In Murky Waters by Virtual Turtle Studio

[raw]
made by Virtual Turtle Studio for Ludum Dare 57 (EXTRA)

A research expedition in freezing Antarctic waters goes horribly wrong.

You dive to the bottom of the ocean to find out what happened, and what they found there.

In Murky Waters is an investigative puzzle game set in the spooky environment of a sunken ship.

Controls: WASD + Space & CTRL to move. E to interact.

Disclaimer: this game has creepy vibes, but is NOT a horror game. There are no jumpscares.

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Made in ~2.5 days by me (solo) for the Ludum Dare #57 - Depths

Credits: All code and visual art was made by me. Here are the external assets I used: - Drone move SFX - Youtube Audio Library - Button beep SFX: Youtube Audio Library - Space Ambient SFX - Youtube Audio Library - Paper SFX - Youtube Audio Library - Drone buzz SFX - Door unlock SFX - Door creak SFX - Digital display font - Quick Outline

Ratings

Given 4🗳️ 11🗨️

Feedback

Teist
08. Apr 2025 · 17:09 UTC
Awesome atmosphere, it gave me little outer wilds (dlc) and obra dinn vibes! I forgot to breath while trying to decode the enigma, glad I solved it
🎤 Virtual Turtle Studio
09. Apr 2025 · 07:12 UTC
@teist Thank you so much for playing & the kind words! I really appreciate hearing that you enjoyed it and that you managed to solve the code, good job!
LDJam user 278146
09. Apr 2025 · 07:40 UTC
Liked the simple yet effective graphics, polished UI and the way the music kicks in right at the end.
🎤 Virtual Turtle Studio
09. Apr 2025 · 07:46 UTC
@chybby Thank you so much for giving it a try and I'm glad you enjoyed it and appreciate my efforts to polish it a bit!!
apt_prose7
09. Apr 2025 · 09:22 UTC
The game is cool but the green fog is too thick
Kawair
09. Apr 2025 · 09:39 UTC
Like your game so much! Especially these low poly models and sounds, which create a mysterious and adventurous environment .
Maybe you can add more gameplay into it!Perhaps the lidar gameplay used in my game Sonar could be given a try?(NOT Ads😆)
BalimaarTheBassFish
09. Apr 2025 · 09:43 UTC
Loved about 99% of it. The core gameplay of searching for clues was nice and well executed. The ending for me felt a little rushed and I wanted to know what brought the ship down. Loved the atmosphere, loved the music. All in all a very fun experience!
🎤 Virtual Turtle Studio
09. Apr 2025 · 11:33 UTC
@kawair Thanks for giving it a try and I'm glad you liked it! I'll check out your sonar game as well :D

@balimaarthebassfish Thanks for the kind words and for giving it a try! The ending was a little rushed, if I'm honest. I kind of ran out of time and had to take the route of keeping the story vague. But I would have loved to expand upon what exactly happened to the ship and what the crew found here. I might update the game after the rating period had ended with some more explorables that add to the story. If you're interested (and a bit of a spoiler), the 'matter' that the crew found turned out to be contagious and it slowly infected all the crewmates until they were unable to operate the ship and it crashed. This is also why the final matter sample you find has the same glowy effect as the people on the ship. Thanks for your feedback!
Dywanix
09. Apr 2025 · 14:58 UTC
really nice artstyle!
ZuhairGhias
10. Apr 2025 · 01:08 UTC
![Screenshot 2025-04-09 200735.png](///raw/d6f/41/z/6bd30.png)

Loved mood and atmosphere. Awesome submission.
🎤 Virtual Turtle Studio
10. Apr 2025 · 09:08 UTC
@dywanix Thank you!!

@zuhairghias Awesome, thanks for playing the game and finishing it! Glad you liked the mood :D
Static_Leap_Studios
21. Apr 2025 · 18:25 UTC
I liked the puzzle, not too hard, not too obvious!