TouchArcade Game of the Week: ‘Ocean Keeper’

TouchArcade Rating: A masterful blend of distinct gameplay styles is what makes Ocean Keeper shine. This game seamlessly integrates side-scrolling mining with top-down mech combat, creating a compelling and replayable experience reminiscent of titles like Blaster Master and Dave the Diver.

In Ocean Keeper, you pilot a mech on a strange underwater planet, venturing into caves to mine resources before facing waves of enemies. The side-scrolling mining segments involve excavating rocks for resources and artifacts, earning you in-game currency. This mining phase is time-limited, forcing a strategic balance between resource gathering and combat preparation. Returning to your mech, the gameplay shifts to a top-down twin-stick shooter with tower defense elements, where you defend against increasingly challenging waves of aquatic creatures.

Resources fuel upgrades for both your mining equipment and your mech, with extensive branching skill trees for customization. The roguelike nature means death resets your progress within a run, but persistent upgrades ensure continuous advancement between sessions. Procedurally generated overworld and cave layouts add to the replayability.

While the initial stages of Ocean Keeper might feel slow and challenging, perseverance is rewarded. As you unlock upgrades and refine your strategies, the gameplay loop becomes incredibly addictive. Experimenting with different weapon and upgrade combinations is a core element of the game's appeal. Initially uncertain, I found myself captivated by Ocean Keeper's engaging mechanics and rewarding progression system once the initial hurdle was overcome.