Insomniac Games released a wonderful throwback to the old-school Metroidvania days with its underwater adventure, Song of the Deep. Here are some gameplay tips that will help you get through the opening of the game with ease.
Currents in Song of the Deep
The first thing you’ll have to keep in mind is that you’re going to run into currents – a lot of currents. These will pop up into visual range easily, showing waves that move in certain directions. In some cases, you’ll just have to go with the flow, as currents are nearly impossible to battle against, even if your jet streams are going full stream.
However, there are some instances where you can get past currents, simply by seeing how often they turn on and turn off. In some situations, you’ll actually need to get past these areas to move on. Just wait a few seconds until the current turns off, and then use your accelerator to get past them and move on. If you accidentally get caught, no worries – just wait for the current to finish, then make your way back and try again.
Save Your Game in Song of the Deep
Next up, you’ll want to keep an eye out for save checkpoints, because these will let you save your progress so you don’t have to start all the way back at the beginning of the game. These come in the form of Tyne Wellsprings, little glowing marks located in the ground.
To activate these, all you need to do is run close to one with your ship. This will activate it, and you can continue on your merry little way in Song of the Deep.
Use Your Magnetic Claw in Song of the Deep
You’ll acquire the Magnetic Claw in the opening stage of the game, Glowkept Forest, and it’ll come in handy over the rest of the adventure, as you can use it to grab onto objects, open gates that were otherwise inaccessible, and even take out enemies with a quick, forceful poke.
After finding the Claw, all you need to do is find items in the environment that you need – like heads for statues that you need to activate or coins – and get close enough so that your arm can come into contact with them. You’ll usually be able to pick them up with relative ease, and then hang onto them until they become useful. When setting heads on statues in Song of the Deep, just get close enough so the head will land safely on top, and it should automatically adjust and complete itself.
When it comes to opening gates, make sure you get the door all the way open, then release it with your Claw. This should give you more than enough time to race underneath it before it shuts behind you, and you can continue on your way to the next part of the stage.
Finally, when attacking enemies, make sure you get close enough so that you can hit them with the Claw. Otherwise, you’ll be a sitting duck for their attacks, and they’ll chip away at your energy meter. If you prefer, you can pick up rocks in the environment and throw them at enemies. They’re fairly easy to get rid of once you master the throw technique in Song of the Deep.
Beat the First Boss in Song of the Deep
There are several boss enemies that you’ll come across in Song of the Deep, but the first one is relatively simple – a statue head that lures flashing bombs at you. While the narrator insists they can’t be defeated, you can show them otherwise.
As the bombs get spat out, go ahead and use your Claw to grab onto them, then quickly hurl them back at the head. You’ll hit it just enough times that it’ll eventually collapse, clearing the way for you to continue on to the next level, the Undying Caves.
We’ll have more advanced tips for Song of the Deep for you next week, so be sure to check back!
