DIVE or DIE – Children of Rain Review (PC)

I truly believed that This War of Mine was a burden, that I wouldn’t ever have to deal with consequences so dismal as those of the war-torn children. But then the Black Rain came knocking, as did a forty-day anchor that forced me to keep humanity from drowning. In the beginning, I could have swallowed the pain and happily sacrificed the commune. But after the rainfall, I felt it — that burden of holding the weight of the world on my shoulders. I didn’t have time, and I did not have the resources needed to fabricate a buoy. The world as I knew it was teetering on its last legs, and all I could do was sit and watch as the Abyssal Pool took its course and ravaged the surface.

It was never going to be a simple swimming exercise. In less than a day, the bitter truth hit me like a freight train. Forty days to prevent the Black Rain — nothing more, nothing less. I had divers who could risk their lives to unearth idols and resources, but every action I took would come at a price. People would die, and the last-remaining fragments of civilization would often crumble at the mere sight of a single error. There was no time to complete the objective, and sadly, even less time to make amends for past mistakes. It was the smallest colony on the planet against a ravenous storm, and there was nothing I could do to boost our odds of survival.

DIVE or DIE – Children of Rain is a mixture of two works of art, with one of them being an ode to This War of Mine, and another being a slight tilt of the hat both Don’t Starve and Frostpunk and its barbarically unforgiving world-shaping process. As a direct result of this well-oiled combination, the game finds its place as a tough-as-nails strategy sim that allows players the opportunity to descend deep into an abyss and juggle the burden of a forsaken society simultaneously. And no, as much as I’d prefer to say it, it doesn’t hold your hand.

The whole premise of DIVE or DIE is simple: a world-altering weather event known as the Black Rain poses as a major threat to the last surviving colonies. With just forty days on the clock, it falls to you to navigate the Abyssal Pool—a dark and treacherous place of lost idols, resources and eldritch monsters—and to secure strategies that can ensure the safety of your people. But of course, as with most survival-based games that lean entirely on your natural-born democratic system, everything that you do comes at a price. Given that each of your flock has a role in the ecosystem, and that death in DIVE or DIE is permanent, all of the choices that you make can either sink your career or keep it bobbing along the shoreline.

The general idea of DIVE or DIE isn’t one for the faint of heart. As the governor of humanity’s last bastion, it falls on your shoulders to navigate the abyss, discover worthwhile settlement upgrades, formulate plans that allow the most courageous of folk to secure items, and to appease an all-seeing deity known as the Master of Rain in the hopes that, with enough offerings, the Black Rain will remain at bay. With that, you have a handful of other problems to worry about, like health, oxygen, and of course, sanity. Frankly, DIVE or DIE doesn’t exactly hold back on its punches. It knows all too well how to push your buttons, and it does all in its power to capsize you.

Between upgrading your camp and foraging for better tools and equipment, you also have the task of sinking into the ominous depths of a forsaken underbelly—a cesspit where monsters lurk and treacherous paths engulf the shadowy substrate. For the most part, this is where you spend your time, either descending deep into the Abyssal Pool, or ashore, either allocating roles to your survivors, or repurposing your establishments to harbor greater structural boons and equipment that can allow you to dive deeper and, with any luck, survive longer. Again, this is all a lot easier said than done.

DIVE or DIE is like a fine wine, in that it tends to get a lot better with age. Initially, it’s a headache, more so given that you receive an initial debt as a fish-out-of-water overseer without a paddle to lean on. However, as you begin to learn the tide and map the storm, it does begin to shift in tempo. The upgrades unlock fresh opportunities to expand your settlement, and the treasures that you find in the abyss provide you with additional means of defending your property. Oh, it’s still a thorn in your side, but it is one that, like many parasites, you eventually familiarize yourself with, for better or for worse.

Somberly, DIVE or DIE casts its net over a bleak and perilous landscape that, frankly, doesn’t possess a lot of comforting qualities. It carries over to most, if not all of its features, too. Of course, this isn’t to say that it’s collectively bad. On the contrary, everything that you see here is of an excellent quality, with clean, disturbing, Lovecraft-like visuals, grotesque scenes, and a sour atmosphere that cuts so deep that you need more than a harpoon gun to split the tension. With all of that in tow, DIVE or DIE does an excellent job of reeling you in and keeping you aboard.

With plenty of upgrades and strategies to experiment with, DIVE or DIE delivers a long-lasting experience that is bound to appeal to the hardcore community. It might be a pain in the neck to learn, but it is awfully satisfying to master. To that end, I’d say that if you are looking for a sturdy challenge, then you needn’t cast your line anywhere else than in the Abyssal Pool.

Verdict

DIVE or DIE – Children of Rain casts its line in the bleak waters of an obnoxiously perilous world in which eldritch creatures flaunt their prowess and ticking time bombs threaten to eradicate humanity. Conceptually, it’s dark, unforgiving, and mechanically courageous. Visually, it finds the perfect balance between being a love letter to Lovecraft and a tip of the hat to the likes of DREDGE. As a game, it hits the nail on the head, not as a cheap and salted snack, but as a protein-laced banquet that can and probably will keep you satisfied for the long haul.

If you’re all for gambling the forsaken lives of those most precious to you, then you should consider dipping your toes into the Abyssal Pool the next time you’re in the mood to scratch that This War of Mine-curated itch. Like sea water, you should take it all with a grain of salt. This isn’t your typical friendly strategy game; it’s a ruthless voyage that, if you can muster up the courage to tackle, can leave you feeling both guilty and oddly powerful.