izigame.me

I play about 50 new indie games each year in a quest to find those masterpieces, among those are well known and beloved classics such as the Ori games, Outer wilds, Hyper light drifter, Gris, Subnautica, INSIDE, etc... But also lesser known ones such as Signalis, Carrion, Chants of sennaar, Blasphemous and ofcourse Death's door. It is this last title that Mark of the deep reminds me off in all the best ways! I still prefer the former but not hat much more to be completely honest, which speaks volumes to Mark of the deep's quality! This game is one of those rare indie gems i'm always on the lookout for that make sifting through the worse games all the more worthwhile. I even feel like this can contend with some of the heavy hitters for a spot in my top 25, keeping in mind i've played over 250 including all the masterpieces mentioned above and then some! Ok so i LOVE this game but why? Well, there's many reasons but i'll try to disclose them in detail to hopefully convice you give this underrated & overlooked game a chance. Maybe you'll like it as much as i did, or even more?
Let's start with combat as this is a big focus of soulslike action RPG's and one of Mark of the deep's highlights. The core 3 hit combo and dodge roll are fun & responsive to use on their own but not enough to make a combat system with depth. However, add in a selection of unique firearms that regenerate ammo when you strike enemies akin to Hyper light drifter or Death's door and you've got something better. Then add in a ridiculously fun & versatile hookshot and you're set for an addictive combat system that has even more depth when combined with a few dozen equipable relics that give passive benefits. Finally have a VERY impressive catalogue of uniquely challenging enemies & bosses. The robust & versatile combat system combined with the sheer enemy variety is just magical. I enjoyed every skirmish wether against some roaming enemies, brilliantly designed arena fights or colossal bosses. The difficulty scale on display is also very well paced, gradually getting harder & harder as you get better & better.
On a serious note though Mark of the deep had a perfect challenge for most of it's runtime, it was always challenging without being overly brutal. In no small part because there was no death penalty! I'm eternally gratefull for the devs to have the game this way as it's my biggest pet pieve that can really take all the fun out of an otherwise great game, like nine sols showed. Some enemies will own you the first few times but eventually you can get their attacks down to a T which makes future encounters a lot easier. Bosses also are like this, they may take a few attempts but eventually you'll feel like you can do them hitless with a few more rounds of practice. This is because enemy attacks are well telegraphed and fair in terms of hitboxes. Some people are irked by the fact that their adversaries can change direction mid swing but it's all about timing moreso than positioning. Learning when to weave in attacks and when to dodgeroll away is a satisfying learning experience that made the whole gameplay loop of Mark of the deep immensily addictive.
Bosses especially were a highlight with attacks that got progressively more advanced as their health got lower and lower, really intesifying each fight as their bodies became more cracked. Like death's door, bosses & enemies in Mark of the deep have no health bars but rather show cracks as they get lower health. This really gives you a sense of how strong they are while keeping the fights exciting because you're constantly wondering wether or not to go for one more hit as it might just be the fatal blow. Even if the fatal blow comes from their end you'll respawn very quickly at a nearby respawn point. Another area that Mark of the deep has nailed, no long runbacks at all! There's only one that's a bit longer at about 15 seconds but other than that you can get right back to beating that boss. Arena fights are also a challenging experience that put your skills to the test but just like bosses these stay defeated if you beat them which adds a nice sense of progression to your exploration as you gradually inch forward in each level.
Speaking of levels, the level design in Mark of the deep is just incredible. The way they curve, twist and loop back on themselves is nothing short of outstanding! With tons of satisfying shortcuts to unlock that make the runback from the respawn point that much more convenient. Some people complain about the lack of a map which is something i really did not mind. Isometric games are a whole lot easier to navigate as you can keep track of your relative position a lot more than in a sidescroller. Still though the few items you cannot collect on your first voyage are hard to keep track of in a world this big. Yes, Mark of the deep is a suprisingly lenghty game, much longer than i initally thought but not in a way that outstays its welcome. I was literally blown away that i found yet 2 more huge areas to explore 16 hours in. Each area is also rather big on it's own, completely packed with tons of things to fight and discover. Secrets are shown on screen but the way to them is often cleverly hidden by the terrain.
Finding all these things is a rewarding endaveour as most upgrades felt very worthwhile with tons of different types to discover. From health and damage upgrades, to new relics, stranded allies, quest items or even some suprisingly well written lore entries. Exploration is just an all around blast in this, because of the great level design and rewarding collectibles. I liked this aspect even more than the combat although i also adored the combat! There's not much puzzle solving to be done though and there's not that much platforming gameplay to be had but that's not a suprise given the isometric nature of the game. Still a handfull of puzzles would've added some variety but that's more of a nitpick than a genuine criticism. What you will encounter consistently though is beautiful environments. While there's a lot of reused assets due to indie budget reasons, especially in the 'dungeon levels', what they did with what they had is still impressive. The overworld biomes are all very distinct from one another while all being visually striking.
The art style for Mark of the deep is beautiful whichever way you look at it. The frozen peaks area especially left me in awe. These gorgeous vistas are accompanied by beautifull music that's worth picking up in the deluxe edition with a sweet art book to boot! I easily got my money's worth out of this game, given the sheer quality AND quantity. I'll get to linger in enjoyment for a lot longer listening to the OST again. It's no masterpiece soundtrack like Ori', Gris or Death's door's are but still a very solid & enjoyable listen. What also was suprsingly fun to listen to where the quirky voice acted characters. While yes, there could've been a few more female voice actors to add some variety, and while not every VA was of equal quality i still find that they did a supreme job bring this swashbuckling cast to life! It's rare for indie games to have voice acting at all, since it's a lot of work, expensive and most often not that good.
So for Mark of the deep to do this aspect so well as well, is just another box this game ticks of to be considered an indie gem in my opinion. It's not only the relative quality of the voice acting but also the absolute quality of the writing that sells this game. The lore as a whole is incredibly coherent, well written & expertly paced. From the lore tablets that slowly click into place to some mysterious NPC's that add to a greater mystery. It's not often i'm engaged with a narrative this much, fervently reading every lore entry/journal to piece it together but it was that good! The whole game is that good, just play the damn game :D It even consistently ran at a smooth 120 fps on my old GTX1070 with no bugs/crashes either!