We all grew up witha water level burned into our brains. If you’re young enough to currently be thinking ‘not me, that’s a millennial problem’, then good luck ever getting on the property ladder. Also, you’re wrong. Water puzzles never actually went away, they just changed form.
When we think of water levels, we tend to think ofTomb Raider,Mario, orZelda. Back when water physics were so tricky most games just made the wet stuff an instant death zone and janky controls meant just moving your character forward was as tough as figuring out what to do, water levels ruled all. These are the true, real water levels, and they have all but disappeared.
While we might roll our eyes and feel our heart palpitations return when we think of these levels, I do sort of miss them. Or at least, I miss what they represented. This was an era before focus groups and audience retention statistics, when games could be messy and weird and hard. In some ways, we’ve forced them to change with our short attention spans and- hey! click click thank you… With our short attention spans and lack of collective resilience.
There’s no sense that by not enjoying a part of a game we may grow to love the journey and connect with the character more through that struggle. It’s just stupid and badly designed and I hate it and it stinks. Game developers know we think this way (it’s the same cause of the yellow paint), and more and more titles are designed around a lowest common denominator.
That, plus a move away from platform mechanics in favour of stretching objectives out across an open world, and the vast improvement of water physics making these levels uneventful, has seen the humble water level die out. Or, as you’d have gleaned from the headline and opening paragraph, caused them to evolve.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Water Level Lacks This Dread
It’s no longer exciting to swim through tunnels, so games have stopped asking us to. But to place obstacles in the way of linearity to keep players engaged (there’s that retention algorithm in action), water still has a part to play. InFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, you see an explosion in the distance and rush to the scene of the crime. This fast paced affair zips you across a new map to an underground base, and water stops you in your tracks.
To bridge a gap, you need to raise the water levels. This is as simple as moving a wire from one port to another, and exists so you feel like you’re involved in the chase rather than going from place to place.Alan Wake 2has a similar scenario, and whileRemedyis more precise and thematic with its narrative beats, it serves the same purpose of engaging the player in the gameplay of the chase, rather than just a cinematic and linear journey.
Alan Wake 2’s water level feels less disruptive too, as it merges gameplay with story as opposed to Final Fantasy which tends to do one then the other.
Horizon Forbidden Westis a rare modern example of a true water level, taking cues (as so much of Horizon does) from Tomb Raider. Inthe ruined remains of Las Vegas, we swim through wells under the city and meet exciting new creatures. It’s very different to how modern games use water, pairing old school design with cutting edge graphics. As a result, it’s one of Horizon’s most memorable sequences.
This also came up duringThe Last of Us Part 2’sLost Levels. The central of the three levels we get (whichdisappointingly are all about Ellie rather than Abby) sees her swimming through a sewer tunnel. As a gate bars her path, she needs to venture deeper into the sewers with ladders, ledges, and hidden tunnels all required to reach the end. It’s not the pure ‘swim for your life or drown’ water level of olde, but it’s a classic style water level nonetheless.
It’s telling, then, that it was cut. Players struggled to locate the lower tunnel required to swim through, it disrupted the singular focus of Ellie’s relentless march forward, it frustrated players, and scored lowly during playtests. These are all good reasons to cut a section not necessary to the narrative, and few would argue with the outcome of The Last of Us Part 2. But imagine how many now iconic levels might have been cut from classic video games if the ones that were too hard were removed before release?
The water level has been kept alive in spirit, but it’s a shadow of itself. At least when Mario annoyed me, it was memorable and I felt like I’d achieved something by the end. When Final Fantasy put water in my way it just felt like an irritating roadblock, slamming the brakes ahead of an epic boss battle that I really wanted to get to. I don’t hate water levels anymore, I feel nothing for them. I think that’s worse.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
WHERE TO PLAY
Final Fantasy Rebirth is the second part of the FF7 Remake project. It continues the story of Cloud Strife, a former SOLDIER turned mercenary who joins Avalanche, a group of eco-terrorists seeking to save the planet from the malevolent Sephiroth. As the party pushes out of Midgar, leaving the Shinra Corporation devastated, where will their paths take them?
