Platform: Steam
Genre: Adventure
Completed: 22/01/2024
I remember when this tragedy was all over the news back in 2000. It was surreal following the rescue attempt; hearing the misinformation coming out of Russia, and finally learning that all 118 personnel were lost.
It's still a grim tragedy even 23 years later.
When I came across this game, it advertised itself as a piece of history where you would experience the events leading up to the tragic moment. So my curiosity was piqued.
You play as an American spy trying to steal information on a new kind of torpedo that is on board the Kursk. I liked the sound of sneaking on board the submarine and stealthily taking photos of important documents and equipment. Obviously, this part of the game was fictional and made for the player.
Navigating the Kursk was impressive. The detail they put in the vessel was remarkable: the layout; the different rooms and facilities; even the creaks and clanks of the submarine adjusting to the water pressure. You could see they did their research there.
But sadly, that's where it all stopped short. The rest of the game had so much missed potential. For example, in the beginning, you can come across some Russian equipment that you could snap a picture of (while avoiding detection of patrolling soldiers/sailors). It gives the impression that once on board the submarine there will be similar opportunities like this. But no... while there are photo opportunities, nothing ever comes of the photos. You could go through the entire run without a single snap and it would make no difference.
Additionally, the Russian personnel were incredibly wooden. Most were stationary at their post. Those that had a line or two just repeated the same uninteresting nonsense over and over again. And those that had more to say only did so as part of a quest - whether main or side.
Also, the game had its share of bugs which did not help the game run as smoothly as I would have liked. And the frame rate was disappointingly low that at times the game lagged.
The game store page claims you can get to know the crew and "maintain important relations and make decisions that have a long-lasting impact". When in truth it's simplified to the "be an asshole/be kind" responses. And all this does is affect if you will see Ending 1 or if you have access to Ending 2 to 4.
When the tragedy does occur, I assume the developers had intended for the player to feel some kinship for the doomed sailors. But the problem was, because of the way they were delivered throughout the game, I felt nothing for them. And it's a shame because there could have been so much more.
I do believe that with the overall premise, the developers had a good idea. But unfortunately, I think they left out a lot. Ultimately, I only got one of the endings because I didn't feel inclined to go through it again to get the remaining ones. Even if, from the ending I got, I could technically have reloaded my save and selected a different endgame option to lock me in the path of one of the other endings.
Next up will be - Loom
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