When does Death in the Water get good?

Hooks you right away. 68% of first-hour reviews are positive — about the same as players with 3+ hours (68%). Only 56% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.

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Death in the Water

Oct 10, 2019 Steam: Mostly Positive

Hooks you right away

Gets good instantly from the first hour

Started playing 56% of owners

Steam reviews 72% positive of 310

What the data shows

68% of first-hour reviews are positive — about the same as players with 3+ hours (68%).
Only 56% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.

When it gets good

Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.

before it gets good opening up fully opened up

Based on all 311 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 295 reviews: 0.5h for positive, 0.3h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.

Where players quit

Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (56.4% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.

Story milestones aren't labeled yet; all achievements are listed below.

All achievements (5)

Killed 5 Sharks Kill 5 sharks without dying. 100%
Killed 10 Sharks Kill 10 sharks without dying. 62%
Killed 15 Sharks Kill 15 sharks without dying. 39%
Killed 20 Sharks Kill 20 sharks without dying. 29%
Killed 25 Sharks Kill 25 sharks without dying. 23%

Steam page Updated: 2026-10-21.