Highwater is a game that features a post-apocalyptic where Earth has been flooded and has been made uninhabitable by humans who are now trying to relocate to Mars instead of fixing their mistakes.
The game's developer, Demagog Studio, takes advantage of a familiar post-apocalyptic story that has been heard so many times before to launch its new title for players to enjoy. Highwater is an action-adventure game that draws from dark comedy.
Highwater's Beautiful Post-Apocalyptic World
(Photo : Demagog Studio, Rogue Games Inc. / Screenshot taken from Steam)
It finds the absurd, the deadpan, and the offbeat in surviving the end of the world and brings together a recognizable dystopian setting with an entirely new attitude. Demagog Studio CEO and Creative Director Igor Simic said that Highwater is an apocalyptic, optimistic comedy.
He added that the game's comedy was influenced by Yes, Prime Minister, Monty Python, as well as anything by Armando Iannucci. However, Simic noted that the important thing is that Highwater is optimistic at its core as it tells the story of friendship and sticking together with friends through trials and tribulations, according to Epic Games.
In the game, emergency evacuation to Mars comes in the form of a super-rocket that is reserved only for the world's elite. For the regular people, they're out of luck, as they are left behind and must struggle to survive in a world that has been ravaged by an ecological catastrophe.
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On top of this, Highwater's main character, Niko, is looking to get on one of the rockets to Mars and decides to waddle through dangerous and flooded zones in an attempt to infiltrate the walled city of Alphaville.
However, Niko is not alone in his endeavor as he picks up some new friends along the way. The game features a road trip-style adventure that largely focuses on drifting on water and involves a ragtag group of people who are each carrying their own hopes and aspirations.
Traveling the Flooded World
Highwater is filled with a cartoony style and bright colors that give it a beautiful stunning aesthetic. Despite its beautiful world and unique characters, the game has players spending the majority of their time outside of combat surfing the waves onboard their boat, said The Sixth Axis.
During fights, players will take control of their characters in turns to target enemies and come out victorious. Highwater's combat also features a focus on environmental damage, which allows players to do nifty things such as dropping a tree onto enemies, pushing a shopping trolley into them, or using a fishing rod to pull them off a ledge.
Despite being set in a post-apocalyptic world, Highwater manages to bring a fun tone to players and is filled with characters who are colorful and interesting. They are complemented by books and papers that can be collected to provide some background into the world and what has happened.
Highwater's gameplay is a mix of exploration and turn-based combat that shifts between a relaxing atmosphere and intense strategical puzzles. Battles take place on a grid and feature a variety of skills and attributes spread across different characters that players should take advantage of, according to The Box Hub.
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