Depth

Depth Logo Release Date: 2014 Developer: Digital Confectioners Platforms: PC Genre: Asymmetrical Multiplayer Action Game

Depth is a 2014 PC video game that combines intense tension and visceral action in a deep sea aquatic environment. Players choose to play as either Divers searching for underwater treasures or play as 20 foot sharks whose objective is to destroy the intruders into their territory. Gameplay is asymmetrical, with Divers playing a First-Person Shooter in an underwater environment where they can dive in all directions, shoot at sharks, and deploy defensive gadgets, and the Sharks playing a third-person "predator", using their much stronger speed, senses, and close-range assault to obliterate their prey. Victory is achieved when either side drains all respawn tickets of the other team, when the Divers protect their loot robot named "S.T.E.V.E." (Submersible Treasure Extraction Vehicle) until it cracks open all the safes in the area and extracts, or when the Sharks destroy S.T.E.V.E.

Depth provides a unique array of underwater firearms for Divers to utilise and explores a unique avenue in terms of weaponry. Screenshots on this page are all taken with HUD disabled in order to provide a clearer image for the weapons.

Pistols

SPP-1 Underwater Pistol

SPP-1 Underwater Pistol is the cheapest pistol option for the Divers. It holds four rounds and is a serviceable anti-shark weapon.

SPP-1 underwater pistol - 4.5x40mmR

The SPP-1 preview in the item store on the main menu, which is actually a skin store, but it does allow us to preview the default skins.

A Diver aims his SPP-1 at the shark cage he and his fellow divers were dropped down in.

Surprisingly, there's aiming down sights in this game, even though it isn't very useful most of the time since you want to stay agile as a Diver, hipfire accuracy being really good for the vast majority of man vs shark engagements, and most underwater guns not having very good iron sights.

After firing a few rounds into the cage, the Diver reloads his SPP-1 in a rather janky animation which has the clip of underwater ammo materialize mid-animation and never being really held by the Diver's hands.

The Diver inspects his SPP-1 while a lucky ray of sunlight aids us in getting a better look.

Weapons can be upgraded in this game. In the case of pistols, one upgrade called "Twins" lets the Diver dual-wield them for double the action. Dual-wielding disables aiming down sights, though few will find it impactful.

Reloading the dual SPP-1s by smacking the clips in one at a time.

The Diver inspects his dual SPP-1s while the darkness engulfs our Diver.

Heckler & Koch P11

The Heckler & Koch P11 is the more expensive pistol option. Its two-tone finish seems to be inspired by the two-tone P11 in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. Owing to gameplay concerns, the in-game weapon can be reloaded without having to send it back to Heckler & Koch first. The reload animation shows the player character removing the barrel group and popping a new one in.

Heckler & Koch P11 - 7.62x36mm Underwater

Note the incorrect description of a "5 round barrel". It actually has 5 one-round barrels; it's possible that this was meant to say "5 round barrel cluster". Also note what appears to be a laser attachment, which is useless in gameplay.

The P11 being held by diver Shelly.

Aiming down sights.

Reloading the detachable barrel cluster.

Inspecting the P11.

Dual P11s.

Reloading the Dual P11s, one after the other.

Inspecting the two P11s.

"AAP-8"

The "AAP-8" underwater machine pistol was added in the Armament update. It seems to be a MasterPiece Arms MPA30DMG pistol, despite the MPA gun being neither fully-automatic nor designed for underwater use. Unlike other pistol-category weapons, it cannot be dual-wielded.

MasterPiece Arms MPA30DMG - 9x19mm Parabellum

The MPA30DMG in the weapon selection menu; unlike the reference image, the in-game weapon lacks the factory barrel "safety extension". For the size of the magazine, it holds a rather limited 12 rounds in gameplay.

The "AAP-8" in gameplay.

The iron sights, not very useful in the often claustrophobic and dark underwater environment.

Reloading the "AAP-8". No rounds are modeled in the magazine.

Inspecting the underwater machine pistol, which has the Diver giving the bolt handle a flick for no particular reason.

Inspecting the other side of the machine pistol, ending with it being held in gangsta style for a short moment before returning to the two-handed grip.

Rifles & Carbines

APS Underwater Rifle

The APS Underwater Rifle is the cheapest rifle option for the Divers. By default, it has an incorrect capacity of 30 rounds compared to the real 26. Upgrading the weapon with Heavy Barrel gives it a massive damage boost, limits its rate of fire, and somehow restricts the magazine size to 20 rounds.

APS underwater assault rifle with extended stock - 5.66x39 MPS

The APS in the main menu.

Diver Finn holds his APS on a planewreck under the sea.

Ironsights of the APS.

After firing a few test shots, Finn reloads his weapon.

Inspecting the APS.

Here's also a good place to have a look at the scope upgrades for the long guns in Depth, of which there are two: a cheaper scope that just offers some zoom, and a more expensive night vision scope.

The scope view.

The night vision scope on the ADS, which seems to be an ACOG blessed with nightvision abilities.

The night vision provides a much clearer image of the dark waters.

ADS Amphibious Rifle

The ADS Amphibious Rifle is the most expensive rifle option for the Divers. It has the same damage per round as the APS but has a faster rate of fire, and does not have a Heavy Barrel upgrade option.

ADS amphibious rifle - 5.45x39mm / 40mm

The ADS in the weapon selection menu. Note the tiny magazine model, which somehow still holds the full 30 rounds in gameplay.

Holding the ADS as our Diver explores an offshore oil platform that went under.

ADS's iron sights.

Reloading the bullpup underwater rifle.

Inspecting the ADS. Once again note the short magazine, which seems to be modeled after civilian AK-74 10-round magazines.

