Highwater

In Highwater, players are placed in a post-apocalyptic world after the globe has been submerged by the sea. As one of the few survivors, you will navigate a boat to the last remaining safe zone. Along the way, you will encounter diverse characters and become embroiled in a series of conspiracies and wars. Defeat your enemies through turn-based combat and solve various puzzles along the way to find out if anyone is trying to escape to Mars. Besides the adventure, players can also explore the beautiful underwater world and encounter various fantastical creatures, making the game full of fun.

Features of Highwater:

A Stunning 3D World: Experience a rendered world in a post apocalyptic situation. From flooded cities to the polished, yet lonely place called Alphaville, every place shows a story of the world and what is left.

Exploration With High Story Value: Highwater is a trael story and survival game. Meet different types of people. With every character having its unique motives, goals and story.

Atmospheric Soundtrack: Soundtrack Of Highwater immerses you in original music and in-game commentary powerful and otherworldly as you travel over a body of water.

Puzzle And Strategy: Utilize problem solving and manipulation of the surroundings to reach your final destination.

Tactile Combat: Engage in battles that use not only strength, but also wit and intelligence. Control the environment to your own gain by moving and destroying objects to trap and kill your enemies, and set your own traps.

Highlights of Highwater:

Engaging Narrative and Emotional Depth: Highwater stands out for its emotionally charged storytelling. Players follow the protagonist on a quest to reach safety while uncovering the truth behind the flood that changed the world. Along the way, encounters with survivors, rebels, and opportunists create memorable interactions that influence the story’s outcome. The branching dialogue system allows players to shape their relationships and determine who becomes an ally or adversary.

Tactical Turn-Based Combat: Combat in Highwater is strategic and engaging, requiring players to think critically about positioning, resources, and environmental advantages. Each encounter demands tactical planning, as players face off against human enemies and environmental hazards. The turn-based system ensures that every move counts, rewarding patience and foresight. Combining exploration and strategy, the game delivers a balanced experience for both thinkers and adventurers.

Exploration and Resource Management: As players navigate the flooded world by boat, resource management becomes a crucial part of survival. Fuel, food, and supplies are limited, so exploration must be done wisely. Discovering hidden caches, scavenging abandoned structures, and trading with survivors become essential to progress. These mechanics add tension and realism, keeping the adventure both challenging and rewarding.

Stunning Art and Sound Design: The visual and audio design of Highwater enhances the atmosphere of desolation and mystery. The muted color palette, dynamic lighting, and detailed environments immerse players in a hauntingly beautiful world. The soundtrack, filled with melancholic melodies and ambient sounds, complements the tone of the story perfectly, elevating the emotional impact of each moment.

Thought-Provoking Themes: Highwater goes beyond entertainment by delivering a message about humanity’s relationship with nature and the consequences of ignoring global crises. Through its storytelling and world design, the game encourages players to reflect on resilience, compassion, and survival in an age of uncertainty. It’s both a warning and a tribute to human endurance in the face of catastrophe.

Player Comments of Highwater:

Highwater from developer Demagog Studio is a powerful and cautionary tale of environmental damage and how people have to survive it when the world collapses. The game hits all the right notes with the story it wants to tell, while not letting the turn-based backbone and strategy steal the story’s spotlight.

Highwater is an effective and essential video game, well written and with a confident plot and a context capable of hitting the mark. It is a prequel that manages to fit uniquely into the experiences of the past, with the team having embraced a turn-based combat system that is excellently implemented but not so deep. It is a dynamic adventure that bases its total focus on narrative.

I had a great few hours playing through Highwater. The graphics are good, the sound design is probably the best I’ve seen, and the combat and exploration are fun and streamlined. I found the difficulty level to be well balanced: easy enough for newcomers to the genre, just hard enough for XCOM veterans to be challenged if they want to do a perfect run, and no penalties either way. Suggestion to devs: the very beginning is a bit off-putting, I almost gave it up within the first five minutes and I would have missed out on a great game! In particular: the first long stretch of driving is boring, maybe start with an action sequence. Also, the white compass dots not disappearing after clearing up an area makes it seem like something was missed. Finally, on the fighting: Nikos is deadweight after the early game, maybe make him more of a true support. And Josephine’s blood lust is super fun to play, but maybe have more obstacles so she can’t too easily eviscerate 5 enemies in one turn. 

Walkthrough of Highwater:

Sail Forth!

As this game is a bit of an odyssey unto itself, we’ll keep this Highwater guide short and sweet so you can keep sailing smoothly. For clarity, all names of locations are made by the author of this guide and not necessarily by the game developers.

Location: Basketball Court Island

Collectibles: Alphaville Post (Newspaper), Basketball

Location: Gortouzinian’s Home

Collectibles: The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After the Flood (Book), Alphaville Post (Newspaper)

Key Items: Bag

Fight: Bald Guy

Two hits with an oar by Nikos and this guy is toast.

Location: Justice Square

Collectibles: Alphaville Post (Newspaper)

Key Items: Gasoline

Conversation: Mark

“Hey, don’t hurt yourself!”

Fight: Mark

Riot shield is unnecessary; taunt Mark, then hit him with the oar twice.

Brutalist Playgrounds

Gassed up and ready to go! Let’s keep heading to Alphaville and onwards to Mars!

Location: Butcher’s Island

Conversation: Butcher

Location: Block 45

Conversation: George, Wedding

Collectibles: The End of History: For Real This Time (Book)

Location: Butcher’s Island (Backtracking)

Conversation: Butcher

Key Items: Daisy

Fight: Butcher

Hit the post holding up the tin roof to end the fight in one blow.

Location: Block 45 (Backtracking)

Conversation: George

Location: Photo Shop Island

Collectibles: Alphaville Post (Newspaper)

Key Items: Batteries

Note: there are other islands to check out here before heading back to the wedding party, but these are the story-critical ones.

Location: Block 45 (Backtracking)

Conversation: George

Consumable: Wedding Cake

Photo Op: Wedding Party

Companion Gained: George

Location: Food Court Island

Collectibles: Alphaville Post (Newspaper)

Fight: Insurgents

Use George to hit the sign and cause it to fall on the enemies and end this fight quickly. Make sure the enemies are on “broken glass” tiles within the sign’s fall path before doing so.

Conclusion:

The apocalypse has come. If you were given one day to survive, what would you do? Highwater gives you an interesting experience, fighting those who harass you, exploring, and adventuring in areas you have never been to. At the same time, challenges will also appear, and if you do not have careful preparations, you may encounter serious problems during the game.