and then closed it again. Took me 10 minutes to figure that one out.

The sound design was incredible, the layouts (even if intentionally unmarked) were surprisingly intuitive, and the narrative was very interesting and unexpected. I would buy this again.

Very good and focused at what it does, even if a short experience

Cool idea, but after having to compare a guide to simply start up the engine after it wouldn't start up again on repeat playthroughs after death (activating other switches than the mainframe one before startup seemed to be the issue along with other problems), I've come to the conclusion that the game is bugged, and just can't be sure that if I get stuck later on in the game that I just can't figure out a solution due to me being stupid, or if some glitch is making progress impossible.

This game doesn't do it for me. I figured out how to get it walking and then out of the hangar, but the progression is so slow and there's so much time spent doing nothing that I stopped playing.

This game is awesome. It's not a very long experience, but it's well worth your time. Things start off very difficult because, as the game explains, you don't know how anything in your crawler works. But, as you push buttons and pull levers it begins to come together, and you go from confused to competent.

There are a couple of surprises in store even once you've mastered your crawler, but once you've learned all the tricks, the game goes from a tense puzzle solving experience to one of exploration. Yes, much of the difficulty wears off once you figure out how to acquire resources easily, but it doesn't detract from the fun. Instead of being confused you're now on a mission.

Nauticrawl is a unique experience, and while it is a little short, it is sweet. Very few games put you in the pilot seat like this, where your interaction with the world is restricted to the interface directly around you, but if you like that feeling of mystery and tactile immersion that games like Iron Lung, In Other Waters, Please, Don't Touch Anything, Duskers, and Deadnauts provides, then you'll be right at home with Nauticrawl.

I can't wait to see what the devs do next!

This game went beyond my expectations!

I failed plenty of times, but when I understood how to navigate the nauticrawler. I thought that was the game, navigate through the radar, avoid being blasted to bits and manage fuel consumption. But then the moment came...I realized I just finished the tutorial. Cinema!

This game is part escape room, and part exploration. Can definitely recommend and hope more people play it.

brilliant concept that makes you feel like the Third Doctor figuring out the TARDIS

Bonus points if you jot down a manual while figuring it out

I don't think I've ever uninstalled a game so fast.

This was just not what I was expecting at all. I thought it was more of a puzzle game but it's one of those "most of the challenge is figuring out how to even play" type of "games".

If your stubborn or just like banging your head against a wall over and over then you might like it. If not then stay far away.

Short and sweet! And has some really neat surprises later on! I don't think I explored the world very thoroughly before 'escaping', and I don't know if I'd go back to complete it, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

If I remember correctly though the Mac version isn't especially great and I wondered if it would've been better playing the windows version through Crossover or something.