A Chilling Underwater Thriller That Takes You Below The Surface

Narcosis is a single-player indie horror game developed by Honor Code. The title was released on Xbox One earlier this year and offers a passage to some of the horrors that can be found at the depths of the ocean.   [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGgNqB698eA[/embedyt]   Someone once said “In space, no one can hear you scream”. Well, the same can be said for being 3,500 metres below the surface on the ocean floor. In Narcosis you play as a member aboard an underwater research facility called Oceanova. You operate a large diving suit that is slow and cumbersome. You have access to flares, a knife and thrusters that provide a brief boost. You begin with a brief training simulation in a pool, then you are right at the bottom of the ocean. After a brief rendezvous with another diver, all hell breaks loose. The narrator indicates that an earthquake has struck and it has compromised the entire facility and its members. You then begin your mission to get back to the main facility and get to safety.   Throughout the story you take on a few predatory sea creatures. Some can be defeated with your knife while others it’s best to wait off in the distance until they pass. The game does its best to scare you with dead divers in suits and surreal instances that test your sanity as you navigate through the cold, dark ocean floor all alone. While you’re constantly scanning the waters for danger, you have to be careful to manage your oxygen. O2 canisters need to be replenished frequently and anything that spooks you will make you consume critical levels of oxygen and put you in danger of not being able to find another opportunity to stock up.     The story and atmosphere of the game are palpable, but the game is short and the movement feels too clunky and sometimes difficult. That might come with being in an oversized diving suit that can handle the pressure and temperature of the cold ocean floor, but it makes it difficult to enjoy the games at time and navigate through the damaged facility. With some minor improvements to the movement and possibly a longer storyline, gamers would have been in for a real treat.