Introduction
Deep Down is an upcoming free-to-play dungeon crawler, developed by Capcom Online Games and SCE Japan Studio. The game will put players in a near-future New York City, set in the year 2094, with dungeons, monsters and treasure. It’s a single-player experience to look forward to, but it also features a multiplayer experience that’s similar to the Souls games by From Software.
So, you might be wondering, how do characters in a 2094 New York City come across dungeons and monsters? Well, the characters get transported back in time as they uncover artifacts which take them to a place and time based on the memories uncovered. If you’re a fan of Dark Souls and online role-playing games then you will want to watch out for Deep Down, it’s coming exclusively to the PlayStation 4 by the end of this year.
Get a glimpse of a dragon boss fight in Deep Down by watching the video below. It looks just like Dark Souls, but even better!
Online Multiplayer
The online multiplayer gameplay will put players together in dungeons, forced to fight bosses, from rock creatures to fire-breathing dragons. Last-gen consoles didn’t get too much online RPG action, so it’s exciting to see the PlayStation 4 is getting an exclusive co-op role-playing game. Free-to-play games have been criticized a lot lately, and it’s not clear whether or not Deep Down will have a pay-to-win scenario where some players are buying all the good stuff and others are stuck searching for it.
Free-to-play games aren’t always fair in that aspect, and that’s something that can really ruin the online gameplay. But, it’s not like there’s any PvP, so it might be good to have a friend who purchased all the good stuff. Still, its not fun knowing you spent hours, even days, searching for useful items while someone just bought them.
With that said, Deep Down is expected to have a near perfect online multiplayer experience, so don’t let these negative words on free-to-play games discourage you. Capcom expects Deep Down to have a 10-year lifespan, and they’re going to keep improving the game throughout the years after it’s released.
Capcom’s Teruki Miyashita said the game will provide players with an entirely new gaming experience which is supposed to be very different from traditional dungeon-based games.
He didn’t reveal any specifics on Deep Down’s multiplayer and what will make it unique, but he did say “we’re thinking of some new team play ideas” for multiplayer and the game will feature an “all-player gaming experience”. What’s this? Well, the all-player gaming experience will make players “aware of the other players that are currently connected to the online gaming environment.” Miyashita didn’t go into details about the all-player experience, but we know players can randomly drop in your world and this will likely tell you where they are… or maybe, it’s something way different.
As Real As Realistic Can Be…
Capcom is not playing around, they’re trying to make Deep Down as realistic as possible, and thanks to the Panta Rhei engine they’re succeeding. Between the incredible graphics and the new audio features, Deep Down will make you feel like you’re a part of the game’s world.
Teruki Miyashita, senior manager of consumer games development at Capcom, has recently spoke on Deep Down’s realism, saying the PlayStation 4 allowed the developer to “incorporate more incredible graphics than ever before.”
This is exactly what the PlayStation 4 needs, as most people own the PS4 for the superior graphics in comparison to the Xbox One. “We’re focusing on things like how to recreate real life gases and liquids, such as flames and running water,” said Miyashita. Apparently, the new PlayStation 4 hardware will allow them to “portray minute details, such as the degree of rust in weapons and dirt on a piece of cloth.”
When we think of a game having realistic qualities, it can be easy to overlook how important the audio effects are. “For instance, the voices of the ‘mementos (emotions)’ come from the TV speakers at first, but after you pick up a certain object, you hear the voices coming from the controller in your hands. Say you put something in your pocket, you’ll hear the sound right there near you—we can now offer you that kind of a ‘realer than real’ gaming experience. This feeling of being ‘fully immersed’ is of utmost priority to us.”
Conclusion and Release Date
Capcom is new to the free-to-play business model, and their upcoming game Deep Down does not sound, or even look like a typical free-to-play game. Most free-to-play games are far from perfected, or even fine-tuned before their initial launch, but it looks like Capcom plans on releasing the finest game possible. After the launch, they plan on releasing more features to the game, they even have a schedule for changes to be made. It might truly last ten years as they hope, and that’s hard to believe when you consider how fast technology is changing. Still, it looks like Capcom is committed to releasing the best PS4 game possible.
In 2013 we got a glimpse of Deep Down’s multiplayer gameplay, which you can see in the video below. Apparently, the game has changed a lot since then, so we also embedded a second trailer which was released in 2014. Deep Down is said to get a 2015 release date, although Capcom has yet to confirm an actual date. We don’t even know what month they plan on releasing the game, and some sources say it might even get delayed until early 2016.
Like what you see? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think about Deep Down! Do you think it’s a good or bad thing that Capcom is making it free-to-play?
2013 Trailer
2014 Trailer
