Ocean's Heart Review
Release Date: February 10th, 2022 (Nintendo Switch), January 21st, 2021 (PC)
Developer: Max Mraz
Platforms: PC (Steam, GOG) , Nintendo Switch (Reviewed)
Price: $14.99
There's no denying the influence Zelda has had ever since the NES days and how much it's impacted game design and how we treat action and adventure RPGs to this day. The downside of it, however, is that we constantly feel the need to compare games that either have a similar UI, aesthetic, or design philosophy to Zelda instead of taking in the entirety of a game as its own identity, which can cause a bit of friction and disservice to a game that's had so much heart, soul, and passion clearly put into it. Ocean's Heart is one of those games that has no doubt received that comparison and will continue to do so, but inspirations should come as a form of flattery and not necessarily a reason to compete. Ocean's Heart from top to bottom is a beautiful game that no doubt wears its inspirations on its sleeve and showcases them in a way that feels both nostalgic and modern, with a familiar UI reminiscent of the greats, and takes you on a genuine journey throughout a multitude of towns, dungeons, and areas across the seas that feel fleshed out and polished, all while remaining immersive and fun.
Ocean's Heart has you play as a young girl named Tilia who gets her town invaded one day by pirates, causing destruction and the disappearance of her father. With the only track she has being a white hourglass on a flag from one of the invading boats, she sets out to rescue her father after months of training and acting as a Volunteer Navy member. Ocean's Heart from here on is filled with tons to explore and uncover, and it's surprisingly filled with tons of humor to keep dialogue engaging no matter who you're talking to, with plenty of dialogue coming from Tilia herself to give her some more personality but also show depth (and naivety) of character. In addition to the disappearance of her father, her friend has also been kidnapped, giving her more drive to face the dangers ahead even though she is technically not ready to do so. However practice makes perfect, and as you go throughout various, vivid areas with stunning pixel art in tow, acquiring new methods of survival and currency to gather upgrades and more, Tilia quickly grows to become an adventurer that can stand her own.
I've always said there's a beauty in simplicity, and Ocean's Heart understands this in more ways than one. Controls are never more than they need to be, towns are just the right size, and dungeons alongside their puzzles never feel like they overstay their welcome. Ocean's Heart is perfectly paced and never intends to overwhelm for the sake of feeling like a grand adventure, and instead opts to use that depth elsewhere through its dialogue and level design. Everywhere you go tends to have an identity of its own, making every location memorable, and with a map size that's both humble and diverse, Ocean's Heart does a great job at making the player feel comfortable whenever entering a new location to explore all while retaining the excitement of exploration and revisiting others. Very few times did I ever think about how Ocean's Heart was beginning to feel like a chore, largely due to the fact that it has a great system set in place through its menus that keep your bag organized alongside a quest log that tracks both main quests and side quests in a very descriptive manner that's easy to read and understand, so very rarely will you ever feel lost or unsure of what to do unless you come across something cryptic. Unfortunately even with its ease of understanding, a lot of the quests can certainly feel like fetch quests that mainly aim for defeating, acquiring, or exploring something, though for me I couldn't help but enjoy everything in-between each quest and hour of play that it was very much all about the journey than the destination, because Ocean's Heart doesn't necessarily try to reinvent anything by any means. Even with the game's linear structure that tends to open up the more you play, however, sticking with the main quests over the side quests will likely keep you moving forward without much issue, though the flexibility of exploration later down the line is a welcome one for those that want a bit more freedom rather than a nice bitesize dungeon RPG.
The combat of Ocean's Heart is very familiar of action RPGs of yesteryear, in which controls are kept mostly simple to a swing of the sword with one button, and dodging with another. While you can assign two specific items to your X and Y buttons, attacking and dodging with B and A respectively will be your primary buttons throughout the game, using the two while moving around to swiftly take out any monsters and opponents that may be of danger. While comparisons are inevitable, it's a complement for me to be taken back to the likes of Sword of Mana, Golden Sun, and older Zelda titles like Oracle of Seasons/Ages where these were some of the first true RPG titles I remember spending time with as a kid during the GBA and GBC days of handheld gaming. They brought this sense of wonderment with something consistently happening to make the worlds feel more alive, and this is true also for Ocean's Heart. Ocean's Heart undoubtedly feels like a love letter to some of these games, and for those of us that have experienced those titles in the past, it also feels like a way to bring us back into a time that once was and touch our hearts further. It feels familiar, and because of that some may find it to be a cause for blandness, but the comfort of familiarity is more than okay for a game like Ocean's Heart when you're cozying up with the game and a nice cup of coffee. It's as the saying goes: "There's no place like home."
One of the biggest drawbacks to combat despite its simplicity, however, is that later down the line you do end up getting your fair share of weapons and magic abilities to add a bit of vareity to the gameplay, though a lot of it can quickly be seen as redundant as there's never really a real reason to use any of it except for preference. All of the magic abilities and additional weapons you'll find all more or less do some sort of damage in both a range and close-quarters scenario, though the big problem comes down to the rate at which you attain them, and the fact that you'll likely have already grown comfortable enough with the sword you receive right away at the beginning of the game that you'll feel no real need to constantly switch between all of your new weapons and magic since you constnatly have to go into your menu and equip/unequip from there rather than having a quick swap option. To be fair, though, even if there was a quick swap option to do so, the upgrades that you can get over time through blacksmithing for your existing sword and armor is usually already more than enough and will take care of just about everything for you until the end of the game.
Even with a few slight drawbacks to its design, Ocean's Heart wonderfully encapsulates everything that makes this genre so great, from its bright pixel art to its engrossing dungeon design and eye-opening mysteries. It never once feels too hard or too easy, and, to me, is a well balanced experience that will without a doubt please many that decide to go on an adventure alongside Tilia. Whether compared to Zelda or not, Ocean's Heart is a great game in its own right, and rather than spend the time making comparisons to make Ocean's Heart or any other game for that matter lessen its value, I hope everyone is willing to realize that Ocean's Heart is a beautiful tribute to the genre that is one of the best of its kind, even if it does suffer from slight mediocrities that we tend to see from lower budget titles like these.
PROS:
A great retro aesthetic that's both colorful and lively
Feels like a true adventure, however simplistic it may be
The music is fitting and can be quite catchy at times
Runs and looks absolutely fantastic on Nintendo Switch (especially if you have an OLED model)
CONS:
Walking can feel a bit slow sometimes, and you can dodge roll almost infinitely which will inevitably become your preferred method of travel
Boss fights are more or less all the same with a "hit until dead" approach rather than any real thinking or utilization of acquire items
A big thank you and huge appreciation to Nordcurrent Labs, Max Mraz, and Plan of Attack for providing us a copy of Ocean’s Heart for the purposes of this review!