A release that divides opinions

Mark of the Deep is a single-player game that puts the player in the shoes of Rookie, an adventurer who wakes up lost on a pirate island and has the goal of exploring it and discovering its secrets, using skills, equipment, and high mobility.



Exploring the story and gameplay

The story of Mark of the Deep is set on a lost island where you, as Rookie, seek to solve the puzzles of a pirate island, full of challenges and varied enemies. What could be a simple exploration plot becomes a journey of discovery and tension as you explore and improve your character.

The narrative is considerably well-crafted and, throughout the game, reveals details gradually, keeping the player's curiosity sharp.

The pace of the story is quite slow and the first hours of the game are slow as well, which on one hand doesn't overwhelm you with information right away and gives you pieces of the plot as you progress, but on the other hand can be boring at first.



Decent combat, yet interesting

The combat in the game is somewhat debatable in terms of quality, its simplicity is both a positive and negative point, as we basically have a dodge and basic attack mechanic and some skills, in this context, this mentioned simplicity falls short, especially because Rookie only has a hook at the beginning of the game.

The boss fights, in particular, feel a bit strange, mainly because there are no life bars on enemies, which makes the fights feel endless and lacking that feedback of the character's strength.

One of the greatest highlights of Mark of the Deep is in its visual aspect, the game is quite beautiful for the size of the project, impressively capturing the feeling of being in a mysterious world.

Each new area has its own visual identity, from dark caves to abandoned villages, the game makes sure the player feels like they are truly exploring a pirate island. The design of marine creatures is also a strong point, with alien and mysterious beings inhabiting the depths, as well as huge and threatening creatures that keep the tension high.



An opportunity for improvements

Playing Mark of the Deep was a good experience, the dynamism to build a customized set and the combat in general make the game quite enjoyable to play, despite its limitations. As mentioned earlier, simplicity is a double-edged sword and needs a bit more polishing, especially in a project openly inspired by Metroidvania, another important detail is the graphics, which although beautiful, are honestly nothing special.

The game, overall, is easy to play, apart from the fact that there are no life bars for characters and in mechanical terms, it has some relevant tutorials, but the overall experience is just okay and has a lot of potential, the island setting and parallel scenarios are cool and well done, in any case, the game could be better balanced to appeal to various audiences.

The game is localized in several languages, and has voice acting, including in Brazilian Portuguese, which also has its negatives, such as the feeling of amateurism.

The soundtrack also deserves an honorable mention. The melodies are soft and atmospheric, functioning as a perfect complement to the feeling of solitude and mystery that permeates the game. The environmental sounds contribute to the tension, as if something unexpected is always lurking.

The game's performance is good, as it is well optimized and not very demanding on system resources, despite the graphical flaws it is a game that manages to bring a touch of modernity.



A project that deserves a chance

My personal experience with Mark of the Deep was good in most aspects, with the setting and combat being its highlights in my gameplay. Of course, there are still areas to be optimized and polished, but it is already a very fun game that is very easy to spend hours on end. Either way, the game gave me some hours of enjoyment.

The key mapping is quite intuitive, easy to get the hang of and fulfills its function well, especially when playing with a controller, the game's audio is very good and features a very thematic and well-crafted soundtrack, overall, it's a game that I wouldn't quite recommend yet, it has its charm, that's true, but it still needs a lot of polishing and improvements in gameplay.

The game offers a good quality of life, with a complete interface, as well as good settings and customization options for controls, graphics, and audio.



For this review, the game was experienced on PC, using the Steam platform. I thank Mad Mimic for providing the access key.