Found the canyon - this also shows how close SubSide is to Kayak VR: Mirage, which both have graphics on par with Alyx if not even better:
I've got swim feet now and can move fast - as you find coins on the riverbed, these can be used to buy equipment
The canyon waters are great - and there's a big fish too 🙂
As said, you can buy equipment for the coins you find, and I finally got the torch:
Remember not too look directly at the flame to not hurt your eyes 😎 😉
New levels open up as you find new drives with new locations in the water. Even if you have not fully completed and found everything in a level, a voice will tell you when new locations are available - you can just exit your current level (your progress will then be saved) and go to the new location. Right now I have like 4 locations about 50% completed, and I can just go from one to the other with no issues. In the first level there are boxes I could not open without a torch - but having gotten the torch in level 4, I can now go back to let's say level 2 and open the boxes I could not open before, you constantly have all your equipment available. So new levels and new gear make it possible to go back and complete older levels - this way the game really opens up as you progress.
The experience works on several levels, for me especially psychological ones - like the fear of running out of air when taking a long dive in the deep caves:
See the yellow rope at the bottom? You can follow that in the caves, but some tunnels are completely filled with water with no option to breathe, and here you many have to swim fast or wisely to survive. If you drown, you can just start from the beginning again - you don't lose any equipment or coins
The fear of drowning is a powerful motivator in this game/sim. Then I have my fear of sharks and of the the very deep waters to work with, lol - but I got better - now I can even swim with sharks at night 😇
Swimming with sharks at night - at the surface there are thunder and lighting, it's somehow more cosy at the bottom of the sea
That said, I did get access to the great white shark cage diving location last night, but I was not really in the mood for that. Might grab a glass or two of red wine later this evening, before I go in the cage 🤔 😁
Btw, you really cannot leave the water, so not easy to get a good shot of the water surface, but I did manage to take this screenshot to show the great quality of the water surface and waves:
An image just to show the quality of the waves
I've spent like 4 hours in the waters, and I'm still far from completing the game. I have access to 5 out of 8 locations now, but one is the shark cage I have not yet visited. I would not be surprised if it takes me about 15 hours to complete the game - but then you can always go back for a swim 🙂
There are always great experiences to have, and last night I finally found out where this dude lives:
The sea floor is big, and last night I finally located the moray eel - after having heard about it, but could not find it - sure it's not real, but that has some advantages too if you wanna get really close 🙂
