Play review of 'Million Depth', a game that uses time-stopping action and weapon crafting to travel across the 'world line'
' Million Depth ' is an action-adventure game in which you use 'time-stop battles' to descend deep into the underground world of 'Million Depths.' Its unique battle controls, in which time only moves when you move, and highly customizable weapons are key features. Because it requires players to think and move slowly, it's easy to play even if you're not good at action games. It's said to be packed with addictive elements, such as crafting elements, charming characters, and the atmosphere of the setting, so we tried out 'Million Depth,' provided by indie game publisher PLAYISM.
Million Depth | Game | PLAYISM Official Website
'Million Depth' release date announcement trailer-YouTube
The home screen of 'Million Depth.' Use the WASD or arrow keys to move and the mouse to click. Click 'Start Over' to start the game.
There are three difficulty levels: 'Story Mode,' which allows you to enjoy the story at your leisure; 'Normal Mode,' which is the standard difficulty; and 'Roguelike Mode,' which is the more difficult. In 'Million Depth,' if you lose the game, you cannot 'restart from a previous save' and you have to 'start from the beginning in a different world line,' so if you want to experience the story, we recommend 'Story Mode,' which allows you to retry as many times as you like.
When the game begins, a girl appears looking down at the Earth from a spaceship.
The girl's name is Moma. Alone on the spaceship, Moma sets off for Earth in search of 'you,' the person who once sent her a message.
After the introductory story, you can move left and right. The basic movement is to move sideways using the A and D keys or the left and right arrow keys.
You can examine an object by approaching it and pressing the E key.
Return to the center and press the E key again. The message 'Do you want to depart for Earth?' will appear, so select 'OK' with your mouse.
Moma puts on the glasses as instructed by the spaceship's support AI. Now she's ready to go.
Upon landing on Earth, Moma immediately encounters aggressive animals. It seems that most of the Earth has been altered to the point that it is no longer habitable, and the only place people can live is in deep hole habitats. However, even in these holes there are altered creatures that will attack if they encounter them. One thing that protects Moma is the 'Biotope Jammer.'
The Biotope Jammer is a device that stops time around it, so while Moma is still, the surrounding area also remains still. You can attack by moving left and right and ramming into enemies, but if you move, the enemy will also move, so there is a chance that you will be attacked.
I was able to hit the enemy and deal damage, but I was hit back and took damage. The red bar at the top of the screen is Moma's health gauge.
You can also attack using weapons. In the following scenarios, you are being attacked by enemies attached to the ceiling, and you cannot reach them by ramming into them. Therefore, you can move and attack by dragging the weapon that is floating with the ring. At this time, even if Moma is stationary, moving the weapon will disable the Biotope Jammer, and the enemy and its attacks will move, so be careful.
Hitting enemies with your weapon can kill them at a distance.
You are surrounded by many enemies and attacks come flying at you. You can block the enemy attacks by using your weapon, but in the scene below, your weapon is on the opposite side of the attack, so you can't block in time.
In that case, you can judge the timing and jump with the space bar to dodge. In this way, the basic flow of battle is to stop time, avoid enemy attacks, and attack with body slams or weapons.
Since you're often surrounded by multiple enemies in a small area, you need to fight well while making full use of time stopping. You can get a good idea of what the battle in 'Million Depth' is like by watching the movie below.
Basically, there is one event per floor, such as battling enemies or acquiring items, and you progress by falling further and further down. When you fall, you can choose which of three directions you fall in, and a rough idea of what the floor below will look like is displayed.
Once you have selected your destination, click 'Jump in.'
The main objective is to descend into the depths of the Earth, known as the 'Million Depths,' and reach the deepest one million layers.
One of the important elements of 'Million Depth' is 'crafting.' In the tutorial, press C to open the crafting menu. After that, you can craft anywhere by consuming items, or you can craft at dedicated facilities.
In the crafting menu, you can move the mouse to customize the weapon you want to use. Weapons have different characteristics, such as 'flat parts have no attack power' and 'uneven or spiked parts have attack power,' which changes the overall attack power.
Furthermore, there is an element called 'blueprints,' and when certain parts are arranged in a specific shape, they grow into 'upgrade parts' that have additional effects. As a test, I lined up four silver square parts in a square.
The four square parts then joined together, and the 'durability' increased dramatically. Durability is related to how resistant an item is to being hit by an enemy weapon.
Customized weapons will be reflected on the field as follows:
On the crafting screen, robots expand their space as the story progresses, allowing you to create larger and more powerful robots.
Also, according to the 'upgrade blueprint' I acquired along the way, arranging four copper square parts and four silver square parts will upgrade it to a 'silver sword core.' I tried arranging the parts I had on hand while looking at the blueprint.
Then, a weapon with the shape of a sword is completed as shown below.
A key feature of weapons is not just their overall attack power, but also which part of the weapon you hit the enemy with. For example, even if you create a weapon with high attack power, hitting the enemy on the flat part will not do much damage, so you need to hit the uneven or spiked part. Furthermore, if you equip an upgrade part like a sword, you can deal large damage with a modifier to the attack power by hitting the enemy well.
