UNDER the WATER - an ocean survival game

There's another game by this developer called UNDER the SAND. That game was originally $5 and it was in Early Access with tons of promises made. Eventually the developer branded that game a failure, ceased development, and blamed it on the existence of a very similar, but more popular, game called The Long Drive. His last update was to double the price of the game, increasing it to $10. IndieMax has a loyal fanbase and many people who enjoy his work, but apparently the profit, the bottom line, was not enough. You can read the reviews for UNDER the SAND to get a sense of what happened with the project. Now UNDER the WATER has come out. The current state of the game is early alpha. It has a nice environment and a premise, but it is nothing more than a tech demo in its current state, so buying the game is an investment or a donation. After seeing weeks turn into months with no updates, I expect this game to be abandoned as well. I hope that I'm wrong. I hope the developer reads this and finishes the game, and remembers that the success of your work is not measured by the success of the work of others.

Had promise but lacks content and right now seems to be abandoned.

Nice idea, but needs a lot of work. not worth it at the moment. Ill wait and see.

Under the Water by IndieMax is a simple, yet relaxing survival Game, which leaves you stranded on a small set of islands while trying to stay alive as long as possible. It's currently under Early Access, and I'll update this review as Development progresses, but so far IndieMax has been very active with Patching issues, and implementing new Features. Already 9 Updates and it's only been out a few days. The playstyle is similar to Under the Sand, with the same Low Poly Graphics which I do enjoy, yet the Mechanics are slightly different, such as an added inventory system, crafting, and now since the latest update farming as well! Planned features also seem pretty interesting such as upgrading your Raft, swimming equipment to venture deeper for longer [that's what she said], extended area with new locations, Fishing, and the ability to decorate your house. Even though it's still very early days I haven't come across anything to make me not enjoy my current time playing it, and look forward to what the future has to bring. Bonus also being that IndieMax has been active with communicating on Discord, and has been listening to feedback, which is always a bonus when it comes to Developers.

Familiar concept with a new twist. The game serves well as a one-off and basic survival experience, but clearly isn't meant to occupy the player in the long-term such as games like Raft or The Long Dark. The game has potential, but needs work, especially in the areas of crafting and actual threats to your character's survival. There are thunderstorms, but no danger in them. Wildlife, but no predators. Weather, but no urge to stay either warm or dry. The water mechanics are pretty good, and the atmosphere of the game is not bad. There's no game soundtrack, which dulls the experience a little bit, but it is otherwise an enjoyable and pretty game with A LOT of room to grow.

hasnt been updated since october 2021. drowning feature hardly works as your health doesnt drain when you are out of oxygen which seems like a big thing for a game called "under the water"

Waste of money. The game shows some pretty interesting mechanics and features, but it's really unpolished and has nothing to it. Many crucial elements in the game are missing and it's just plain and boring. No story. No goal. No instructions or hints. Just a small environment with some structures and items put here and there. It's more like a school project or a beta of a beta of a beta state game. Simply nothing anyone should pay for. PS: For those who don't know this dev, this game is and will be left like this. It's not the first game the dev has abandoned. Go look up [i]Under the Sand[/i]. A previous game he has left in an unfinished state. Not as bad as this one, that game at least has something to it to keep you entertained for at least a while. However instead of finishing it, he started working on this crap.

This game is a complete scam and waste of money I bought it for a dollar and even then I regret that dollar spent. There is almost no content and the developer is a total con artist, do not buy this game even if it is on sale for a dollar you will still most likely regret it.

Visually the game is stunning. Mechanically - It's an Early Access, I get it, a lot of things and systems don't functioning well enough for it to be a great survival game. But for me it's not, I just hope there will be a mode without any survival mechanics, so I can just sit at the shore, watch days and nights change one another peacefully and explore some points of interest at my own pace.

After no updates in over a year, I would say this is a negative 5 review. The waste of time of limited game play is not worth buying it. Don't bother unless the dev actually start pumping out more updates. Don't bother buying anything from this dev.

The atmosphere is good while the reflection of the water in the edge of screen has some bug, and the drinking water is scarce.

Good game but need some improvment yet. I can play with my xbox one controller but it takes some configuration first with the Steam configuration controller. Make your own test or ask me if you need help about that. :) Otherwise, we can swim, jump, explore house, gather items, repair some others items.... there are some interesting things to do.

So far (as of update #8) this seems like a nice little sandbox to play around in. A handful of little locations to explore around and UNDER the WATER. There isn't much to do for now except explore and pillage the flooded homes and businesses and maybe experiment with the crafting system. I'll admit I haven't messed around with crafting at all other than try out the two recipes already given to you at the start. Perhaps unlocking partial recipes as you pick up new items is the way to go, rather than what seems to be trial and error crafting? as I said I barely touched on it. I'm giving a positive recommendation because I like where it's going and the developer seems to know where he wants to take the game and the price I paid for the game didn't hurt either (10.87 Australian dollars near launch) I may or may not update this review in the future to reflect possible updates.

Well, this game has potential. I will wait for the updates

I'm really enjoying this, made a video for anyone who wants to know the basics :) https://youtu.be/3NZYUBGzqlI

Another game abandoned by this dev. Refunded.