Nightmares from the Deep 3: Davy Jones PlayStation 4 Review

The final chapter of Artifex Mundi’s Nightmares from the Deep saga makes it way to the PlayStation 4. After the success of the whole collection on the PC, this hidden object game is ready to make an impact on the PS4 players.

The game, as we have reviewed before, is considered as a grand finale for the series. The game itself is actually quite beautiful and enticing because of its graphical style and environments, but the gameplay itself also provides relevant points to play it.

The game centres around Sarah Black and her daughter Cory. Sarah, an intrepid museum curator, has been chasing after the identity of Davy Jones on Earth. This makes the Sea Devil rather uneasy, kidnapping her and her daughter. They both manage to escape, but Jones catches up with them. In order to spare Sarah’s life, Cory becomes Davy Jones’s maid and signs a contract. It is now up to Sarah to break that contract as well as any others in Jones’s power.

One of the key aspects of the game is its visual style. As with some portrayals of pirates, most landscapes and scenarios are heavily filled with baroque-style ornaments and beautiful decorations. Jewels, precious stones, gold and fine woods are constant elements present in the game’s aesthetics, and become a pivotal point in terms of immersion. Adding to this is the fact that the cut scenes are enhanced by the use of 3D visuals that really do provide a sense of depth and almost the look of a visual novel.

To accompany this, music is excellent too. The score is composed in a way that makes it feel organic to what you are watching develop on screen. Orchestral arrangements in some sections and the everlasting ominous mood do provide a sense of beauty and tension. This is especially necessary in games in which you spend a lot of time on a same screen, or worse, backtracking a lot trying to solve a puzzle.

To some, these kind of games tend to be overcomplicated or even frustrating. Some puzzles even jump the shark and leap to incoherent or farfetched conclusions. That is not the case here. Although challenging, the puzzles are both fair and rewarding.

Collectibles are also present for those who prefer the completionist approach. A very special set of collectibles are the seahorses. These creatures are not only colourful and beautiful on their design, but are based on real hippocampus species in real life; one of those tiny details that are heavily appreciated.

Nightmares from the Deep: Davy Jones is still an excellent addition to the genre, despite the fact that the game adds little to the genre; mainly, because of its impressive visuals, intelligent game design, and mechanics.

We originally reviewed this game for the PC. Now, the PS4 version provides graphic enhancements that really does add to the innate beauty of the game’s artistic style. One of the things players worry the most in these kind of ports is the way controls may translate from a medium to the other. In this case, the PS4 controls work excellent. Movement is very responsive and, at least for the time played, no bugs were found. It could be frustrating to lack the control a mouse can provide in a game like this, but the joysticks on the PS4 controllers are responsive enough not to create a conflict for players.

By the time the game came out, pirates were in due to Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, but that game is now gone, buried under the ocean that 2015 was. Now, we have two new pirate games on the horizon coming at full throttle towards us: Skull & Bones and Sea of Thieves so, in the meantime, you can grab a copy of Nightmares from the Deep: Davy Jones and set sail to the adventure genre before cannon balls start flying again.

Nightmares from the Deep 3: Davy Jones has arrived on the PlayStation 4 this February, so you have just enough time to start and finish the first two entries in order to be prepared for the conclusion of the trilogy next month.

Sarwar Ron, NoobFeed
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