Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival

Really enjoyed the small demo there was, but I’m on the fence for a purchase on this one. Seems like it needs a bit more work. For starters, there’s no way to disable the on-screen joysticks when using controller, despite them being absent in the photos. I’d also like a way to reset progress (I hate this being so locked down on many iOS games, just let me delete my data - this aids if I delete the game initially but return to it in later months.) Also, it’s a bit unclear from the description, but the game is lacking modes present on PC. I would be interested to see what future updates could add to the game, though, as it’s a pretty solid foundation.

For $1 I’m not mad. That’s more replay value than a bag of chips. But as much as I wanted to enjoy the game I just couldn’t. It’s the upgrading system. Specifically the green diamonds. They’re tied to most things you upgrade including health. The developers intentionally make the game hard by making the enemies stronger. But you the player really don’t get stronger. The issue with health comes when you need to repair yourself with the green diamonds which you barely find. Remember you need those to upgrade other stuff as well. In a game like Dead Cells you regain health after every stage or even pick up food during game play. Not in this game. It just makes for a not so fun experience. The enemies are repetitive with no real distinction of character. By the way the Crab boss is one of the stupidest bosses I’ve encountered in any game. Not because he’s hard but because he’s programmed to keep attacking with no real way to combat his movement. Is this worth a buck, yea but be prepared to be disappointed.

The “power” and “reload” metacurrency upgrades for the bomb do not work. Worse; they take 300 metacurrency from your bank, but don’t actually upgrade. I wasted 900 metacurrency before I realized the upgrade wasn’t going up. So far everything else seems to upgrade just fine.