Weapons can be used not only for attack but also for defense. In the following scene, an enemy is attacking with a power of '5', so you can block by hitting it with your weapon.
If you successfully guard, the enemy's attack will disappear, but your weapon's durability will decrease by 5.
When a weapon's durability reaches 0 and it is destroyed, it becomes unusable and defenseless for a few seconds, so you'll need to be creative and increase its durability through crafting, and improve your evasion skills rather than just guarding.
Parts used for crafting can be dropped by defeating enemies, or can be obtained by collecting them from fallen robots on the map.
There are also item and part traders on the map, and you can get the items you want by offering an item of the same value.
In addition to customizing weapons with parts, you may also obtain 'relics' when defeating powerful enemies. Each relic has an effect that gives you an advantage in battle, so you can become stronger by choosing relics that improve your battle style or compensate for your weaknesses. However, strong relics may also have 'negative' effects such as '-50 Max HP.'
Negativity can also be removed by progressing through the story.
You can recover your stamina by selecting and using items picked up along the way from the top of the screen, or by visiting rest areas that occasionally appear on the map. Below is Moma taking a rest.
Additionally, each time you dive deeper into the levels, your 'battery' will be consumed. When your battery runs out, the surroundings will become dark, so you will need to use items or visit battery stands on the map to recover.
As you progress through the game, you will meet 'you,' the person Moma had come down to Earth for.
After meeting 'You,' Moma ventures deep underground and finally reaches the one millionth floor, where the ruler of the underworld, a man named 'Bi,' resides. The one millionth floor is close to the Earth's core and is a fiery hot area. By defeating 'Bi' who appears there, you can reach the ending.
After clearing the game, the results are displayed, and you'll receive a clear bonus of 'Karma,' which unlocks new crafting plans and more. The results display read, 'Alpha World Line Cleared!'
Then, details of the 'World Line' were displayed. You can see a chart showing how the choices you made while progressing through Million Depths affected the endings.
Return to the home screen and select 'Start from the beginning' again to start the game.
The game returns to the same scene as when you first started, with Moma heading for Earth in search of 'you.' However, there are some subtle incongruities, such as the presence of Hachi, a robot dog that wasn't present at the start of the game, and the appearance of Earth from the spaceship being different.
Below, the left is the beginning of the game, and the right is the beginning of the restart. In addition to the presence or absence of a dog and the appearance of the Earth, another major change is that at the start of the game, Moma wears glasses before setting off because 'her eyesight is poor,' but in the restart, she enters Earth without her glasses.
Entering Earth's Million Depths, there was another big difference. The number of 'weapons' that can be freely customized and controlled with the mouse has increased to two, and you can switch between them by right-clicking. Both weapons are always floating, allowing for more advanced actions such as 'holding one stationary between you and the enemy as a shield and moving the other to use it as a weapon.' While skillfully using two weapons can be difficult, the 'Biotope Jammer' can stop time around you, allowing you to fight while carefully thinking, so there's no need to worry about getting impatient.
In the first story, a god-like being called 'Beey' ruled over Million Depths, but in the second story, a being called 'See' is worshipped, and the Million Depths that Moma enters looks different. Some levels are similar to the first, while others are completely new.
Moma finally reaches the one millionth floor and fights Shi to achieve her goal. Just when she thinks she's defeated Shi and cleared the stage, a shocking and sad truth awaits her there.
The second time around, I experienced the 'β world line,' and when I returned to the home screen, I was given the option to retry either the 'α world line' or the 'β world line.'
The story of 'Million Depth' involves repeatedly exploring multiple world lines, unraveling mysteries, and learning the truth as you move toward the true ending. The world line chart makes it easy to predict where and how the story branches, and you can also quickly progress by selecting 'Skip stories you've already read' in the settings, allowing you to watch only new events. You can gradually uncover the truth and discover what awaits you at the true ending.
When I played 'Million Depth,' I struggled at first with the action, but once I got the hang of the 'Biotope Jammer' system, which allows you to stop time while fighting, and the 'Craft' system, which allows you to freely customize your weapons, I was able to progress smoothly. Because you can carefully consider 'first move like this, and then defeat it like this,' it's quite easy to play even if you're not good at quick action. Even with the slow action, you can still feel the exhilaration of defeating enemies, acquiring items, and gradually becoming stronger.
At the beginning of the story, it feels like 'it has a good atmosphere, but I don't really understand it,' but as you complete each playthrough, the mystery gradually unravels, and the shocking truth is revealed in scenes that leave a big impact, so many people will find themselves hooked. To progress through the story, it's important to try different choices in the 'α World Line' and 'β World Line' multiple times, but the game's tempo is quite good, and battle elements like 'crafting' and 'relics' allow you to approach each game differently, so there's no stress of trying multiple times and you'll find yourself retrying again and again.
'Million Depth' is available on Steam for 1,870 yen. There is also a free demo, so it's recommended to try it out first to see if you like the characters, world view, and battle system, but the demo only covers up to the 'α world line.'
Save 20% on Million Depth on Steam
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2555950/Million_Depth/
You can also get 'Million Depth' from the following gift article.
GIGAZINE Winter gift release project 'Answer the questionnaire and take them all!' - GIGAZINE
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