TouchArcade Game of the Week: ‘Ocean Keeper’

TouchArcade Rating: A masterful blend of distinct gameplay styles is what makes Ocean Keeper shine. It successfully merges side-scrolling mining with top-down mech combat, creating a compelling and replayable experience reminiscent of titles like Blaster Master and Dave the Diver.

In Ocean Keeper, players crash-land their mech on an alien underwater planet. The core loop involves venturing into underwater caves to mine resources, a side-scrolling endeavor where players excavate rocks for materials and artifacts, earning in-game currency along the way. However, this mining phase is time-limited; waves of enemies soon attack, transitioning the gameplay to a top-down twin-stick shooter with light tower defense elements. Players must defend their mech against increasingly challenging waves of bizarre aquatic creatures.

Resources gathered during mining fuel upgrades for both the miner and the mech, branching skill trees offering diverse customization options. The roguelike nature means death results in the loss of run-specific progress, but persistent upgrades ensure continuous advancement between runs. Procedurally generated overworld and cave layouts guarantee fresh challenges with each playthrough.

While Ocean Keeper initially presents a somewhat slow pace and challenging early game, persistence pays off. As upgrades accumulate and skills improve, players unlock devastating mech combinations and strategies. The synergy between weapons and upgrades forms the game's core, encouraging experimentation with diverse builds and tactical approaches. Despite a slow start, Ocean Keeper's addictive gameplay loop and satisfying progression make it difficult to put down once it picks up momentum.