Million Depth Review – Unearth Emotion and Innovation

I think the willingness that indie developers have to take chances is what really stands out about some of the games we’re seeing coming out all over the world. Publisher Playism has been a significant player in this space, making it easy for people like me to discover these projects and play genuinely unique games. This is what brought me to Million Depth, a 2D adventure that delves into the depths of the Earth, employing clever mechanics to keep players invested. Whether you’re here for the adventure, mystery, or both, this is one unassuming indie experience that I had no problem dumping hours into if only to see where these tunnels lead next.

Story and Setting

Million Depth sets up a future where humanity couldn’t live on Earth’s surface. This event led to the richest humans getting a ride into space, while those who were left were forced to burrow deep into the Earth for survival. I think the Steam page reveals a little too much about the setup and rules of this reality, which heavily dips into science fiction and reveals some emotionally charged narrative paths for the game’s characters. We meet Moma in space after she lost contact with someone from Earth. Through logs, we can catch up with their relationship before Moma decides to just go to Earth and find this person.

The early hours of this game are that of confusion. Players are almost left out of any exposition or discovery as early scenes throw sci-fi terms at you, and maybe there’s a scene of a device killing someone before you learn that the humans left all worship someone known as Lady Bae. You see, things move quickly in the underground, but this hazy way of storytelling feels intentional once you finish your first descent.

Gameplay and Progression

As players progress to the Earth’s core, they’ll trigger story scenarios based on the route that they take. However, actions taken during the descent alter the scenes and the ending. These aren’t tough choices to make, and your first few runs can be completely random, but later runs will likely need to be planned if you’re trying to complete the game’s timeline. There’s also a handy feature that lets you jump to specific nodes on the timeline for cleanup once you’ve unlocked a few routes. This is mainly necessary once you reach the final hours of the game, which took me about 20 hours to complete. Those who make it this far are in for a fairly emotional narrative that mirrors the depth of the journey, as you wish for a different timeline.

Combat and the Biotope Jammer

When it comes to gameplay, things get even more unique. You’ve likely assumed this game was a rougelike based on the route choice, but there are also random abilities you can gain. However, I want to stress that this isn’t a rougelike, it’s uh, a strategy RPG. Yeah, I wouldn’t have guessed either, but some floors will contain monsters, which introduces us to Moma’s weapon, the Biotope Jammer.

When you enter battle, the screen transitions into battle mode. With the Right stick, you control the Biotope Jammer, and the left controls Moma. By hitting enemies with the Jammer, you will cause damage. Further, Moma will kick enemies that she comes in contact with. Now, here’s the kicker, if you don’t move, time will freeze, and if Moma moves, the Jammer loses power. This creates some interesting moments of gameplay that I can’t say I’ve ever experienced before.

In execution, the combat system works great. The strategy of lining up combos and using the recoil from hitting an enemy with the Jammer into more enemies is really fun. Further strategy is found in making sure Moma avoids damage. Now, I will say that some runs, depending on the items you obtain, can oversimplify the combat, especially with the stacked effects of the tools. Further, Jammer customization can easily give you the upper hand in every encounter. So, while the battle system is interesting, I found that the difficulty is trivialized the more you continue. To fix this, I would guess that more time would need to be put into balancing the power of the random cards you acquire; even with the negative effects, they’re much too generous. Still, there’s difficulty in setting to fine-tune your route.

Jammer Customization and Shops

The Jammer’s customization options take you to another in-game system where you use collected materials from fights to build your weapon. Each time you clear a route, you’ll unlock more blueprints to make the Jammer even stronger, eventually adding some elemental damage to the hits. It’s a pretty interesting system, albeit a little confusing, but I found the act of discovering new block combinations to be a nice touch on the system.

As you descend, you’ll also encounter shops. The shop system doesn’t require money; instead, you’ll need to negotiate with the shopkeeper to acquire new items. I’d say it might be smarter to wait a few runs before investing too much into this system, as it’s not entirely straightforward, and making poor negotiations could ruin a run. However, once you understand the block system and the use cases of items, it becomes a bit easier to follow. After writing this review so far, I think I can see Million Depth being a “learn on the go” type of game, and I still had fun with it.

Visuals and Audio

The visuals and audio design are straightforward. While the character designs are visually appealing, the environments can sometimes feel repetitive. Fortunately, there are special floors featuring events that add variety to the surroundings. The soundtrack is decent, featuring ambient tracks that effectively set the mood for each floor you visit.

Verdict

From beginning to end, Million Depth is a game about discovery. Its unconventional approach to the action strategy genre reveals creative blends of systems that I haven’t experienced before. While it takes a few runs to understand fully, I found enjoyment in the chaos and discovery. The emotional narrative creeps up from the depths of Earth to grab hold of any player willing to take the leap, and I’m glad I did.