Codename: Ocean Keeper Preview – Mining Mech (Early Access)

Codename: Ocean Keeper by RetroStyle Games

Codename: Ocean Keeper is one of the latest twin-stick Rogue-like shooters to hit Early Access, another entry in a crowded, popular genre. I’ve played quite a bit of it, and thankfully I think it’s shaping up to be worth your time.

Hunted and Gather

You control a slow-moving, weaponized mech, and the game starts off in an isometric view with a timer counting down. You have to find caves to enter, upon which you leave your mech and the game switches into a 2D view, allowing you to mine for resources used for upgrades.

The 2D view is not only novel but makes resources easy to spot, as you can see which blocks contain them. These upgrades can affect speed, weapon power, and even the speed of mining outside of the mech.

Once the timer is up, waves of enemies attack. As far as enemy design goes, they’re pretty standard and not very interesting to fight. Since they attack in large groups, there is a strong focus on crowd control. Since the mech is slow, calculating where enemies are going as well as player position is key.

Thankfully the game gives you enough tools to properly deal with hordes of enemies: mines, automated turrets, and weapons ranging from machine guns to missile launchers. I’m particularly fond of Frost Bullets, which down enemies.

Codename: Ocean Keeper gives you a lot of things to experiment with. It helps make the moment-to-moment encounters more exciting.

That being said, the mech’s slow movement can take some time to get used to, particularly early on during a fight against a worm boss, which requires smart movement to dodge its projectiles and lunging attack.

Enemies can also overwhelm you if you’re not careful. I like that the game relies on character skill instead of leaning too heavily on stats and upgrades.

Can You Dig It

The good news is that movement speed (along with other stats) can be permanently upgraded. And it’s not limited to the mech; your digging stats can be improved to start each run a bit faster and with a more effective drill. Permanent upgrades keep each run from feeling worthless.

Thankfully, upgrading doesn’t feel like too much of a grind. As of this review, it’s balanced well and nails a difficulty sweet spot. I feel like I’m getting enough resources within each run to survive long enough and upgrade permanent stats. It makes Codename: Ocean Keeper feel chill but also fun.

That being said, nailing that right balance is difficult because there are players who will knock this type of experience as too easy. And since there are no difficulty options in place to cater to those who want more of a challenge, I can see this becoming an issue.

As far as the current state of the game, there isn’t much to see, unfortunately: just one little area to explore each time. Caves are bland and feel the same for the most part, aside from which resources each one contains.

Codename: Ocean Keeper is still in Early Access, so I expect more environmental content to be added later. As it stands now, most of what you see – from locations to enemies – quickly becomes repetitive.

Presentation-wise, the game excels at creating an isolated sci-fi setting. The ambient tones mixed in with the sparse locations make a very atmospheric experience despite the lack of detail.

The Verdict:

Overall I like the core experience here. Its slower pace makes for a more methodical approach to combat, and its isolating sci-fi atmosphere is oddly relaxing.

Unfortunately, the lack of content and variety makes the game too repetitive in its current state. That being said the core gameplay is solid and I’m looking forward to seeing how this game shapes up when it leaves Early Access.

Codename: Ocean Keeper is available via Steam Early Access.

Check out the official trailer for Codename: Ocean Keeper below:

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