Blind Depths by DeadCode

[raw]
made by DeadCode for Ludum Dare 57 (JAM)

(Web game)

*STORY: *

You're a submarine pilot in one of the deepest parts of the ocean and your only form of navigation is echoes you send that reveal the details of the cave walls. Your colleague got lost in one of the most complex deep ocean cave systems. Countless have already gone missing in that cave. Rumors say that some kind of creature lives there...

Find him and bring him back.

Controls:

Use A and D keys to turn

Use the W key to accelerate

Use Space to send an echo

Use the B key to place beacons (You only have 3)

*Beacons are useful for navigation and marking areas)

cover.png

Screenshot 2025-04-07 203936.png

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SPOILER: A video where to find the lost colleague: https://youtu.be/Fqy_XUUs5M0

Ratings

Overall 177th 3.886⭐ 59🧑‍⚖️
Fun 487th 3.316⭐ 59🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 188th 3.702⭐ 59🧑‍⚖️
Theme 44th 4.342⭐ 59🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 320th 3.895⭐ 59🧑‍⚖️
Mood 28th 4.368⭐ 59🧑‍⚖️
Given 53🗳️ 94🗨️

Feedback

RascarCapackDev
07. Apr 2025 · 19:11 UTC
Awesome concept ! Its also visually very appealing, maybe it would have been nice having more clues of some sort. Had a blast overall.
Rustywolf
07. Apr 2025 · 19:21 UTC
Insane atmosphere. I love how you implemented the sonar, something about the pixels is just so gorgeous!
Maslinka27
07. Apr 2025 · 19:22 UTC
Creepy game about depth drift. Nice graphic style and screams, that made feel, that something gonna eat me soon. Nice work!
vegasword
07. Apr 2025 · 20:14 UTC
So bad there's no audio because it's very immersive. I got soft locked by a physics bug tho (stuck inside wall).
AntagonistBob
07. Apr 2025 · 21:25 UTC
It was a little hard to know which direction to go. It felt like I hit many dead ends that were annoying to get out of.

But great atmosphere and theme adaption! Nice and creepy sound affects too.
Samilon
07. Apr 2025 · 21:25 UTC
MAN this actually got me to JUMP. One of the scariest jumpscares I've ever witnessed in my opinion. Awesome!
dzr118
08. Apr 2025 · 03:50 UTC
Simple but fun graphics! It was so eerie, the creepy noises and complete darkness!
Glaupe Cabral
08. Apr 2025 · 03:59 UTC
The game its spot on the theme! Very Nice! The sounds and screams made me feel tense... I think the graphics could be better, but very nice game! Congrats.
Placeholders
08. Apr 2025 · 08:47 UTC
i loved how you made the walls as a small clutterd pixels, it felt mysterious and magical!
great exploration game!
Jose Pedro Dias
08. Apr 2025 · 14:48 UTC
Great usage of dot rendering. :)
Would benefit from some sort of minimap
510
08. Apr 2025 · 15:00 UTC
Really atmospheric and almost had a heart attack, well played =)
NoNumbersGames
08. Apr 2025 · 15:43 UTC
Very immersive atmosphere, well placed sounds added a lot to it. Really liked the sonar too! The controls did not feel as intuitive as I expected, but maybe that's my skill issue :)
resty
08. Apr 2025 · 16:22 UTC
i like the sound, created super great mood in the game. visuals fits the mood too.
Jack Turpitt
08. Apr 2025 · 17:25 UTC
Immaculate vibes. I absolutely adore the particle system for the walls the brightens and dims with the radar, its so clever and appealing. The sound design is really atmospheric and pulls you in which is great for the jumps. Great entry, thank you for making it!
LDJam user 202408
08. Apr 2025 · 17:29 UTC
That jumpscare scared the crap out of me, I was not ready for that lol 5/5 mood. The game felt like a true cave diving experience, I was running in circles half the time and had no clue where to go. I managed to finally find the other pilot with the help of beacons. I wish I could pick them back up and reuse them.

Overall this is a cool entry.
Quail Weaver
08. Apr 2025 · 17:51 UTC
100% on the cave submarine vibe, and the slow unease. I played for a while, but nothing really happened unfortunately. I gave up, but came back because other reviews are talking about a cool jumpscare, but I didn't find it :( Also the movement was a little bit frustrating when id hit the walls the wrong way and bounce back

Sick game though! I really love the visuals and vibe here. <3
LDJam user 387005
08. Apr 2025 · 17:52 UTC
Nice! the atmosphere was creepy, and the story complete.
Things I'd do from that point on:
* expand on the story a bit more. Players do really appriciate a well written game-story. (Includes eg. what eg. that red dots-thing is?)
* Add a secondary gameplay-mechanic. Most underwater-games eg. implement a leak-fixing one.
Things I'd fix/change:
* Behaviour when colliding with walls. The bounce-back isin't really realistic and most often not desirable.
* Graphics: maybe add some noise, making that, what the player sees, more uncertain
jester1454
08. Apr 2025 · 19:31 UTC
Cool and atmospheric mood, like core mechanic, but it's sooooo easy to get lost!
Brian Russell
09. Apr 2025 · 07:40 UTC
not sure how i got scared from the jump scare sounds of a pixel game lol. Good mood and feel.
Jona Scheidig
09. Apr 2025 · 11:44 UTC
YOu CAnT dO tHat tO mY pOoR HEarT!
That jumpscare at the end almost made me jump out of my seat...
Need to recover from that

