In The Darkness Of The Sea | Review | Whales and Boats and Whales Again
12I’m going to talk about In The Darkness Of The Sea for a few minutes. The fact that this talk might outrun that actual time it takes to play In The Darkness Of The Sea is… maybe ironic. Some might say that. I’m entirely sure irony works that way, but whatever.
In The Darkness of the Sea is a free PC game developed by Olivier LeClair, and it concerns a person stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean. Right off the bat, it’s an incredibly atmospheric game. That’s the first thing I’ll point out. I don’t care who you are: the ocean at night is creepy, and the score and sounds of whales calling with no signs of land in sight? That’s a pretty grand mood to start us out with.
Sadly, it doesn’t really go anywhere from there. In The Darkness Of The Sea is just the kind of game that games journos and enthusiasts have been debating about since a caveman named Gorg created a game about one rock learning about itself in a Neolithic age.
“Is not game,” said the Orkchak, the first games enthusiast ever.
“Where gameplay? Where advancement system?”
“Is more of interactive experience,” explained Gorg. “Games not limited to gameplay.”
Orkchak thought this one over for a full minute, and then sacrificed Gorg to the sun gods in exchange for a full harvest.
Oh, Orkchak: you would have loved Twitter.
There isn’t a lot to In The Darkness Of The Sea. Which wouldn’t bother me if it weren’t for the fact that it really doesn’t go out of its way to explain what little gameplay it actually has. You dodge whales and the odd flying fish by speeding up or slowing down your boat, right up until you’re caught in a storm. You manage to escape the storm by… Christ, I’m not actually sure. My experience was one of trial and error until I finally got through it. And then, a little while later, the game just… ends. No epilogue, no explanation. You were paddling and now you’re not.
I enjoyed the atmosphere of The Darkness Of The Sea. I like a good mood in my games, whether they’re heavy AAA titles or light indie affairs. Sadly, mood is really all that this one offers. It starts and then it’s over and nothing is explained, but not in the “oh my gosh, there are so many secrets to uncover here” sort of way. It’s the gaming equivalent of a coworker’s disappointing weekend story.
“I was there in the ocean, paddling. Whales were all around me.
Their siren songs echoed off the clouds.”
You’re breathless with anticipation.
“And then what happened?”
“Eh, me and wife when to Cheesecake Factory for lunch.”
“Oh. Huh.”
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