Mark of the Deep Review

Mark of the Deep, developed by Mad Mimic and published by Light Up Games, is an isometric soulslike metroidvania game. Released on the 25th of January, with support from the Ministry of Culture and government of São Paulo, the experience combines some aspects of Hades with Hollow Knight, both of which are amongst my favourite games, so it immediately piqued my interest.

The story is about a pirate crew stuck on a cursed island that does not exist on any maps. The island’s curse causes people who get stranded on it to become fish-like monsters, though, weirdly, our main character, Rookie, is immune to it. As we start our journey around the island, the main goal is finding the rest of the crew members and figuring out a way off of this island. 

The story is vast and understanding all of it can be a little tough. You learn many interesting things about the history of the island and meet a lot of engaging and varied characters, which really helps with worldbuilding. There are some lore tablets scattered throughout the different areas, but I would say they’re a bit too clear sometimes, plainly stating what happened instead of hinting at it the way Hollow Knight lore tablets do, which is my preferred way of handling that. Nevertheless, piecing events together to understand what happened and why is really fun and engaging, so I enjoyed the story.

The gameplay combines elements of different games and genres, which makes for a pretty engaging experience: the movement is quick and dodgy, meaning you will be constantly avoiding enemy attacks. The way you progress is the standard metroidvania, except maybe a little more segmented, with each main area containing central rooms from which you can go to multiple places depending on how many abilities you’ve unlocked. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel the soulslike elements in Mark of the Deep too much. I don’t consider myself a particularly good player, and there were some tough bosses, but most of my deaths were actually in regular rooms filled with many weak enemies and almost all the bosses I beat on my first try. 

Since the game is metroidvania, it can be a little tough to figure out where you’re supposed to go at times, which is not particularly fun if you get stuck walking around for two hours, and there’s unfortunately no map to assist you. It could just be me not being particularly good at navigating, but if you struggle with remembering the path you took, not having a map is a problem. Some path unlocking is really boring — just walk to the right, fight a bunch of weak enemies, and pull a lever — but most rooms aren’t like that. Overall, though, the gameplay is good and a lot of fun, and Mark of the Deep is probably one of my top five games released in the last three years in terms of gameplay.

The graphics consist of 3D characters with 2D backgrounds, which works really well, and the art direction is amazing. Any scene in Mark of the Deep gives off the abandoned and cursed vibe of the island, and yet each area looks completely distinct. There are some specific rooms that look too bland, but all of them are short passage rooms that you barely stay in, so unless you’re looking for problems, you’re not going to notice them. A tiny issue I have is that the characters’ models have just a tiny bit of a shine and contrast to them; I understand why, as it helps with figuring out where enemies or yourself are located, but it still bothers me a bit.

The voice acting is great and the effects applied on most characters don’t bother me as much as these effects in other games do. There are some bugs in which what a character actually says out loud and what is written in the speech box are different, but it’s minor and doesn’t impact the game too much. Since the game was made in Brazil, I thought to play it in Brazilian Portuguese, but only English has the effects on voices, so I assume you’re supposed to play it in English. The music is amazing, and tracks start playing at just the right time all the time. There was not a single moment in which I felt I needed more or less music — it was just perfect. 

Overall, Mark of the Deep is an amazing title filled with an interesting story, enjoyable gameplay, and brilliant soundtracks. All of the issues in it are minor and barely impact anything, and I am glad I found out about it. The last release I played, which was this much fun for me, is probably Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, which released more than a year ago and is one of my top ten games of all time. So yeah, this is a fantastic game everyone should think of picking up, even for the expensive price of £24.99.