7.2 /10 1 Votes
5/10 GameSpot Developer(s) Digital Confectioners Release date(s) WW: November 3, 2014 Mode Multiplayer video game | 9/10 Steam 7.7/10 IGN Engine Unreal Engine 3 Initial release date 3 November 2014 Platform Microsoft Windows | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Genres First-person shooter, Action game Similar Depth Hunter, The Hunter, Evolve, From the Depths, Blood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Depth is an Indie video game developed by Digital Confectioners and released for Microsoft Windows in 2014. It is an asymmetrical multiplayer game pitting a number of treasure hunting divers against sharks.
Contents
Gameplay
The game is a first-person shooter which takes place in underwater environments, the player can play as either a diver or a shark. Divers purchase weapons based on both collected treasure and kills. Sharks gain new abilities by eating the opposing team. Each team has a limited number of respawns, the first to run out is the loser.
Development
Depth began production in 2009, as a student project built as a mod for Unreal Tournament 3 by a small team led by Alex Quick of Killing Floor fame. Between 2010 and 2012 the game was ported to UDK and became a standalone game. However development eventually stalled due to game play concerns by the production team. In 2013, Digital Confectioners were brought on board to re-tune and finish the game.
Release
Depth was put on the Steam store as a pre-order on October 16, 2014, and released on November 3, 2014. "The Big Catch" update was released on December 16, 2014, adding 2 new shark classes, 1 new map and a new game type called "Megalodon Mode."
Reception
Depth received moderately positive reviews from critics. IGN described Depth as having "an ocean of tense, unique gameplay moments," praising the game's level and sound design and describing playing as both a diver or a shark is a "fast, fun, and frantic experience." IGN criticized the game's lack of game modes and its "skimpy" customization options, saying that they "doubt the longevity of this otherwise ship-shape game." GameSpot is less favorable, noting low-quality textures, balancing issues and lack of memorable levels, describing the game as shallow. GameSpot did hope that future updates to clean up bugs and add new content could help the game reach its full potential.
Both Multiplayer.it and GameSpot state that the game negatively draws from the gameplay established in the Left for Dead series. Independent review site deviantrobot said that Depth is very similar to Evolve, though that "the game is unique enough that it stands on its own merits and it’s not just to fill the Evolve-shaped hole in your gaming library."