Steel Diver‘s origins as a DS technology demo that’s grown to become a wholly new game provides the simplest explanation for the resulting final product: a handful of different minigames that feel underdeveloped. While most people have focused on its “look through a periscope, spin yourself around, and find enemies to fire torpedoes at” mode, there’s also a more-than-an-action-game-but-not-quite-a-simulation sidescroller, and a turn-based board game mode.
Steel Diver does actually contain a campaign, and the premise behind said campaign features the typical hallmarks of a vehicular side-scrolling action title: it takes place in the year “19XX” and after a “power-hungry rogue nation” has done some dastardly deeds, you assume control of a “secret submarine fleet, chosen from the best and brightest of the world’s navies,” known as the Steel Divers. During the seven mission campaign (of which only five are initially available to play; more on that in a bit), the Steel Divers undertake missions such as securing an important port, finding a secret route, or taking on an enemy battleship. While it sounds like serious submarine warfare, occasional lighthearted and fantastical moments pop-up — you’ll take on a giant nautilus, or shoot a column to cause a giant statue to roll down and smash an enemy submarine.
