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Depths of Sanity is an underwater Metroidvania from developer Bomb Shelter Games. It was released on Steam on October 20th, 2020 in Early Access, and is tentatively scheduled for full release sometime in 2022.
Set in the aftermath of a real-life mysterious event called the "Bloop", a GOAA (Possibly standing in for the real-life NOAA) research vessel called the Baroness is sent into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean to investigate. When the vessel and its six-person crew encounters trouble and drops out of contact, experienced seaman Abe Douglas, the man who assembled that crew, which includes his own son Clay, sets out in a one-man submersible to find them. What he finds will threaten not only his life, but his state of mind.
Owing to it's unique aquatic setting, Depths offers the functional equivalent of full flight to the player from the start, otherwise a rarity in the genre. But the game is designed around that fact- enemies can come at you from any direction, and your path forward is not always the most obvious route.
- Adult Fear: And then some. The need to find Clay might be the only thing keeping Abe together after a point.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Abe's sub is equipped with an AI called Emma. She seemingly starts suffering from power failures after a point... But is it really the ship that's malfunctioning?
- Apocalyptic Log: Logs left behind by the Baroness' crew can be found throughout the game. They cover a variety of topics- the overly-aggressive wildlife, the out-of-place Underwater Ruins, strife with other crewmembers and personal traumatic experiences that seem to be brought to the forefront of their minds by their present circumstances...
- Aquatic Mook: But of course.
- Boss Battle: One per biome, naturally they are all Underwater Boss Battles.
- Collision Damage: Enemies hurt you on contact, but usually not for very much. Usually. Convection, Schmonvection: Being near lava will not damage your sub. However, being near thermal vents will, if you are near them long enough for your heat gauge to max out. Obtaining a certain hull upgrade prevents even this.
- Derelict Graveyard: The Sailor's Tomb zone.
- Everything Trying to Kill You: EVERY sea critter you come across is somehow hostile, even if it only damages you on contact. It may seem like basic retro-game enemy logic at first, but this slowly turns into a Justified Trope... and it's not pretty.
- Grappling Hook Pistol: You can obtain a sub-sized one as an upgrade. It can be used to traverse areas of strong oceanic current that would otherwise repel your vessel.
- Heart Container: You can find hull upgrades that add an additional 100 health to your total, a la Metroid. Originally you would always find a full plate, but as of a later update these are obtained solely from bosses. In other areas you may now find a fragment of plating, find three and you get another layer.
- Ocean Madness: It's clear from some of the logs that some of the crew suffered this. And then it got worse.
- Oxygen Meter: Thankfully averted during normal play. You have the option of leaving your sub with a diving suit to access cramped areas the sub cannot reach, and while doing so you have limited air. Running out won't kill you, you'll simply be teleported back to the sub.
- Oxygenated Underwater Bubbles: Present in some of the diver-only areas to let you refill your air. Underwater Ruins: Found throughout the game, and marked with unreadable runes. Satia Wheeler tried in vain to translate them but could find nothing comparable.
- Under the Sea: Water, water everywhere...