But the game itself is really cool. I bet it must have taken forever to make this wall effect :dizzy_face:

Atmosphere was really nice too, but I agree with some, that the navigation was sometimes abit frustrating.
Im actually quite glad I got to finish it, because my navigational skills arent too good
Playrea
09. Apr 2025 · 14:07 UTC
Simple graphic but the audio and gameplay make all the difference! I like the game. Had great time playing it
GwendalG
09. Apr 2025 · 14:18 UTC
The game is incredible. The gameplay is very enjoyable and the graphics fit well. The only thing I would add is something like a cooldown on the scan ability, or create an health bar and make you lose health when you hit the terrain, in order to increase the difficulty. Overall the game is awesome, well done.
sami822
09. Apr 2025 · 14:28 UTC
Damn, I love submarine games(even made one myself). Found the guy, shown him the path and then there's that ending, gosh... Overall liked it, cool mood, tho controls could be more responsive.
toilari
09. Apr 2025 · 17:17 UTC
Nutty putty cave accident meets Barotrauma. Unique visuals and incredible atmosphere! Gameplay was somewhat monotonous, so might have benefited from some secondary mechanic to mix things up a bit (e.g. currents in some caves pushing you around, something to mess with the sonar, or anything really). I'm also not a huge fan of jumpscares, but I'll give you a pass on this one.

A truly exquisite little jam game nonetheless, love it! <3
HelloImBenjamin
09. Apr 2025 · 17:23 UTC
I really liked the concept of the game—it’s creative and engaging. I’d love to see it expanded further. The visuals also fit the style perfectly and added to the overall charm of the game.
mayrakissa
09. Apr 2025 · 17:41 UTC
Amazing concept and execution, might have soiled myself at the end :D A small note I want to point out that with a game as immersive as this make sure your background noise (the water) loops absolutely flawlessy or it might take you out of the immersion. Also the stinger sounds's echoes cut off abruptly. Fantastic stuff otherwise!
Gabexiii
09. Apr 2025 · 20:32 UTC
Very cool and atmospheric game, really nailed the theme. Great work!
bakuzen
09. Apr 2025 · 21:50 UTC
Just when I got the hang of the sonar and started feeling like the creepy sound effects were starting to lose their effectiveness because nothing was happening.... LMAO well done. I really enjoyed the visuals and sonar mechanic, and being able to find the right path felt really rewarding!

As far as feedback goes, I would've loved if the walls weren't as bouncy-- that got a little frustrating at times, having to try five times to get into a narrow passage without bouncing off haha. And it might've been helpful to prompt the player to try dropping a beacon with 'B', because I totally forgot about those until I was near the end.

Great work overall, I really enjoyed it :D
Ricesteam
09. Apr 2025 · 22:15 UTC
Awesome to see a similar idea and concept but executed differently. I love yours--the atmosphere, the mood--very nice!
paulhocker
10. Apr 2025 · 01:57 UTC
the mood of the game was great and i loved the underwater effect you made -- it felt a little slow and i would have loved to have had a map of the areas i went to -- also 3 beacons was not nearly enough -- great game!
Jim jagers
10. Apr 2025 · 07:11 UTC
The atmosphere was fantastically done and i loved exploring the map
Kamizenki
10. Apr 2025 · 08:18 UTC
Love the atmosphere of the game, I'm scared of the sound sometimes. The gameplay is good but it seems like the knockback was kind of high, adjust a little bit would be best. Good work!
LDJam user 336851
10. Apr 2025 · 09:36 UTC
I really like this mechanic, it reveals just enough to be atmospheric but while also being able to traverse in an easy manner. The maze was very maze like which gave the beacons a good use.
GoBigRedFan
10. Apr 2025 · 15:21 UTC
Really enjoyed just navigating the ship through the map, kind of meditative vibe.
Civ92
10. Apr 2025 · 19:24 UTC
Very nice and original little game. I enjoyed the simple graphics that help a lot in the immersion. I'm glad you didn't implement hull damage !
infecsean
10. Apr 2025 · 20:24 UTC
Wow it's so atmospheric honestly. Simple and chill concept, and a great dose of horror from time to time.
Dywanix
10. Apr 2025 · 23:05 UTC
fun idea! I love simple artstyle
ShadyShade
11. Apr 2025 · 17:04 UTC
That was pretty fun but also pretty atmospheric game, nice job!
AmunOnra
11. Apr 2025 · 19:35 UTC
I really like how much athmosphere you created with the minimalism of the game. After the first screem I immediately thought this was probably a horror game but the unexcited gameplay had me also worry whether it really was. Oh boy was I not prepared for the ending! Controlls felt a little too punishing though with the bounceback of walls. Nice entry
noagard
12. Apr 2025 · 11:45 UTC
Sonar mechanic is so cool idea, I like it. It was fun to play, underwater sounds really deep you in :)
Caer
12. Apr 2025 · 18:28 UTC
Great atmosphere and storytelling; like others, I really enjoyed the sonar mechanic! For the first half of my play through, I wasn't entirely sure if I was making progress--I'm not sure how, exactly, but I'd love to have some kind of feedback earlier on that I'm making progress towards the goal.
Nooodle
12. Apr 2025 · 20:48 UTC
Really cool atmosphere and you absolutely nailed the theme. The visuals are simple yet very effective and the game feels innovative. The gameplay got a bit monotonous after a while and it was easy to get lost but I was able to complete the game regardless. Great job!