Recent reviews by Chocmerc

I've been playing this game for a while, and though there have been some ups and downs with my interest level over the few years i've owned it, I always find myself coming back to it. It is under active development, and continues to add depth to what is already a deep vehicle designing battle game.

Essentially, From the Depths is a game where you can pit your wildest vehicle creations against enemy vehicles, whether they be ships, aircraft, giant robots, hot air balloons, floating castles, "sea monsters," airships, submarines, tanks and other land based vehicles, etc. If you can imagine it, chances are you can probably build it given enough time and effort. There are other building games with better variety of block shapes, but the toolset FTD gives you is still pretty robust, and new blocks are being added at a good pace.

The game is block based, similar to minecraft, with things generally operating in the space of 1x1x1m cubes, though there are all sorts of shapes and sizes to use, ranging from 1x1x1 to 1x4x1 or 2x2x1, etc. There is a hefty learning curve the first dozen times you try to build something, the physics of the game world take some getting used to, and can be counter-intuitive, but there is an active community in discord, and a fair few tutorials of all formats, including on youtube, to help get you started quickly.

Vehicle design has a number of mechanics, both simple and complex, that allow you to, with the right combination, achieve various stats and effects. Armor, for example, has a good depth to it, requiring you to layer them in certain ways to defeat certain weapons and rounds. For example, you could try to stack the heaviest armor four blocks thick, which will defeat simple kinetic or explosive rounds, but would leave your internals vulnerable to the penetrating effects of HEAT or HESH rounds, and make you pretty heavy.

Another example is the weapons systems, ranging from heavy smoothbore guns to rifled specialist cannons, lasers, particle cannons, missiles (so many missiles!), and more. they each are multi block designs that require specific blocks connecting to others, and by mixing and matching pieces you can set up your rate of fire, size of shell, shell velocity, design your own shell with payload, accuracy, etc.

The campaign offers you a chance to start out in a world with eight distinctive factions who all vie for dominance over their neighbors, and allow you to conquer the world, so to speak. Each faction has a distinctive look, feel, design, weapon systems, etc. They range from the beginner level wood and iron pirate force of the Deep Water Guard, to the modern steel navy of the Steel Striders, to the enigmatic and dangerous Scarlet Dawn, with others in between. As you capture various locations and earn more resources, you are challenged to expand against stronger and varied opponents on your quest for world domination, but they dont just sit around waiting for you to attack, they will sortie into your territory and try to take it back by force.

From the Depths has an active community built around this game, including modders and streamers / video makers. There are community organized events, tournaments, and plenty of places for really talented people to show off their hard work and beautiful builds. The official Discord channel cannot be recommended enough, plenty of people there who are friendly and willing to help beginners and point them in the right direction.

FTD is a niche game, and it seems people either love it or hate it. Everyone i've met in this game has a great passion for this game, and the future looks bright for it, with dev roadmaps and a launch date set to take it out of alpha / beta soon, if not now by the time you read this review. If you think you will enjoy designing and building vehicles, and pitting them against the best the community has to offer, or enjoy the puzzle of getting the perfect rate of fire for your doom cannon (which is 2000 rounds per minute usually), or you want to create the perfect plane that flies gracefully through the air before pounding an opponent to dust with its weapons, the sky is the limit to your creativity and destructive potential.

I hope this review assists you in your purchasing decision, and have a wonderful day :)
Chocmerc