There are certain sorts of games where, while a mobile port would be serviceable and fine, you’d ideally want to play them in a more practical situation. On Apple Arcade, we already have games like Shinsekai: Into the Depths and Shantae and the Seven Sirens, but both are Metroidvania-like games where you can’t have that same sort of accuracy and experience on a device that doesn’t have controls built into it. This means that the Shinsekai Switch port feels like it is giving you the best of both worlds.
In Shinsekai, players follow an aquanaut diving deep into the ocean to see what lies beneath the waters. Except this excursion doesn’t go well. While exploring an area, the water flash freezes, barely giving you time to escape it. You are now trapped underwater in a hauntingly beautiful and treacherous world, woefully ill-equipped. Fortunately, since this is a Metroidvania, clearly other people came before you and braved these depths. You have to find their remnants to get more air reservoirs, which exist in place of your health, materials to create harpoons for your gun, and resources to help you survive and learn the truth about what lies beneath.
The greatest perk is not having to rely upon touch controls for the Shinsekai Switch port. The Apple Arcade release would allow you to use a touchscreen or controller if you had it, and the increased accuracy that comes from being better able to gauge your movement and aim your harpoons is invaluable. Capcom created the game with underwater physics in mind, so when you expend oxygen to propel yourself through the water or attempt to walk, you’ll feel that sense of floatiness. While the Apple iOS version is fine in its own right, having a little more precision is a godsend.
It’s also nice having the perspective Capcom intended. Shinsekai, while visually appealing and alien in its way, isn’t a AAA, graphically intensive epic. It was created for a smaller screen and is at its best then. Having it on the Switch in handheld mode helps with its ambiance, especially if you’re sequestered away somewhere in a dark space and able to really be alone with it and your thoughts.
I would say the only failing of the Shinsekai Switch port is that when I opted into Apple Arcade to compare, the soundtrack sounds a bit better on say an iPad Pro than on Nintendo’s system. It’s nothing that, hypothetically, couldn’t be helped with a pair of headphones and a quiet room. Just this is a game with a haunting and enveloping soundtrack constantly increasing the pressure and tension. The track that plays during the final boss fight is incredible and perfect at setting a Mood and, while I loved it on the Switch, I suspect it would have been a bit richer on my iPad Pro.
Shinsekai: Into the Depths is a great Capcom Metroidvania that no one seems to really be talking about. (Which is a shame, because it deserves more attention.) The Shinsekai Switch port is handled well and takes an already enjoyable, atmospheric adventure and makes sure you have it everywhere and with a control scheme that will aid your explorations. Just maybe make sure you have some headphones on hand?
Shinsekai: Into the Depths is available on the Nintendo Switch and Apple iOS devices.
