Everyone is perfectly comfortable with the idea of death. Each night, when we sleep, we exit reality for a bit, mostly certain we’ll wake up in the morning, but also usually too tired to focus too much on this concept. What people seem to fear most is that the world continues without them upon the moment of our departure. It’s the creeping dread that reminds us how very, very insignificant we are in the greater tapestry of reality, and it’s been a terror that squats on the periphery of existence since the day humanity came into awareness. But which could be worse: the world moving on without us, or the world stopping while we, alone, remain? Million Depth, a fascinating roguelike tale from Cyber Space Biotope, explores the fragile psyche of someone who must cope with loneliness, madness, and histrionic hope in a compelling loop of determination and futility.

Moma has been aboard a spaceship orbiting a poisoned Earth for an indeterminable amount of time. Gradually, the denizens of the craft have disappeared, leaving Moma mostly alone, save for correspondence with one of the last surviving humans in the underground Earth colonies. When the messages stop with a foreboding “please don’t come here,” Moma takes exactly one day of freaking out in a tailspin before deciding to ignore the warning and jaunt down to Earth. Diving directly to the safety zone of one million meters underground is impossible for a body to survive, so Moma must make gradual steps, going through layers of monsters, mysteries, and the occasional helpful robot to reach the only person she knows is still alive. But the fight to reach the truth only begins once Moma learns the horrible truth about Earth’s condition, and it’s a dark, terrifying path to tread.

Million Depth can appear very daunting at first due to the nature of the game. Each floor, you decide which way to fall with a small idea of what will be waiting for you. Usually, it’ll be enemies of some kind, but there is also a chance to recharge your battery (necessary to continue diving), get more health (that seems obvious), upgrade your weapon, buy new items or trigger an important expositional moment to tell you about the current state of Earth as well as some light as to how it came to be. As a roguelike game, the levels can be stacked in any which way, though the insight is incredibly helpful. Like the classic Mr. Driller, you need to plan out which way you’d ideally like to fall to keep up stats, improve your weapons and generally hope for a miracle.

Combat for Moma is peculiar, with it being equal parts SUPERHOT and Terraria. Moma can do physical damage herself with a dash attack, and it’s fairly effective while also being pretty dangerous since you need to stay alive. The better approach is to use your floating ring of telepathic pain, which sees the most amount of improvement and customization throughout your dive. You can modify the ring at certain stations (as well as a limited number of portable upgrade kits) to make it larger or smaller and design it for a more offensive or defensive approach, since the ring does double duty of being both a sword and a shield. The ring can be overwhelmed by enemy damage and needs to recharge throughout battle, but it’ll perk up and get back into the fray once enough time has passed.

Things in fights don’t progress unless you are moving something (either Moma or the ring), so Million Depth’s fights have a nice edge of strategy to them, particularly the further along you get in the game. The construction of the rings is all crafting, so mapping out the materials you might find from enemies or treasure scavenging influences your ring builds. Moma can move and jump, but her jump arc is fairly limited (initially) so dodging bullets becomes a matter of timing and precision. Being able to stop, look and assess if you will use one of your very limited consumable items or simply plow forward is incredibly helpful, and also adds a twist to make a roguelike title move as fast or slow as you’d like, something that we don’t often see today in a world of “one more run, fast as possible.”

Speaking of which, I also really appreciate the way Million Depth scales the difficulty. I was concerned that the game was going to be too easy upon my initial dive despite doing the standard storyline (there are also easy and difficult modes). Being able to attack without ever putting yourself in danger seems like a cakewalk, and I did get all the way to the “end” on my very first dive. While I had to resurrect twice (including the final battle with the first real boss), I still was able to reach an ending with minimal struggle. The delivery of it all, though, made me realize that I simply got incredibly lucky with my load out and happened to heal, upgrade my ring and find the right kind of pointy stones with incredible timing. I confirmed this when I started my second run and perished on the third floor.

But the load out makes it great. The relics you discover really like Moma find different approaches that you can customize to your own liking. There are boons that are most effective when you’re suffering some kind of ailment, ones that benefit either aggressive or defensive styles, and, my personal favorite, upgrades that also inflict a penalty, like massively upping your damage at the cost of half your health. It shouldn’t always be a straight line forward, but, instead, a convoluted walkabout that sometimes brings you back to where you started, wiser and stronger, but essentially in the same spot. The karma system that rewards your progress each run bolsters the subsequent dives with more opportunities for strength, but not guarantees. 

Also, don’t let the pixel graphics fool you. Million Depth was surprisingly demanding on my computer, with some light stuttering happening at the beginning and end of each floor as Moma descended into something new and potentially horrifying. Thankfully, it never interrupted the actual combat moments, though an explosion could potentially interrupt my flow (good time to let the combat freeze work in my aging processor’s favor). Plus, Cyber Space Biotope has crafted some incredible looking characters and areas, including an adorable drilling robot who I want to help with my whole heart. I won’t rest until I figure out how to get Drilly every single block he needs so he can go home, human race be damned!

The storyline at the center is what will keep people diving back into Million Depth again and again. The reveal at the end of your first playthrough is shocking, and it barely makes sense due to the limited amount of information you’ve gleaned, but it dawns on you how true and damning the information is. Moma’s integral role in the past, present and future of Earth is essential, and the character is so loveable and so heartbreakingly determined to not be alone that you can’t help but continue along with her, in spite of everything screaming that you should stop. The infographic that’s unlocked to show how much of the storyline you’ve achieved is like a visual novel tool, and it’s so helpful to give me hints on how to change up my next approach.

My only criticism of Million Depth is the same that I would give any roguelike, and that’s the random builds can sometimes lead to early and frustrating dead ends. I barely accept that there are storms that exist in the Earth’s crust as it is, but to fly through a storm, lose a bunch of health and then end up at a dangerous creature encounter is frustrating bull. These are the moments where you don’t feel like you’re on a quest or progressing towards an answer, but, instead, are running face first into a brick wall, determined to prove your cartilage is stronger than stone. Spoiler: it absolutely isn’t.

Having said that, Million Depth has such a compelling throughline that I’m doing my damnedest not to ruin for newcomers, and the approach is unique, engaging and successful. Minecraft fans will take to the weapon upgrade faster than I did, and those of you who want to simply do the “story” mode will find incredible satisfaction in spite of the watered down difficulty. It’s brilliantly unique and reminds me that the worst damages wrought by humanity often are tinged with good intentions and the erroneous beliefs of righteousness. If you’re prepared to face the pain of it all, hold your oxygen tank close and dive in. There’s so many layers to peel back to reach the truth.

 

Graphics: 7.5 Beautiful characters and avatars, with areas being rich in detail and nuance to deliver a real “after it ended” vibe. Important moments look fantastic, but mundane battles tend to have the same backdrop over and over.	Gameplay: 7.0 The mixture of melee and ranged combat is interesting and well executed. Progress relies heavily on luck in relic finds and balanced encounters. Fights and strategy pick up considerably once a second ring is added. Longer runs can feel repetitive, but the boss fights are truly challenging and exciting.
Sound: 8.0 Very haunting and melancholy for the most part, the music is great for the ambience of the world and Moma’s journey. Would have really liked to hear some voice work, particularly for Hachi.	Fun Factor: 8.5 Really solid gameplay loop that grows on you quickly. I almost bounced off initially because I don’t like crafting, but it’s inobtrusive enough to be a quick boost here and there. I was enthralled by the story and love the delivery method: the world is truly a maddening place.
Final Verdict: 8.0

Million Depth is available now on PC.

Reviewed on PC.

A copy of Million Depth was provided by the publisher.