This is the kind of indie release I like to stumble across. Ocean's Heart is upfront with its inspirations, that being the older 2D Zelda games. That said, it's the kind of game that can get away with something like that because it does enough to stand out on its own, and it gets a lot about what made those games good. Taking control of Tillia, she sets off on a journey to find her father, who set off after a group of pirates attacked the town months ago.
This is where I will come right out and say this game isn't good because of the story. It's not bad or anything, but it's all pretty simple, and not a lot of time is spent on it. Scenes of the plot just kind of come and go with no real importance. The game does have a lot of lore and history to discover, but it's not something I ever really got that invested in. There are a few funny bits here and there, but otherwise, the plot here is largely forgettable. That isn't to say there is nothing at all going on for the story, as I said there is a lot of lore. There are glimpses of interesting stuff to be had there, just nothing that stands out in a big way.
The gameplay itself is a top-down action game. Controls are all pretty simple. You have your attack, dodge roll, and two buttons to allocate items too. By and large, this is handled very well, though there is the occasional graphical oddity that may throw you off for a moment, thinking you should be able to step somewhere you can't, thinking you should be able to toss a bomb somewhere but you actually can't, and other very small things like that. It isn't something so common to make a big issue out of, but it is something you'll notice from time to time.
What the game does well is the exploration aspect of the game. There are so many things to find and discover, as well as a lot of well put together puzzles. It always feels worthwhile to just explore the region and see what you can find. It has that sense of exploration that made those old Zelda titles enjoyable. The puzzles never get too difficult, but they consistently keep you thinking at least a bit once the game starts rolling. It never feels like something is just hidden away somewhere entirely out of view just so you have to stumble across it by luck either, there is always a way to tell something is thereby keeping a close eye out (Well, it seems that way. I may have missed something without realizing it).
Where I start to feel the game is a mixed bag is the combat. There are a lot of interesting and fun enemies, but you can stock yourself up on so many healing items without even trying that nothing in the game is a threat. I still have quite a bit of stuff I haven't done in the game despite beating it, and I beat the final boss by drinking a couple of potions to buff my attack and defense, the just ran in swinging and not paying attention to what he was doing and he went down. I didn't even scratch the surface of how much healing I still had at my disposal. If you want the combat to challenge you at all, you have to actively gimp yourself and impose restrictions on your use of items. It's a lot of well put together dungeons and enemies hampered by the abundance and free use of healing.
This also makes experimenting with all the toys you can pick up, like the Aether Bomb to freeze enemies or the Salt Candle that acts like a firecracker, fun to play with but largely pointless. That said, if you just want to throw some things around to kill enemies in different ways just for the hell of it, there are plenty of tools at your disposal for that. I just wish there was more incentive to make use of it all.
The game's visuals and music though do a lot to help make up for that. The game just looks good from beginning to end. It's a situation where there isn't a single thing I can point to that stands out, but there is a very consistent quality from beginning to end. Each area has its unique feel, and it never feels like ideas are just getting recycled from area to area.
There are nitpicks with the games menu's being a bit annoying to navigate, but in the end, it's just a really solid indie title to pick up. It knows what it wants to be, it understands what made its inspirations work, and it does enough to keep it feeling like it's own thing. More so it was apparently made by one guy, so taking that into account it's a very impressive release. If you're looking for a small and fun game to pick up, Ocean's Heart is worth it.