The gaming industry is truly vast, with each month able to gift gamers with dozens of new titles from all over the world. Despite us of Akiba Gamers we specialize in Japanese-style games, it often happens that there are Western titles that capture our attention so much that we feel the desire to talk about them on the site and share our impressions with you, the readers. Under the Waves is one of those games, thanks above all to an art direction capable of fully capturing the dark atmospheres that are reflected within the narrative. For this reason we were happy to accept the publisher’s proposal Quantic Dream to preview the initial stages of the game and immerse ourselves (no pun intended) in the underwater adventure of Stan.
In this article we not only want to give you our first impressions on Under the Wavesbut you will also find a short interview with the development team Parallel Studio concerning some key elements of the game and its themes. Fasten your seatbelts, we start with a new license plate preview Akiba Gamers!
During our test with Under the Waves we had the opportunity to explore a very small part of the game, but that allowed us to have a clear idea of the approach of Parallel Studio for this very special title. We can immediately see how the controls will prove to be extremely practical and intuitive, with the possibility for the protagonist to swim freely to reach otherwise inaccessible elevated areas. One of the key points will be the management of the resources available to us, thanks to the possibility of collecting materials useful for our survival. Although we didn’t get to experience it in the trial version, the team at Quantic Dream revealed to us that in the later stages of the game there will also be a system for creating items.
The atmosphere of the game is very special, with an excellent balance of brightness which perfectly renders the depth of the sea and its vastness. The player will have available a radar to help him navigate even in the darkest settings, which will prove to be an excellent ally especially for larger areas. One of the elements that struck us the most is how the company managed to reflect the ideology of respect for the environment within the game. In fact, it will happen that some consumable items will become waste after use, leaving them to wander the seabed, however, not only will it be counterproductive for the environment but it will deprive us of resources that could prove to be precious in the future.
Since this is a remotely tested demo we can’t give you much information about the game’s performance, but we can tell you about how we are were fascinated by the artistic direction chosen. The style of Under the Waves manages to strike both in its character design and in the creation of the settings. From the boundless and immense abyss to the interiors of the submarine bases characterized by a retro-futuristic look, what we got to see left us very satisfied. Not to mention the excellent English dubbing and the soundtrack characterized by melancholic songs that blend perfectly with the themes of the game.
In addition to the preview test of the game we got to ask some questions to Ronan Coiffec, game director and CEO of Parallel Studio, who kindly replied. Here is our short interview:
For Under the Waves you have chosen a precise historical period, the 70s, albeit varying it in a techno-futuristic version. What were the sources of inspiration behind this choice?
Under The Waves is about nostalgia, the past and memories. It was very important for us to set the game in a nostalgic and comforting universe, so that it is reassuring for the player. We were impressed by the documentaries on Captain Jacques Cousteau’s youth, and I am the son of a sailor, so as a child I often boarded the boats my father worked on. Everything was characterized by that typical design of the 70s and 80s. The choice of this universe proved to be truly fundamental, as it allowed us to create the unique art style that characterizes Under the Waves: all the inorganic elements created by humans, such as research structures and drones, were made in cold tones that are emphasized by the period in which the game is set, while the flora, fauna and human beings themselves have been created using warmer and more captivating tones, in order to emphasize the impact of Humanity on nature.
One of the main themes of the game is that of pain, which the protagonist Stan will face in an introspective and solitary journey. What feelings do you want to convey to those who will play it?
Our intention, which is reflected in Stan’s choice to isolate himself from the rest of the world by going to work at the bottom of the ocean, is to make the player confront everything around him. Often to be able to take a step back and analyze our existence it is necessary to be aware of the nature that surrounds us, of what it is capable of offering and of how it can bring certain things to the surface. The idea is to gradually create a sense of “presence” around the player, something that becomes reassuring in order to keep him going until he reaches his final choices.
Climate change is an extremely important topic today. How did the partnership with Surfrider Foundation Europe come about and what are your goals for this collaboration?
Our partnership started in the early stages of game development. In the past we have worked with the “We Forest” association on our Eqqo project, for the conservation of forests, and this collaboration has been an eye opener. It was a way to anchor a game project to something tangible in the real world and vice versa. For Under The Waves we wanted to create an ecological discourse that uses interactivity as the main language, so we immediately looked for an association to collaborate with. Thanks to a lot of precise information and real facts, the collaboration with Surfrider has allowed us to benefit from a lot of insights that we have managed to insert into the game, both in the main storyline and thanks to specific companies, hidden information that we will only be able to discover by exploring the game world and much more. In this way we managed to combine video game elements and real information, thus giving Surfireder the possibility to communicate its message to the large audience of video game lovers.
Under the Waves will be available worldwide during 2023 on Playstation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Playstation 4, Xbox One and pc. We thank again Quantic Dream for the opportunity to preview it and Parallel Studio for answering our questions.
Were you also fascinated by Under the Waves? What do you expect from the title of Parallel Studio? Let us know in the comments.
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