Developer Parallel Studio and publisher Quantic Dream have announced their new poetic narrative-driven adventure game Under the Waves. Under The Waves will be a single-player narrative experience and it will allow you to dive into the depths of the North Sea to explore a moving and poetic underwater adventure about the engulfing power of grief. The game is set in a techno-futurist vision of the 1970s where players will follow an underwater journey of Stan.
Check out the reveal trailer for Under The Waves before we jump into additional details:
Stan is a professional diver working for an oil company and is facing the isolation of the deep sea as he starts to experience a series of strange events deep under the waves. Ronan Coiffec, CEO and Game Director of Parallel Studio commented:
This is the most personal and intense work we have ever done as a studio. We are an indie team of a dozen members, and everything we want to convey is poured into this game, very passionately. From art to writing, from sound design to tech, we all got a chance to leave our mark on Under The WavesTM. We truly hope you will like it as much as we loved creating it!
To help in the development of the game, publisher Quantum Dream offered Parallel Studio access to a lot of talent and creative tools including motion capture, voice recording, animation, quality assurance, localization, and a lot more. This is the first time that Quantic Dream has helped out a fellow French studio in Paris. Guillaume de Fondaumière, co-CEO of Quantic Dream also commented:
Back in 2021 when we announced our partnership with Parallel Studio, we couldn’t wait for players to discover their work. Today, we are thrilled to present Under The WavesTM to the world, a unique experience created by a very passionate indie team here in Paris. We’ve been able to work closely together to give them all the means they needed to create a game that lived up to their expectations, and achieve their most ambitious project to date. We are also very proud to support Surfrider Foundation Europe, whose message and actions are core to the theme of Under The WavesTM.
Under The Waves is a love letter to the ocean and it shines a light on the importance of ocean preservation. It features vibrant sea life and subtle messages shared throughout the gameplay experience. Parallel Studio and Quantic Dream have also announced a partnership with Surfrider Foundation Europe, a non-profit association responsible for the protection and enhancement of lakes, rivers, oceans, waves, and coastlines.
The publisher will financially support the organization through a donation and carry out activities to support the cause during and after the campaign. The game will also try its best to amplify the non-profit’s ecological message through in-game activations, cross-communication, and internal activities. Pénélope Giroud, Marketing and Communication Manager of Surfrider Foundation Europe said:
We are delighted to partner with Quantic Dream for the release of Under the WavesTM. For 30 years, Surfrider Foundation Europe has been working on protecting the oceans, by making the general public aware of all the threats that weigh on them. The game gives us a huge opportunity to educate players on its fragility, especially through the impact of offshore drilling, but also on various other topics. We are pleased to support the game’s creators in getting the right and most impactful messages across and ensuring that they fit perfectly into the game’s storytelling. We are looking forward to its release!
Under The Waves will feature players exploring gorgeous environments, caves, and wrecks where underwater wildlife will act as our guide through an unforeseen series of events tugging you deeper and deeper into the abyss. As you follow the mysterious manifestations of Stan’s memories, you will need to make the difficult choice to stay lost in the depths forever or break free to the surface.
Under The Waves is slated for a 2023 release on PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. Additional details about the game will be revealed in the future however you can add the game to your Steam Wishlist right now to stay updated on all future updates.
What are your thoughts on the reveal of Under The Waves? Is it something that you would be willing to play when it comes out? Let us know in the comments section below.
