In Other Waters

In Other Waters is a 2020 adventure game for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Nintendo Switch. Players take on the role of an AI that assists a xenobiologist in exploring an alien world.

In Other Waters
Developer(s)Jump Over the Age
Publisher(s)Fellow Traveller
Designer(s)Gareth Damian Martin
Writer(s)Gareth Damian Martin
Composer(s)Amos Roddy
EngineUnity[1]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
macOS
Nintendo Switch
Release3 April 2020
Genre(s)Adventure game
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

Ellery Vas, a xenobiologist employed by an interplanetary mining corporation, arrives on an alien planet GJ 667 cc (real exoplanet) . Players control an artificial intelligence Ellery depends on to monitor her life support, collect and analyze samples, and manage the goals she sets for the mission. Players cannot directly interact with the world itself but receive feedback from Ellery based on her observations.[2]

Development

Jump Over the Age is a one-person studio based in London.[3] Gareth Damian Martin did most of the game development themself. Although they had experience in the industry, they are self-taught in developing games in Unity. Martin said they wanted to create a world using text and the game's user interface rather than direct experience. The initial idea came when Martin combined three interests: diving, climate change and video games.[1]

Reception

On Metacritic, the PC version received mixed reviews, and the Switch version received positive reviews.[12][13] Alice Bell of Rock Paper Shotgun called it a "very meditative" game that is "possibly exactly what you need right now". Bell wrote that, even when uncovering dark secrets about the planet, it "remains calming and lovely".[14] Also describing it as "meditative", Eurogamer's reviewer, Edwin Evans-Thirlwell, recommended the game for its "hypnotic art, otherworldly audio and captivating writing".[2] Rachel Watts of PC Gamer called it "a gentle and engrossing underwater sci-fi game that will have you thinking about more than what lies beneath the waves".[15] Writing for Game Informer, Matthew Kato said that it "succeeds more as an exercise in world building than as an exciting adventure game" because of the lack of puzzles and repetitive gameplay.[16]

See also

References
  1. Byrnes, Emily (March 3, 2020). "Interview With The Mind Behind In Other Waters: Gareth Damian Martin". GameSpace.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  2. Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (May 4, 2020). "In Other Waters review - an ocean sanctuary for the meditative explorer". Eurogamer. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  3. "Gareth Damian Martin". Twitter. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  4. "In Other Waters Critic Reviews for PC". Metacritic. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  5. Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (April 2, 2020). "In Other Waters review - an ocean sanctuary for the meditative explorer". Eurogamer. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  6. Kato, Matthew (April 3, 2020). "In Other Waters Review – The Pursuit Of Knowledge". Game Informer. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  7. Wildgoose, David (April 3, 2020). "In Other Waters Review". GameSpot. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  8. L'avis de (April 15, 2020). "Test In Other Waters : une plongée abstraite au coeur d'un océan alien". Jeuxvideo.com. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  9. Gipp, Stuart (April 14, 2021). "In Other Waters Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  10. DeWitte, Joel (April 14, 2021). "In Other Waters (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  11. Watts, Rachel (April 1, 2020). "In Other Waters review". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  12. "In Other Waters (PC)". Metacritic. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  13. "In Other Waters (Switch)". Metacritic. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  14. Bell, Alice (May 31, 2020). "Wot I Think: In Other Waters". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  15. Watts, Rachel (April 1, 2020). "In Other Waters review". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  16. Kato, Matthew (March 31, 2020). "In Other Waters Review – The Pursuit Of Knowledge". GameInformer. Retrieved April 20, 2021.

Further reading
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