Aquanaut's Holiday (1995)

Developer: Artdink
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment, Artdink
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation, PlayStation Portable
Genres: Strategy, Adventure

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More games like this

How it feels

A gentle, unhurried underwater escape where you drift through quiet waters at your own pace, free from goals or pressure.

relaxingcozyslow-pacedmeditativeexploratorytranquilopen-endedlow-pressure

About

The ocean is another world. Beneath the surface of the sea, all the sounds and the stress of society are muffled away to nothing. In Aquanaut's Holiday, the player takes the role of a renowned oceanographer has been pushed to the limit by the constant attention of the press, environmentalists, and the government. It's time to leave it all behind, on an open-ended mission to explore one of the last unmapped areas in the ocean and create a new coral reef there. The game is played entirely at the player's pace. The only real goals and time limits are those that the player sets. The main point of the experience is simply to explore the virtual undersea environments. The game provides several ways in which to interact with the wildlife, and information gained from the local sea creatures can provide clues toward how to design a better coral reef. There are shipwrecks and ruins to discover, dozens of species of fish and sea life to observe, and no reasons to hurry.

Screenshots

More games like this

More by Artdink

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.