This diving game about grief seems like rather a literal metaphor
Parallel Studio has announced Under the Waves, a single-player narrative-driven game developed with the assistance of Quantic Dream and releasing on PC and other platforms next year. As one might expect from the Quantic Dream involvement, this will be a heavily narrative-driven experience and visually lush.
Under the Waves is apparently an adventure «about the engulfing power of grief.» It's set in a techno-futurist 1970s and players assume the role of a submarine-assisted diver called Stan, who's «struggling to overcome a life-changing loss and embrace a new future.»
If a grieving diver going deep strikes you as a rather on-the-nose metaphor, the game's blurb makes it explicit but promises that things will begin to take a more surreal turn as Stan explores further and deeper: «The isolation of the deep sea is a fitting manifestation of his state of mind, and as Stan retreads further into his self-imposed solitude, he starts to experience strange events far beneath the waves.»
In terms of how this will all work in the hands, you'll be both piloting a submarine through the abyss, as well as swimming through caves and wrecks. The crafting sounds like it will be a major element, with players salvaging waste to build new tools and explore further.
«This is the most personal and intense work we have ever done as a studio,» says Ronan Coiffec, CEO and game director of Parallel Studio. «We are an indie team of a dozen members, and everything we want to convey is poured into this game, very passionately. From art to writing, from sound design to tech, we all got a chance to leave our mark on Under The Waves. We truly hope you will like it as much as we loved creating it!”
The Quantic Dream partnership involved Parallel Studio
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