Oceanwork puts you to work seeking out ores that lie on the ocean floor. Just try not to drown or get eaten while collecting them.
Making a living ain’t easy, but sometimes you can find some valuable stuff just lying around. Deep underwater, there’s lots of precious ores just waiting for a hard-working diver to gather them up. The hard part is that whole ‘underwater’ bit, as that comes with all sorts of trouble from sea life and the challenges of getting oxygen while a few dozen meters below the water’s surface. Being able to pay your rent would be great, but only if you can stay alive.
The game gives you depth and oxygen meters for you to keep an eye on, so you have the tools to gauge if you have enough air to get to the surface in time. That’s all about paying attention and not getting too greedy, and if you do well, you can use your money to upgrade how far you can go. Then you can find even better ores. And likely some fish who aren’t too happy to see you down there. Sea life isn’t terribly friendly down here, so expect to have to flee in a hurry if you find something menacing. There’s some pretty scary stuff deep underwater, so while this isn’t a horror game, that doesn’t mean you won’t meet a frightening end down here.
Oceanworks can shift from a relaxing work day spent swimming to one where you’re drowning and being eaten alive by vicious sea creatures. Seems like a solid combination to me.
Oceanwork is available now on itch.io.