Once you climb to the top of a tower and look over the flooded and ruined city that Submerged is based in, you realise that there is something beautiful here. If you catch the sun bouncing off the water at sunset, you have a marvellous scene in front of you. Unfortunately, it isn’t enough to save an otherwise lacklustre experience.

 

The city itself is wonderfully dilapidated. The buildings that protrude the water so arrogantly are slowly decaying and plants grow all over them, as if slowly dismantling them piece by piece. A small group of animals now inhabit the city, including whales and dolphins. The latter often follow you, squeaking as if greeting you to their new home. The ruins of this once human stronghold feel like they have a new lease of life with nature, even if it is slowly falling to pieces. You want to explore this recognisable, but now alien, city.

 

In contrast to the wonderful setting, the rest of the game feels rushed. The beyond basic platforming makes moving through the world a lot less dangerous than it should. There is no danger of failing the game, as you can’t die and you can’t fall off things, making the game feel way too passive. This could have been forgiven if the story was strong. It’s not. The story isn’t engaging at all and the thin story ends quickly and abruptly, without ever pushing you through any emotion or morals. There is also a plot-twist at the very end which is completely bizarre and, whilst trying to be heart-felt, leaves a sour taste in your mouth before finally freeing you of itself.

 

It is incredibly frustrating. The setting is perfect, and whilst it isn’t jaw dropping visually, there are times when Submerged creates some wonderful landscapes. You want to explore, but there isn’t much to explore, and you want a story, but there isn’t much of a story either. It is like watching Lord Of The Rings if all of the actors were replaced by cardboard cut-outs.

 

Submerged is an incredibly restrictive experience, limiting your exploration in a very well realised apocalypse. In an attempt to funnel you through a story and completely missing its target, it also misses out on being a hidden gem in the PS4’s library.