Song of the Deep
Song of the Deep | |
---|---|
Windows | |
Release | July 12, 2016 |
Genre(s) | Action-adventure, Metroidvania |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Song of the Deep is an
published the game, under the brand of GameTrust Games, the chain's first foray into such distribution.Plot and gameplay
Song of the Deep has the player control Merryn, a 12-year-old girl who loves her father, a fisherman, especially when he tells her tall tales of his adventures. When her father goes missing at sea one day, she has a vision of him being trapped at the depths of the ocean. Determined to find him, she crafts a submarine and gear to explore the ocean, and is startled to see that many of her father's tales were actually true.[2]
The game plays as a two-dimensional
Throughout the gameplay, a narrator tells players Merryn's progress and things seen in Merryn's point of view. The narration is performed by Siobhan Hewlett.
Development
Insomniac's chief creative officer, Brian Hastings, considered Song of the Deep as a "passion project",[2][3] wanting to create a heroine that his daughter could look up to.[4] Hastings wanted this heroine to be different from the typical female hero found in video games, which tend to be "pretty", "sexy" or "badass", and instead give the heroine attributes that would reinforce positive qualities about his own daughter, "intelligence, creativity, kindness and resilience".[4] A further influence for the heroine was the favorable feedback that Insomniac has received over the years from fans, praising with how the developers were able to create characters they could identify with.[2][3]
Song of the Deep was developed by a small, fifteen-person team at
Song of the Deep' narrative was inspired by Irish mythology, and its visual appearance from the Cliffs of Moher.[2][3] The choice of a Metroidvania-style game, according to Hastings, is "just something we've never done and we wanted to",[3] noting that the team are fans of this genre and makes a perfect approach for a game about exploring and finding secrets.[4] The approach to the game, focusing more on the exploration of the world rather than combat, was to make the game more like a "children's science museum on an alien planet".[3] The game is presented interspersed with artbook as if from a children's book, and Insomniac worked with Sterling Publishing to release a companion children's book for the title.[3]
The retail chain
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | (PC) 73/100[8] (PS4) 69/100[9] (XONE) 66/100[10] |
Publication | Score |
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Destructoid | 7/10[11] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 5.5/10[12] |
Game Informer | 7/10[13] |
GameSpot | 6/10[14] |
GamesRadar+ | [15] |
IGN | 6/10[16] |
Polygon | 7/10[17] |
VideoGamer.com | 7/10[18] |
Song of the Deep received "mixed or average" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[8][9][10]
GameStop reported that 120,000 units of the game had sold by August 2016, with about 80% of these from retail sales.[19]
References
- ^ Cornea, Alexa (January 28, 2016). "Insomniac Dares to Dive Deep". GameSpot. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Muncy, Jake (January 29, 2016). "Enchanting Game Song of the Deep Wants You to Feel Tiny". Wired. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i McWhertor, Michael (January 28, 2016). "Insomniac Games Reveals Song of the Deep". Polygon. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ Gamasutra. June 29, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
- Gamasutra. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
- ^ Gaudiosi, John (January 28, 2016). "GameStop Dives Into Publishing With 'Song of the Deep'". Fortune. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- MCV. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
- ^ a b "Song of the Deep for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ a b "Song of the Deep for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ a b "Song of the Deep for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ Carter, Chris (July 8, 2016). "Review: Song of the Deep". Destructoid. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ Carsillo, Ray (July 14, 2016). "Song of the Deep review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
- ^ Gwaltney, Javy (July 8, 2016). "An Endearing But Rocky Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea - Song of the Deep - PlayStation 4". Game Informer. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ Butterworth, Scott (July 8, 2016). "Song of the Deep Review". GameSpot. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- GamesRadar. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
- ^ Sliva, Marty (July 11, 2016). "Song of the Deep". IGN. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
- ^ Gies, Arthur (July 8, 2016). "Song of the Deep review". Polygon. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ^ Orry, Tom (July 8, 2016). "Song of the Deep Review". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- Gamasutra. Retrieved August 26, 2016.