RATING AND CONTENT
Recommended for ages 10 and older
Quality: 4 out of 5
Positive messages: 4 out of 5
Positive role models: 5 out of 5
Ease of play: 3 out of 5
Violence: 1 out of 5
Sex: 0 out of 5
Language: 0 out of 5
Drinking, drugs, and smoking: 0 out of 5
Consumerism: 1 out of 5 (Are products/advertisements embedded? Is the title part of a broader marketing initiative/empire? Is the intent to sell things to kids?)
GAME DETAILS
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
Price: $29.99
Developer: Insomniac Games
Release date: July 12, 2016
Genre: Action/Adventure
Parents need to know that “Song of the Deep” is an underwater adventure that has you play as a girl who’s trying to find her missing father. It features a strong young female protagonist, who puts together a makeshift submarine and ventures out to solve puzzles, take on creatures, and meet some allies along the way. There isn’t any inappropriate content, but there are mild combat sequences against jellyfish, urchins, and other threats, using the submarine’s torpedoes, giant claw, and other weapons. The controls are simple to learn, but have finicky moments that could frustrate some players. The “Collector’s Edition” has extra content, including a book, voucher to download the music soundtrack, stickers and more.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
In “Song of the Deep,” Merryn waits all night for her dad to return home after a fishing trip, but he never does. She has a dream he was trapped under the sea, so Merryn builds a tiny submarine, vowing to find and rescue him. As she dives deeper and deeper into the sea, she moves from a diving suit to the safety of her sub. Merryn also makes some friends along the way, solves puzzles, battles dangerous creatures, explores underwater ruins, and enhances her ship.
IS IT ANY GOOD?
For the most part, this underwater adventure is a very good game for players of all ages. It fuses a strong lead character with a beautiful story and fun gameplay elements (like exploration, puzzle-solving, combat and upgrading). Parents should like the strong female lead and story of love and determination, while kids will no doubt fall for the game’s charm, upgrades, and high-production values. There are some secrets to find that reward players for experimenting. While the gameplay remains the same as the original game, the Collector’s Edition adds lots of extras that players should love as well.
The issues with this game range from some finicky controls to limitations in your exploration to a few frustrating puzzles that require a lot of trial and error. But the puzzle-solving and action do get better over time, and overall, the good very much outweighs the bad. It’s unfortunate these issues exist because they could likely have been addressed with a little more time and testing. It’s still worth the investment, especially for those looking for a family-friendly underwater adventure with a lot of heart and character.
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Common Sense Media is an independent nonprofit organization offering unbiased ratings and trusted advice to help families make smart media and technology choices. Check out our ratings and recommendations at www.commonsense.org.
