Depths Sickness by Nilan

[raw]
made by Nilan for Ludum Dare 57 (COMPO)

This is a game about diving underwater to rescue lost explorers. You'll gradually venture deeper, unlock more powerful equipment, and strive to bring them back alive.

ezgif-37f8175a00ac3e.gif

Features: - complex underwater maps - 8 lost explorers - 6 upgrade items - 2 assistive tools

Control: - WS: Move - AD: Rotate

Ratings

Overall 126th 3.526⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Fun 84th 3.579⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 58th 3.789⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Theme 42th 4.105⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 222th 3.105⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Humor 128th 2.868⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Mood 207th 3.132⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 26🗳️ 3🗨️

Feedback

Colisan
07. Apr 2025 · 20:45 UTC
Yaaay!

![firefox_2025-04-07_22-43-07.png](///raw/f15/c/z/6a6bd.png)

I loved that you can go up and fly right into space :joy:

Very nice compo game, the movement mechanic is original and it felt great to play. Maybe the economic aspect could be balanced a bit, I felt that I had too much money too fast, and it made the game pretty easy. Enjoyed it anyway =)

Nice keyart too

Overall, well done!
voidsrc
08. Apr 2025 · 13:13 UTC
At first, I thought it would be just another game about diving... but I was so wrong! Very neat idea with the controls. As someone who gets dizzy easily, it feels very convenient. Great little game!:)
gdman
13. Apr 2025 · 20:19 UTC
Very cool idea how to keep depths (even two of them) and also with having more degrees of view! I rushed a bit too much and carried dead body, but guess just need some more practice to beat game.
Tad I Guess
16. Apr 2025 · 13:49 UTC
This is a really cool concept, I really love the movement and screen flipping. Some sounds would've gone a long way, but still enjoyed the gameplay. Also very funny that you can fly off into space and die.
KirLosev
16. Apr 2025 · 14:09 UTC
Hi! The game is very interesting. After the first look I've expected gameplay to be something like Feed the Deep, but I didn't expect the turn based mechanic and was surprised how well it worked. It made me feel more like a strategy game which is quite an novel for such underwater setting in my opinion. Hexagonal map is also made the decisions more interesting and moment-to-moment gameplay more fun.
ShadyShade
16. Apr 2025 · 14:21 UTC
Hey! It was a game with a very addictive gameplay.
Nice job! :thumbsup_tone1:
Game-mon
16. Apr 2025 · 14:29 UTC
Cool concept, loved the hex grid and procedurally generated depths!

It's a bit disorienting to have the camera rotate with the player (but i can understand it's intended) and being able to keep pressing the move key to advance would make the gameplay smoother. Also the art on the cover looks incredible and i feel like it's a shame the game itself doesn't really follow the artstyle (would love it if the in-game player sprite would be the one from the cover).

Overall a cool entry!
VertSight
16. Apr 2025 · 15:40 UTC
Very cool concept!!
I got lost and lost a couple of divers somewhere, which once again proves that I can't be trusted with rescue operations...

I liked it! The divers who died because of me are probably not as delighted, but we can't ask them anymore
designernap
17. Apr 2025 · 12:09 UTC
I really like this. I also laughed at the idea of rescuing someone who is like "Here is $200!" :D Great entry
Spookyman999
19. Apr 2025 · 15:22 UTC
the ui may be a lil messy but i liked it!, good entry good job!
henk
19. Apr 2025 · 17:09 UTC
There were a lot of fun mechanics here. Some issues I ran into while playing:
- When I die I lose all of my oxygen cylinders, which is enough of a handicap that I would
just give up when that happened and refresh the page to start over
- Moving long distances requires a lot of button mashing which is a bit unpleasant on my fingers
- When I've lost all my cylinders on death, the shop disallows me from restocking, even if
I have the money for it.
- At some point the "compass" arrow broke and started pointing in the completely wrong
direction, forcing me to restart.
- If your oxygen is almost out by the time you hit a cave, the cave won't refill your oxygen
- Buying one rope gives you infinite rope. If this is intentional, then it's not clear why
I'm allowed to buy multiple ropes in the first place.
Kabbi
20. Apr 2025 · 08:58 UTC
I love EVERYTHING about this game) The navigation is genuinely challenging and demanding, but not in an annoying way. Hexagons are bestagons! And in general it plays like a great complete game, that we could not always achieve in a jam format, that you did in compo!
Liam
20. Apr 2025 · 10:47 UTC
Great fun! Played for way longer than I expected to, really nice mechanics (some balance issues / bugs). Thanks for making!
bentglasstube
21. Apr 2025 · 01:39 UTC
This game looks interesting, but I'm not sure what to do with the source code download. You should mention how to play in the description or add a web or other build.
Asieke
21. Apr 2025 · 03:03 UTC
Very fun game! All that turning sure left me dizzy!
ChuChuGeralt
21. Apr 2025 · 09:54 UTC
Nice Entry with an interesting Input system!
I did like the input system and the resulting "dizzyness" of it. The way that you get lost in the cave in the lower area was a nice touch. The items were a good addtion to the game and helped to find a way back home.
thomz12
21. Apr 2025 · 13:07 UTC
Very fun making the movement disorientating. I've lost many divers because I forgot to give them oxygen bottles.

Great job!