Under the Waves is a narrative-adventure about the "engulfing power of grief"
Explore the depths of the sea and human grief.
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Parallel Studio and publisher Quantic Dream announced at gamescom a new single-player narrative-driven game titled Under the Waves.
In the game, you will dive to the depths of the North Sea in an underwater adventure about the engulfing power of grief. Set in the techno-futuristic 1970s, you will follow Stan, a professional diver working for an oil company, facing the isolation of the deep sea as he starts to experience a strange series of events beneath the waves.
Exploration of caves, wrecks, and underwater wildlife will be key to guiding Stan through an unforeseen series of events deeper into the abyss. As you follow the mysterious manifestations of Stan's memories, you will have the difficult choice to remain lost in the depths or return to the surface.
To help develop the game, Quantic Dream offered Parallel Studio access to various talents and creative tools such as motion capture, voice recording, animation, quality assurance, localization, and more.
Described as a love letter to the ocean, the game shines a light on the importance of ocean preservation using varied sea life and subtle messages shared throughout the gameplay experience.
With the game, Parallel Studio and Quantic Dream partnered with Surfrider Foundation Europe, a non-profit association responsible for the protection and enhancement of lakes, rivers, oceans, waves, and coastlines.
Quantic Dream will financially support the organization through a donation and will actively carry out activities to support the cause during and after the game's campaign. Through in-game activations, cross-communication, and internal activities, both studios aim to amplify Surfrider’s ecological message and ocean protection actions.
“This is the most personal and intense work we have ever done as a studio,” says Ronan Coiffec, CEO and game director of Parallel 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 Waves. We truly hope you will like it as much as we loved creating it.”
"Back in 2021 when we announced our partnership with Parallel Studio, we couldn’t wait for players to discover their work,” says Guillaume de Fondaumière, co-CEO of Quantic Dream. “Today, we are thrilled to present 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 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 Waves.”
"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," said Penelope Giroud, marketing and communication manager of Surfrider Foundation Europe.
"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 is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2023.