Platform: Switch
Publisher: FDG Entertainment
Developer: Cornfox & Bros.
Genre: Action, Adventure, RPG
Players: 1
Release Date: June 22, 2017
Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas is an isometric, action-adventure game developed by Cornfox & Bros., and published by FDG Entertainment
My favorite Zelda game before Breath of the Wild was Phantom Hourglass on the Nintendo DS. I know that it is considered one of the weaker titles in the series, but I loved the touchscreen controls and thought that being able to sail freely from one island to another was an incredible accomplishment on a handheld. Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas reminds me a lot of Phantom Hourglass in the way that it looks, plays, and attempts to create the experience of sailing the seas. Despite its best efforts, Oceanhorn does not do much of anything to challenge the genre. Oceanhorn is simply a good game, and there’s nothing wrong with being good enough.
A Father’s Fate
Oceanhorn starts with the main character’s father writing him a letter detailing his fate that is tied to the titular monster of the seas, “Oceanhorn“. The main character wakes up after the initial cutscene ends, and is guided by a mysterious floating necklace to find a sword and shield. After finding the sword and shield, the main character meets with a character named Hermit who guides us towards starting our adventure. The goal of the main character is to save his father and defeat Oceanhorn.
The story isn’t original or special, but it simply gets the job done. It sufficiently motivates the player to continue playing until the end, and it provides a nice explanation for why any of this is happening. I never found myself getting attached or interested in the NPCs that are scattered throughout the islands of the game. They serve mostly as guides for accomplishing your quests and to teach you how to play the game.
Simplicity on the Seas
The overall presentation of Oceanhorn is simple and clean. The colors are bright, the character models are somewhat simple but still fully realized, and the environments are detailed enough to not be repetitive. The music sets the mood of each area fairly well, with tracks accompanying the weather or theme of the island. The sounds of footsteps changing depending on the surface, swords impacting enemies, and bombs exploding are full and do the job well.
The game performs well at a solid 60-FPS in either docked or handheld mode. I never once had the game hiccup or slowdown, no matter how many enemies were on the screen. Oceanhorn does not have any Nintendo Switch exclusive hardware features like HD Rumble or motion controls. Not that they are necessary or make the game better, they are simply things that are nice to have. I understand that the game is a port of an iOS game, but it would be nice to have something that makes it particularly unique over the PC, PS4, and Vita ports.
Swords, Sailing, and the Search for Dad
The gameplay of Oceanhorn is similar to that of The Legend of Zelda series. The main character goes around exploring an area fighting enemies, finding items, and uncovering chests for new weapons and abilities. The game features Zelda-like dungeons with caves, temples, and mysterious caverns to explore.
In these “dungeons,” you defeat enemies and solve puzzles to progress until the end. The puzzles are not difficult or complex, so you won’t be frustrated trying to figure them out but they also won’t challenge you that often. Some dungeons feature boss battles, which reward you with heart pieces, coins, items, spells, and other items once you defeat them.
Oceanhorn also features a sailing mechanic that allows you to move from island to island using a map select screen. Once you reach your boat, you are given the opportunity to choose what island you want to travel to as long as it’s available on the map. The game is somewhat confined in that it does not allow you to freely travel from island to island. You must “discover” them throughout your journey. At some point in the game, you will get the ability to shoot at enemies and items in the ocean as you travel from one island to the next.
Concerns
The combat in Oceanhorn feels a bit clunky. Many of my combat situations can be summed up as pressing the attack button fast enough to kill the enemy before it hit me. The attacks themselves don’t feel particularly satisfying or punchy. You do have the ability to block, throw items, and use your spells, which add a variety of ways to approach enemies. A dodging or rolling mechanic could have made things a bit more exciting, but overall I feel that the core combat mechanics feel incomplete.
Another concern I have with Oceanhorn is that the sailing is nothing more than an interactive loading screen where you can shoot at targets on the sea. There isn’t a real way to explore the ocean in Oceanhorn. In order to explore new islands or areas in this game, you must “discover” them by reading notes in bottles, talking to NPCs, or having them revealed to you throughout the game. You can only sail to islands you’ve learned about through these ways.
Even if on the way to your destination you see an island you’ve never explored, you will not be able to explore it until you “discover” it. These mechanics make exploring feel less open and needlessly confined.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed playing Oceanhorn enough that I feel confident in recommending it. The game does not do anything spectacularly special, but it is worth playing if you’re looking for a Zelda-like game in the way of Phantom Hourglass. When taking its origins as an iOS game into consideration, Oceanhorn accomplishes a lot. As a port for the Nintendo Switch, however, it does play it safe.
While taking obvious inspiration from games in The Legend of Zelda series, Oceanhorn does a good job at creating an action-adventure title that will keep you interested as long as you keep in mind that it’s not trying to challenge the titans of the genre.
Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas is available now on the Nintendo eShop for $14.99
