From the Depths
" Deep action-adventure simulation with vast vehicle customization but steep learning curve "
From the Depths Review
From the Depths is a deeply complex and creative vehicle-building game that offers players an expansive sandbox to design and battle with ships, planes, tanks, and even spaceships. The game is praised for its remarkable depth in customization, including propulsion, weapon systems, AI behavior, and even visual design via its mimic system. Players can spend hundreds of hours experimenting and refining their creations, making it a rewarding experience for those who invest the time.
However, the game is notorious for its steep learning curve and poor tutorial and UI design. Many players find the onboarding process overwhelming and unintuitive, often relying on external resources like YouTube and community forums to learn the mechanics. Despite these barriers, the game boasts a passionate community and continuous developer support, with frequent updates enhancing performance and gameplay. It is best suited for players who enjoy engineering challenges and creative freedom rather than quick pick-up-and-play sessions.
Highlights
Players highly praise the game's in-depth building mechanics that allow for an extraordinary range of creations, from boats to spaceships. The combat system and weapon customization are also lauded as superior to many other building games. The game's performance has improved significantly over time, enabling large-scale battles to run smoothly. Additionally, the inclusion of advanced features like breadboard visual coding and LUA scripting appeals to players seeking deep control over their designs. The game's creative freedom and vast customization options are standout features that keep players engaged for hundreds of hours.
Criticisms
Common criticisms focus on the game's steep and unforgiving learning curve, which is exacerbated by a convoluted and ineffective tutorial system. The user interface and building controls are frequently described as clunky and unintuitive, creating a frustrating new player experience. Many players report spending excessive time just trying to understand basic mechanics rather than enjoying gameplay. The campaign and AI can feel unbalanced, with some players frustrated by inconsistent ship behavior and difficult combat. Multiplayer desync issues and occasional bugs also detract from the experience, though these are less prominent.
Pros
- • Extremely deep and rewarding building mechanics with vast customization options.
- • Visually striking combat with advanced weapon and AI systems.
- • Supports a wide variety of vehicle types including boats, planes, and spaceships.
- • Active developer support with frequent updates improving performance.
- • Breadboard and LUA scripting add layers of complex control for enthusiasts.
- • Large and helpful community for learning and sharing designs.
- • Smooth performance in large battles after recent optimizations.
Cons
- • Steep learning curve that is intimidating for new players.
- • Poor and overwhelming tutorial system that fails to teach effectively.
- • Clunky and unintuitive user interface and building controls.
- • Frustrating new player experience with little in-game guidance.
- • AI and campaign balance issues leading to inconsistent gameplay.
- • Multiplayer suffers from desync problems.
- • Some players find combat mechanics overly complicated or unbalanced.
Rating Criteria
Over 1000 unique components allow you to build and command voxel vehicles from the deep ocean to outer space! Forge strategies, allegiances and fleets strong enough to destroy eight deadly factions of the planet and reign supreme. A genre-defying mashup of simulation, building, RTS and RPG.