FREEDIVER: Triton Down
FREEDIVER: Triton Down plunges you into a capsizing research ship, the Triton, where survival means outmaneuvering the water’s lethal surge.
As world-class diver Ren Tanaka, you must freedive through a sinking ship, overcome underwater chaos, and unlock your path to the surface, all while protecting your most precious resource: the breath in your lungs. Reworked for PlayStation, the FREEDIVER: Triton Down Extended Cut now boasts a deeper story, expanded gameplay areas, and all-new ways to explore them.
Underwater Adventure: Survive a harrowing nautical disaster as a world-class freediver
Fight for Breath: Oxygen is your only resource, the rising seawater your greatest adversary
Gestural Locomotion: Navigate virtual spaces with intuitive dive and swim movement
Interactive Puzzles: Stay calm, think fast, and use your environment to escape
Immersive Soundscapes: Handcrafted music and SFX from an award-winning audio team
Game Discussion
Steam User 0
Reviews have tended to criticise the length of this game, and how it can be completed in about an hour, but I think it's worse than that, as this essentially consists of 2 very short games - which are quite different experiences, and won't necessarily appeal equally to purchasers.
The 1st half is an underwater sim which looks beautiful in the lagoon but (obviously) less so in the caves. I would have made much more of the pretty opening graphics in the lagoon, and provided more reasons to free roam the lagoon, given how linear and less pretty the rest of the game is. You can free roam in the lagoon, but there's little to see. There is a sunken sub, with holes in its side, but swimming into it reveals absolutely nothing. So much more could have been made of this.
The cave sequences are basically a matter of managing oxygen and learning how to grip onto rock walls.
And then, in no time at all, we're into the claustrophobic, puzzles of a can-I-escape-the-sinking-ship scenario. If you came here for the open water swimming (as I did) you'll be disappointed to discover that more of your time will be spent in this 2nd act.
I can see that making the protagonist a freediver, and so managing her oxygen, adds to tension, but diving without a tank is unrealistic, none of the cave crevices seem so tight that a diver couldn't squeeze through with a tank.
The 3rd person cut scenes are immersion-reducing.
I'm giving this a lukewarm recommendation, because the concept is unusual, but the devs could have made more of it, so my recommendation only applies if you pick this up with a deep discount.
Note that the PSVR2 and Quest Store versions have an Extended Cut, which was never made available on PCVR.
Steam User 0
Pros
- Amazing visuals
- Very good swimming and grab mechanics.
- Very immersive experience.
- A lot of influence from the movie The Abyss.
- Tense in some areas.
Cons
- Extremely short (40-60mins)
- Expanded version exists on PSVR, which has a few more elements/mechanics, and potentially longer. Disappointing that this version has not been updated.
- Grabbing objects and environment can be a bit finicky at times.
- Once you use an object it's no longer needed (for those that try to keep hold of items the whole game) as there is no inventory/management, only the glow sticks can be stored on arms.
.
I'm recommending this short experience as it is very enjoyable and has so much potential. I'm a big fan of the movie, The Abyss, and its clear that this game has a lot of influence from there.
I can imagine a VR game for that movie would have everything in this game and also include:
- Running through hallways in panic, closing shafts behind you to escape flooding water,
- Carrying out minor repairs to the rig/ship.
- Lots of elements from Frictional Game's Soma, like sea bed walking and exploring.
- Operating underwater tech.
- Interacting with the aliens/creatures in some way.
- More horror/suspense.
I'm supporting the Devs in the hopes that this dream comes true one day.
Steam User 0
A neat diving experience with intuitive controls and light story elements. Don't worry about thalassophobia, its all enclosed/cave diving (except for a cutscene at the end). It's fun! Just wish it was longer.