Mark of the Deep

Mark of the Deep is a really fun game that could have been (and may still be) an incredible one. It’s an isometric Metroidvania, bordering on a soulslike… but since I actually enjoyed it, I don’t think it’s really a soulslike.

You play as a rookie pirate that crashed on a plagued island with your crew, and it’s up to you to lift the curse and save the island. You travel from region to region, gaining abilities and exploring sprawling maps. It’s a huge game, coming in at around 40+ hours for me nearly 100% it.

It does many things very well. I absolutely loved the maze-like level design, constantly getting lost but then opening up a new shortcut, opening doors, facing bosses, finding secrets, and gaining abilities. It has a really addicting gameplay loop, and the isometric angle gives it a very Deaths Door vibe.

It falls short though in its quality of life. There is no map, no item tracking, etc. This game NEEDS it. As I said, it’s extremely maze-like and huge. Many things are well hidden, so going for 100% is a nearly impossible task currently. I personally took notes the whole time and tried my absolute best- but ended up short missing just one item in almost every category of collectible …. Which is extremely frustrating. There’s absolutely no way I could find the missing things without scouring for countless hours.

But besides this flaw, I really had no complaints. I found the combat super enjoyable, bosses were great. Probably because there’s no parry mechanic, but instead a roll/dash, it didn’t feel soulsy to me. There is no RPG slog either, you can upgrade stuff at some shops but the only equipment type thing is trinkets (like a hollow knight badge system).

Art style is serviceable, story and dialogue are fine, voice acting is spotty. But it feels like a true “epic” adventure, and I had a mostly fantastic time. With some serious quality of life overhauling - this could be one of the better action adventure games of the year.