Gyrojet Carbine

The Gyrojet Carbine is added post-release in the Meltdown update, named the "UPR-17 Gyro Rifle". It is described as a newly-made Russian weapon on the update page and in-game description in contrast to the real Gyrojet. Its price is intermediary between the APS and ADS, and has longer range but a lower magazine capacity of 10 rounds, which can be increased to 20 rounds with an extended magazine upgrade, both are which are still larger than the real weapon's 6-round magazine.

Gyrojet Mark 1 Model B Carbine - 13mm

The Gyrojet in the weapon selection menu. It's not clear why a weapon that is being used underwater would have wooden furniture.

Holding the Gyrojet while admiring some ancient underwater ruins.

The iron sights of the Gyrojet, which seem more than a little misaligned and feels more like aiming with the gun body.

Reloading the Gyrojet, which involves popping open the magazine slide and loading in what looks like an en-bloc clip of Gyrojet ammo, which is a fictional invention. Real Gyrojet weapons do not use clips and reload round by round.

Looking at the right side of the model during the inspection animation.

Spear Guns

Spear Pistol

The spear pistol is included in the pistol category in-game. It is one of the more expensive pistol options at $700, only beaten out by the "AAP-8" added post-launch. Being spear weapons, they have high damage but are single-shot only, though they can be dual wielded like pistols and unlike other spear weapon options.

A Spear Pistol on the menu.

Diver Alejandro holding a spear pistol in the ancient Aztec ruins.

The iron sights, which are very misaligned.

Reloading a new spear.

Inspecting the spear pistol.

Dual-wielding.

Reloading the spears, one round at a time.

Closing things off with an inspect animation.

Spear Gun

The Spear Gun is a high-damaging single-shot weapon that can kill smaller sharks in one shot and grievously injure larger sharks. Compared to the Harpoon Gun, it reloads slightly faster, and is cheaper at $2200.

The Spear Gun in the item menu. The side of the weapon reads "Aquaktekk"

Diver Carlos wields a spear gun.

The sights of the spear gun.

After firing a shot at nothing in particular, Carlos reloads the spear gun by loading another spear.

Inspecting the right side of the Spear Gun.

Harpoon Gun

The Harpoon Gun is an extremely powerful single-shot weapon capable of one-hit-killing just about every shark type in the game, dealing even more damage than the Spear Gun. It also has some extra mods that give it even more killing power, such as penetrating harpoons and explosive harpoons that travel slower but explode. It is the most expensive weapon available for the Divers at $4500.

The Harpoon Gun in the menu. The name "Harpoon" more accurately describes the projectile inside the gun than the gun itself.

Carlos holds the Harpoon Gun in the Devil's Head, a flooded mine.

The sights of the Harpoon Gun, with the pressure gauge visible beside it.

Loading a new harpoon.

Inspecting the Harpoon Gun.

"LJ-10 Volleyjet"

The "LJ-10 Volleyjet" spear gun appears to be the receiver and stock of an early-model Gyrojet carbine (as opposed to the later-model carbine above) mated to the barrel cluster and foregrip of a Colt Defender prototype revolving shotgun (not to be confused with the Colt Defender semi-automatic pistol), all loaded with sharp projectiles called "lancejets". Every trigger pull fires a ring of five lancejets, and the weapon can be shot twice before reloading. It costs $3000.

MBA Gyrojet Mark 1 Model B Transitional Carbine - 13mm

The "LJ-10" in all of its befuddling glory.

The Volleyjet in-game.

Iron sights.

The Volleyjet is muzzleloading, reloaded with a "speedloader" of sorts holding ten lancejets. After the projectiles are loaded in, the clip is given a twist to be removed and discarded, before the foregrip is cocked, readying the weapon for fire.

Finally, inspecting the weapon.

Other

Handheld Spar Torpedo

A handheld spar torpedo, AKA a "Bang Stick", is one of the available options for Divers in-game. The spar torpedo was the predecessor to the modern torpedo (at the time called the "automotive torpedo") and consisted of an explosive charge on a long standoff rod to protect the ship or submarine that was using it. This version is handheld, rather like the anti-tank "lunge mines" used by Japan during WW2 (though these devices were explicitly understood to be suicide weapons). In-game, it is powerful enough to kill several types of sharks in one hit, at the cost of (understandably) limited range, something which isn't ideal when fighting giant angry sharks.

The "Bang Stick" in the weapon selection menu.

A diver holds the bang stick, waiting for a shark to swim by.

Attacking with the weapon.

Inspecting the stick of booms.

One of the game's lesser known features is an instant third person button, which is very impractical as it disrupts much of the player's actions. Still, it's a good chance to look at the player character and the weapons in third person. All the first-person animations are all translated 1:1 to third person, including minor things like inspect.

Sea Mine

Sea Mines can be purchased by Divers to offer some explosive area denial. Their explosive nature are deadly to sharks and divers alike.

The Sea Mine in the item menu.

Holding a Sea Mine.

Inspecting the Sea Mine.

Figuring that a Sea Mine is more useful being placed instead of in his hands, the Diver deploys the Sea Mine near an entrance.

Net Gun

The Net Gun is a non-lethal but very useful equipment that fires a large net, trapping any sharks caught in it and allowing other Divers to easily finish off the trapped shark.

The Net Gun on the main menu store.

Carlos prepares the net gun for threats lurking around.

The sights of the net gun.

The net gun is fired, launching a net projectile towards any dangerous aquatic animals in the way.

After the net gun is fired, the now empty "cup" is removed and replaced with one with a net, followed by pulling the "bolt" back.

Inspecting the net gun in more detail.

Treasures

Gold-plated MP41s and Luger P08s can be found as loose treasures for the Divers to collect.

Using a sensor (that detects treasures and sometimes sharks), our Diver finds an old German gun.

Another old and golden German gun. Inexplicably common around the world's oceans.