Review: Hydrophobia

Hydrophobia by Dark Energy Digital is out this week on Xbox Live Arcade as the first Episode in their new series. Set in the near future amidst a population flood, our protagonist Kate Wilson must battle more literal flooding as she attempts to save herself from a watery demise. She lives and works as an engineer aboard the Queen of the World – an enormous ocean vessel the size of a city. It is launching as a paradise for the elite of society to flee the problems of the rest of the world and finds itself under siege by a mysterious pseudo-religious terrorist group called the Malthusians.

To start with, it’s a very beautiful game. The art direction and lighting are well done with tight control on the contrast and colours. The particle effects enhance the atmosphere greatly but perhaps the most noticeable visual treat is the ever-present water through the game’s environments. It’s more than a visual treat though. Hydrophobia is the showcase for HydroEngine – a fluid dynamics modeling engine which does wonders for the game.

Not only does the water look great but you can feel it lift you. You can feel the currents push you. It affects everything around it. Far from being mere scenery, it serves as a character in the game as it changes the landscape, provides tension and dynamics, and factors in to every action taken by both protagonists and antagonists. It’s the third party which can be both hindrance and helpful depending on the situation and the actions taken. It really brings this game to life.

The sound design is also well done and when combined with the water can really add a sense of claustrophobic tension. You’ll find yourself feeling a real sense of urgency as you get the sense that any second a flood of water is about to change the situation while the walls around you bulge and creek under the strain of holding it back.

You find yourself performing climbing acrobatics, hunting for clues and engaging in minor fire-fights from area to area so it can be somewhat repetitive but fans of dungeon crawlers will be at home here. With a nod and a wink it draws upon games like The Legend of Zelda for inspiration but doesn’t change much. As mentioned before, the water is very dynamic and provides a lot of variety in game mechanics but otherwise it’s a relatively repetitive and predictable game for better or worse.

Unfortunately during firefights the game really shows it’s failings. It doesn’t perform very fluidly as a shooter game so when in some of the scenes more focused on gunplay this can become very evident and somewhat frustrating. It would perhaps have been better if the focus was kept on adventure and exploration rather than resorting to shootouts to provide gratuitous action. The shooting mechanics aren’t poor enough to be called problematic but are definitely lackluster and one shouldn’t get this game expecting the next great shooter.

The exploration is definitely fun though. It can be frustrating at times when you aren’t sure where to go or why you should be going there, and there are definite navigation problems with the game but for those who enjoy exploration, this is no problem as it merely provides opportunity to see what they can find. Exploration is rewarded here too as there are hidden documents to discover, scattered throughout the game’s environments, which expand upon the story.

Overall it’s a good game being very fun and beautiful. Unfortunately it’s not a standalone game though, so it’s like watching only the first act of a movie. You’ll be caught off guard if you expect much closure upon completion. It’s a mere tease of the adventure and problem solving to come in the future episodes. Playing through it is a fun trip but ultimately only the first stage of a longer journey. We’re allowed to get to know our protagonist, the antagonists and our environment but exploring deeper towards any conflict resolution will have to wait until the next installment.