Under the 8 bit Sea

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Before we begin tonight’s entry, I would like to inform you all that I’m adjusting my posting days. I will still post on Fridays, but I will no longer post on Mondays because of my extended work hours that day. Instead, I will be posting on Tuesdays. So from now on the new posting schedule is every Tuesday and Friday. With that being said, let’s delve into tonight’s post.

8 bit gaming never left us and over the years, it has found its way back into our lives. My last entry focused on an 8 bit adventure and now today, I present you with another one.

Scuba diving has always been a past time of strapping on swim masks and diving down to see what lies beneath the waves.  In Deep Loot, you get to do just that, but instead of admiring the majesty of manta rays or the beauty of bottle nosed dolphins, you get to treasure hunt.  Released this year for mobile devices for literally nothing, Deep Loot allows you to explore an endless ocean and complete eighteen sets of treasures. Some of these collections are references to pop culture; for example, one set is the Discord Diamonds (aka the Chaos Emeralds from Sonic the Hedgehog) and another set is Galactic Artifacts featuring a Futuristic Screw Driver (aka a Sonic Screwdriver from Doctor Who).

As you dive there are movie references scattered throughout the ocean. One movie reference that caught me off guard was a sunken Statue of Liberty from the original Planet of the Apes. These nods to classic cinema make the game more interesting and add a spark of humor as you fight off jellyfish, sharks, and other sea creatures.

While collecting treasure, you earn coins for each piece you obtain. Yet the game easily eats up your hard earned money as you’ll often find yourself roaming to the store purchasing packs of keys for treasure chests and more air supply packs. Of course you can upgrade your boat, suits, weaponry, and drill, but after a while they become quite pricey. Knowing that you need the upgrades to continue completing the collections you ask yourself: is it worth to spend $1 on 100,000 coins?

I’ve managed to complete eight out of the eighteen collections, knowing that I have many more pieces to find. The gameplay is fun, but at times irritating due to the random onslaught of fish attacking you. Very rarely, this can lead the game to freeze and force you to end your dive. Thankfully, you still make out with your loot, but you’ve lost an opportunity to discover more treasure.

Overall, I give this game a 7 out of 10. It’s fun, highly addictive, but can its rare freezes can be remedied.