Splash Divers Preview: A Cute and Cozy Underwater Adventure

There’s nothing more calming than taking a diving trip, so it seems fitting that a game like Splash Divers has been designed to be a laid-back, cozy experience. However, there’s still adventure to be had, with the ocean to explore and helping out your fellow diving friends with simple tasks. In the roughly hour-long playtest demo, I was able to get a good feel for what Splash Divers has to offer and get a first look at its potential.

The playtest for Splash Divers is now available on Steam. No release date has been announced yet.

Story – Diving With Friends

Although I only played the demo for Splash Divers, it did touch a little on the story and setting. You play as a girl who has decided to go diving while on vacation, joining a lively cast of characters. In the demo, you get to meet half a dozen of your diving buddies, each with their own personalities and special skills and interests.

When you’re busy exploring the ocean, it’s nice to have company around you, making you feel less lonely while also having someone to enjoy the experience with. It’s also these same people who provide you with the tasks to complete to give you something to focus on.

Getting to know the small selection of fellow divers gave a good impression of things to come and was honestly one of my favorite parts of Splash Divers, which for me is ironic given that I’m more of a solo player. When the full game is released, I look forward to getting to know these characters better, and also meeting the rest of the cast.

Gameplay – Exploring a Fun, Vibrant Marine World

The demo of Splash Divers only had me playing underwater the whole time, but I know there’s gameplay where you play on land above water as well. However, the core focus of this demo was to show off the underwater gameplay, and it didn’t disappoint.

Underwater Adventure

Even in the demo, there’s plenty to keep you occupied and interested in Splash Divers. Throughout the duration of the demo, you get to collect trash, catch crabs and lobsters, explore the designated underwater area, interact with the other divers, and take photos of fish to add to your collection.

Always Something to Do

The demo only takes about an hour to complete. There’s no endless play mode. Once you’ve done all the tasks, that’s it. However, there’s always so much to do, so you won’t run out of activities, reducing the chances of you getting bored. It also gives you a very good taste of the gameplay, at least the diving aspect.

Collecting trash was a relaxing activity in Splash Divers. Chasing and catching crabs, although tricky, was also a fun challenge. You could also take photos of fish to add to your collection. Normally this is something I’m very into, but in this case, I was more interested in other activities like exploration and collecting items.

(Trying to) catch a lobster. These things are fast!

Areas of Improvement for Gameplay

The one thing I would suggest for improvement was having better alerts for tasks, as in where you have to go next and who you have to talk to. Having an indicator of some sort pointing you in the right direction might have worked so you weren’t running around trying to remember which character you’re meant to be reporting to.

I also felt that during dialogue the pop-ups appeared quite abruptly, interrupting a conversation. I like that we’re immediately informed of who a character is or the new tool we’ve unlocked, but it didn’t feel like there was a proper pause in the dialogue, making it seem a bit awkward.

Slightly Awkward Controls 

When playing Splash Diver on the PC, I used the keyboard and mouse to play. I wasn’t asked to connect a game controller. The controls for Splash Diver are fine, but they did sometimes feel a tad awkward.

The main flaw was when I was trying to chase after and catch the crabs, which are fast and difficult to grab, even when I was sprinting. Having to move, run, and control the camera at the same time made it even more difficult.

I can’t help thinking that the controls may need a little refining. However, I wouldn’t describe them as clunky. Most of the time I had no problem navigating the game. It could be down to personal preferences as well. I prefer a controller over mouse and keyboard.

The gameplay is good fun, but the controls may need tweaking to make them a bit easier.

A Unique Exploration Experience

I’ve played games before where you have to navigate and explore underwater settings, such as Dolphin Spirit: Ocean Mission (I used that game as my main comparison when playing Splash Divers). I wanted to see how good Splash Divers was at this. How easy is it just to get around the level? As it turned out, not only easy, but also good fun.

Walking, Swimming, and Jumping

What’s quite unique about Splash Divers is that you’re not always “swimming”, as in floating in water, but skipping along the ocean floor. When you’re “swimming”, this uses up a meter, similar to stamina in games such as Breath of the Wild. Swimming isn’t really required, unless you’re climbing up to higher ledges or jumping across gaps.

The way the level is laid out and the walking and swimming abilities make exploration very interesting. It’s large enough to have plenty to see and explore, but not so big that it’s easy to get lost. I enjoyed hopping up and down ledges and swimming across gaps, rather than just swimming everywhere.

Most of the time you’re “walking”, whereas “swimming” uses stamina.

No Time Restrictions

Speaking of meters, you don’t have to worry about holding your breath for a limited time or running out of oxygen. This isn’t a thing in Splash Divers. You can just explore and go about your business without a care in the world.

Graphics & Audio – An Underwater Setting Beautifully Crafted

One thing I really loved about Splash Divers was its art style. I was initially concerned because I thought it might be a bit blocky, something that’s not really my favorite, but I thought Splash Divers looked gorgeous. The graphics are cutesy, but not sickeningly so. The underwater level looks amazing. You really feel as if you’re exploring a marine world. I especially love all the character designs. It suits Splash Divers perfectly.

The music was good too, playing an underwater-themed track throughout that never felt repetitive or annoying. It did a good job of immersing you in the scene.

A key for the playtest of Splash Divers was provided by PR Outreach.