Feed the Deep [Review]
Dive into the ocean's depths to find hidden terrors in the deceivingly colorful Feed the Deep, the latest game by the designer Jetpack Joyride and Fruit Ninja.
Feed the Deep. Credit: Luke Muscat
Luke Muscat, creator of addictive mobile titles Jetback Joyride and Fruit Ninja, has released a new solo project: Feed the Deep. The procedurally generated, compulsively playable roguelike is an atmospheric deep-sea horror adventure with Lovecraftian influences. Despite its cartoony graphics, the game is terrifying, thanks to its use of lighting and sound.
Sometime in the future, humanity builds floating cities on the ocean. Soon, they discover they’re not safe unless they feed the deep. Every so often, a diver is selected to find and appease whatever is down there. You are that diver.
Feed the Deep. Credit: Luke Muscat
Over each of the procedurally generated levels, it’s your task to find the eldritch horror of the deep. The core loop is straightforward: dive to explore and look for treasure, return to the surface before you run out of oxygen, and spend your treasure to buy upgrades that will help you survive longer underwater.
You haul up the treasure and other found objects using a tether you pull behind yourself; eventually, it’ll slow you down, but you can upgrade its capacity. Other key upgrades include oxygen capacity, the power of your light, increased water pressure resistance, and more. You can also buy helpful items, such as the glowstick I would carry with me on every dive.
Feed the Deep. Credit: Luke Muscat
The caves are a maze of dark tunnels and chambers. You can illuminate the area around you using your directional flashlight or glowsticks. The limited visibility and the play between light and shadow are what make the game scary. If a mass of dirt blocks the path of your light, shadows will blanket and hide everything beyond them. You can also limit your visibility by kicking up silt. Of course, none of this is an issue for the creatures that are hunting you.
The ocean's depths are full of creatures that seem to be made up of only tentacles. They prowl the dark passageways or lay in wait, buried in the walls, waiting for you to get too close. Seen fully lit, these monsters don’t look too bad. However, it's scary when they’re hidden in shadow and appear right next to you; thanks to the game’s excellent sound design and camera control, it’s absolutely terrifying when they grab you.
Feed the Deep. Credit: Luke Muscat
Move too fast, and the game will punish you with these jumpscares. Even when the monsters don’t catch you by surprise, getting grabbed induces panic. Your diver can’t take too many hits, so you must be careful. You can use your flares and later bombs to eliminate the monsters, but these are in short supply.
The graphics in Feed the Deep are cartoonish. Everything is flatly rendered and brightly colored, fooling me into thinking it wouldn’t be a scary game. The game’s masterful use of lighting and shadows takes it to another level; it subverts the expectations that come with the game’s art style to create an entirely different atmosphere. This, paired with the game’s excellent sound design and the frailty of your character, makes the experience genuinely scary.
Feed the Deep. Credit: Luke Muscat
Feed the Deep is an excellent game. It’s simple to play and understand, but this simplicity belies the game’s depth. I love that Luke Muscat created such a spooky experience without relying on horror games' familiarly cliche visual tropes and settings. I also find it wonderful when artists create works outside the genres and types they’re usually known for, especially when they’re as good as Feed the Deep.
Feed the Deep is available now for PC on Steam.
Overall Score: 8/10
Played on: Steam Deck
