Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival (2025) Game Review – A challenging underwater roguelike
A challenging underwater roguelike
Note: This is an add-on to the review previously published in 2024.
I had the privilege of playing the early access edition of Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival when Retrostyle Games, the game's developer, invited me to delve into their latest game in the early summer of 2024.
After loading up the game, I was quickly plunged into an underwater world where I was tasked with digging up resources on the bottom of the ocean floor. Piloting a spider-like mech, I traversed the pretty (but occasionally sparse) environments and entered caves where I could mine the materials that were needed to upgrade my initially fragile mechanical transport.
It quickly became apparent that this was not a simple crafting game. If it were, I could have explored the ocean at my leisure, taking my time to explore every nook and cranny of the world RetroStyle had created. Unfortunately, my life in these underwater surroundings was not so simple. Spoiling my peace were endless hordes of sea monsters which attacked my mech in swarms. Needless to say, I died, many, many times, making very little progress as a consequence due to the harsh gameplay and frequent difficulty spikes.
Fast forward to 2025, and the full version of this challenging roguelike game has been released. Did it kick my ass into underwater oblivion, as it did before? Well, yes! However, those who played Ocean Keeper in early access will be glad to know that it's a tad easier this time around. The game is essentially the same – you still need to explore various excavation sites and battle swarms of ocean creatures, both large and small – but your path to doing so is made easier by the enhanced tutorial and improved customisation screens that make improving the mech easier.
These aren't the only changes made to the game. Previously, it was fun to play, but more than a little aimless due to the thin narrative that did little to explain the whys and wherefores of the adventure. But this time around, RetroStyle have incorporated a story that makes the game more meaningful. As such, you will have more reason to keep playing, as you'll feel like you're making progress towards an endgame with clearer objectives and a greater understanding of the mission you have been handed.
The underwater world you explore is now more detailed, with added landmarks to minimise the chances of getting lost on the ocean floor. The game was already good looking and atmospheric, but with new lighting and colour grading, it's even more beautiful now, though you won't have a lot of time to gaze in awe at your surroundings due to the tense countdown situations where you're encouraged to complete your objectives quickly before the next swarm of enemies arrive.
The enemy types are now more varied, with different attack patterns and new ways to defeat them. Thanks to the improved mech controls, it's easier to survive in the early stages of the game, though you'll still need to upgrade your vehicle to counter the harder enemy waves and boss battles as you progress.
Thankfully, the improved UI means upgrading the mech is less fiddly than it was before, so you'll find it much easier to improve your craft's capabilities. These include new weapons, including a powerful Rail Gun that can pierce through multiple enemies (especially useful when overwhelmed), and new mining tools that make cave explorations that much simpler and faster, which is a godsend when up against the strict time limits.
If you're after a challenging roguelike, then Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival comes highly recommended. The updated version of the game is only available on Steam at the time of writing, but RetroStyle plans to bring the new changes they have made to the console editions of the game at a later date.
For more on Ocean Keeper, check out the gameplay trailer above and check out my original review of the game.
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With a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip inside, it's as fast as any other handset on this list, while its 6.82-inch screen can rival any with its sharpness and high brightness. This is the phone I recently picked out as having the best battery life, thanks to its enormous 6,000mAh battery and speedy 100W wired charging. It's also well-built, with the same IP68-rated water resistance as its rivals (meaning it can be submerged for up to 30 minutes), a fancy faux leather finish option and a physical alert switch on the side that can be used for silencing your phone in a hurry. Key specifications Screen: 6.82-inch AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate Cameras: Triple (50MP main, 50MP ultrawide, 50MP 3x zoom), 32MP selfie Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Storage: 256GB, 512GB Operating system: Android 15 with OxygenOS 15 Dimensions: 163 x 77 x 8.5mm Weight: 213g Colours: Black Eclipse, Arctic Dawn, Midnight Ocean 3. Best Phone Camera for Selfies and AI: Google Pixel 9 Pro Google's current flagship, the Pixel 9 Pro, is probably the closest Android alternative to the iPhone 16 Pro. It's another compact, flat-edged phone with perfectly aligned hardware and software. Like Apple, Google makes both of these elements in-house. Also like the iPhone, the Pixel 9 Pro takes consistently fabulous photos without any tinkering required on your end. Google's image processing is some of the best out there, producing beautifully rich HDR (high dynamic range) shots, which means that they convey bright highlights and darker areas (such as shade) equally well within a single image. While it's a fine all-rounder, the Pixel 9 Pro's cameras stand out from the opposition in two areas. First, its 42-megapixel front camera captures the best selfies of any phone that I've used. Like the main camera, these shots are sharp, vibrant and full of contrast. 