There’s no question that having titles with all sorts of different styles of gameplay is essential to a healthy eShop. While the tastes of many mainstream gamers will be satisfied with the latest iteration of known franchises or variations on well-known genre staples, the overall audience of people enjoying titles on their Switch and Switch 2 is far wider than that. With that in mind, while some of these indie titles can feel like they’re taking daring swings with games that may lack the energy or intensity it seems the mainstream may be looking for, there’s typically a smaller but still substantial audience looking instead for something more relaxed and accessible.

Enter Jupiter & Mars, a title where you’ll be going on a bit of an undersea adventure, working as a pair of dolphins trying to do their best to help bring their world back after the collapse of civilization. While that may sound dramatic, for the most part it just feels like a way of helping to establish the world you’re moving through, not being the one we know, opening the door to a little more creativity at times. Originally made for the PSVR system, the game’s colorful visuals and style of control make sense, though it has been converted to work from a third-person perspective as you explore the oceans.

There’s a certain beauty to this world which is nice, and on a general level it’s pleasant to simply swim and discover what the game has to offer. That said, when getting into actual gameplay, it also struggles to be satisfying. For the most part you’ll be moving into new areas, using your echo location to identify things of interest, and then performing a relatively limited set of tasks with what you’ll find. Whether that’s having your companion smash into things, engaging in a little bit of stealth, completing some sort of puzzle, or simply finding some random collectable item, it doesn’t take long for much of it to feel pretty dull and repetitive. That isn’t to say there can’t be joy in it, but even for people looking for something more low-key and mellow, this will likely struggle to hold your attention for very long.