Hollow Tide Expedition

Hollow Tide Expedition is a slow, moody adventure, and it knows what it is. You pilot a little diving craft through sunken ruins, mapping rooms and piecing together what happened to a city swallowed by the sea. There's no combat to speak of — the tension comes from the dark and the dwindling oxygen meter.

Navigation is all drag-to-move with pinch zoom, and it feels natural within minutes. The map slowly fills in as you explore, which scratched the same itch as a good metroidvania. I kept playing 'just one more corridor' far longer than planned.

It leans on headphones. The sound design does so much heavy lifting that playing on phone speakers feels like watching a film muted. Give it a quiet evening and it rewards you.

What we liked

• Gorgeous, haunting atmosphere
• Intuitive drag-based movement
• A map that pulls you deeper