Yes, this is a point-and-click hidden object adventure game. A lot of these games do the same thing. You walk into different locations, solve puzzles, find objects, interact with the story.
My enjoyment largely hinges upon the story. As it happens, Empress of the Deep is a fantasy sci-fi story about Anna, a woman with no memory who must find relics to unlock her past. The narrative is delightfully campy too.
The puzzles themselves are easy while working your brain just a little bit. You could probably make it through this game without needing any hints, though you’ll probably spend a few minutes on the occasion brainteaser.
This isn’t a graphically intensive game. Even though this game came out in 2010, it still runs on an 800x600 resolution – which was dated even back then. As a result, there’s quite a bit of pixelation going on, and certain stages look rough.
However, I like the low res charm. It has a certain old-timey goodness that was fairly popular for 2000s era adventure games. There’s an art deco atmosphere going on, and that holds a lot of appeal for me.
In fact, this whole game is unintentionally vapowave. It’s full of turquoise colours, and there’s a lot of Greek and Roman statues littered throughout the game. The title screen even has palm trees!
The sound is what I particularly love. I love the effects. The soundtrack is chill and ambient. The voice acting is distinct, memorable, and often over-the-top. Again, it is almost vaporwave.
Admittedly, stuff like this has no appeal to self-identified “gamers”. This is a genre that many of them quite despise. Hence why I take the “mixed” reviews on Steam with a heaping tablespoon of salt.
Silverback Games made Empress of the Deep. I own another one of their games, [Theatre of the Absurd](https://www.mobygames.com/game/71371/theatre-of-the-absurd/ ), and I quite enjoyed it. It’s too bad they’re no longer in business since I enjoyed their work.
On a sheer aesthetic level, Empress of the Deep is quite an attractive game. Yes, this is low res material that operates within a fairly predictable genre. But in terms of story and just the overall look, I like this quite a bit.
If you like adventure games, Empress of the Deep is worth picking up. It’s only C$7.79, and it will give you a few hours of fun.
“Gamers” might not like it, but oh well.