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Key specifications Screen: 6.3-inch AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate Cameras: Triple (50MP main, 48MP ultrawide, 48MP 5x zoom), 42MP selfie Processor: Google Tensor G4 Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB Operating system: Android 15 Dimensions: 153 x 72 x 8.5mm Weight: 199g Colours: Porcelain, Rose Quartz, Hazel, Obsidian 4. Best Phone Camera for Landscape Shots: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra If you find yourself shooting as many landscape pictures as regular snaps or selfies, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is the best choice. It's not just that the phone's 50-megapixel ultrawide camera takes sharper or even downright superior shots to the other phones on this list, but it is also able to keep a more natural-looking tone in images. In most smartphones, the ultrawide camera tends to be the worst of the collection, where shots look noticeably cooler or warmer, or even a little dimmer and lacking in quality. No phone mitigates those differences better than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. This is also a solid all-around camera setup. Samsung's punchy colours aren't to everyone's taste, but the shots it captures are always well-lit and rich in colour, so they stand out on a social media feed. The Galaxy S25 Ultra also offers excellent zoom performance, thanks to a pair of telephoto cameras allowing you to zoom as far as 100x. More generally, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is a brilliant phone with a robust titanium design, top-level performance, a big and beautiful display, as well as extensive AI features and software support. It also offers an integrated S Pen stylus, which can be accessed via a little slot in the bottom left corner of the handset. This enables you to scrawl out digital notes and doodles on the phone's screen. Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review. Key specifications 5. Best Budget Phone Camera: Google Pixel 9a While we are generally considering the best of the best here, it is possible to get a reliable phone camera while spending considerably less money. The Google Pixel 9a costs half the price of the Google Pixel 9 Pro above, but the photos it captures are often comparable. The Pixel 9a's 48-megapixel main camera isn't as advanced as the Pixel 9 Pro's. However, it employs the very same Google image processing features, driven by an identical Tensor G4 processor, resulting in shots with a recognisable 'Pixel look'. That involves extremely clear and well-detailed shots that land somewhere in the middle between Samsung's punchy vibrancy and Apple's more natural tone. They're extremely easy on the eye and when shooting on an incredibly sunny day, I was shocked at how close the Pixel 9a's main camera got to its big brother. The difference is more obvious when you shoot as the light dims. The Pixel 9 Pro's larger sensor is capable of capturing more light in the environment. The sensor in the 9a gives more of a fuzzy look. The phone's other cameras, consisting of a 13-megapixel ultrawide and 13-megapixel selfie camera on the front, are also less capable than their Pro counterparts, though still rather splendid for the price. It's a similar story in general use, where the Pixel 9a offers a comparable experience to its big brothers. Its 6.3-inch display is clear and sharp, while performance is snappy and battery life is good enough to last a full day of picture taking. Google's Android 15 is one of the best around, and you get the same seven-year update promise as the rest of the Pixel 9 range. Read our full Google Pixel 9a review. Key specifications Screen: 6.3in AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate Cameras: Dual (48MP main, 13MP ultrawide), 13MP selfie Processor: Google Tensor G4 Storage options: 128GB, 256GB Operating system: Android 15 Dimensions: 155 x 73 x 8.9mm Weight: 186g Colours: Obsidian, Porcelain, Iris, Peony 6. Best Phone Camera for Enthusiasts: Xiaomi 15 Ultra Score: 8/10 We like: Excellent cameras across the board, optional Photography Kit add-on, large battery and fast charging The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is the best Android phone camera for those who want to go the extra mile with their photography. It has four fabulous cameras to play around with, including Xiaomi's powerful image processing, but it also offers something extra. If you opt for the additional Photography Kit, which costs an additional £169, you'll receive a special case that effectively turns the Ultra into a high-end camera. There is a satisfying two-stage shutter button, a manual zoom control, a dedicated video recording button and a small dial to change the exposure (effectively altering the brightness of the final image). Once fitted, I found that it's easier and more satisfying to spend that extra time framing my shots, thanks to the large hand and thumb grips. The hand grip even contains a little extra battery capacity, which meant that it didn't run dry on intensive shoots. That's not all the Xiaomi 15 Ultra has going for it. The main 1-inch 50-megapixel sensor is one of the largest around, which means it's excellent at capturing more light. This results in sharp, beautifully presented images. If you like to get up close and personal without stifling (or even alerting) your subjects, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is your best choice. With a 50-megapixel 3x and a 200-megapixel 4.3x telephoto camera, it captures the most detailed zoomed-in shots I've ever seen from a phone, and excels even at 30x zoom and beyond – a high level of zoom that trips up most smartphone cameras. The downside is that this is an incredibly large and heavy smartphone to deal with day to day and Xiaomi's operating system is messy and a minefield to navigate. Xiaomi will only support the phone with four years of updates, too, which places it at the back of the pack on this list. Performance and screen quality are unimpeachable, however, and I had no qualms with the battery life. Key specifications Screen: 6.73-inch AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate Cameras: Quad (50MP main, 50MP ultrawide, 50MP 3x zoom, 200MP 4.3x zoom), 32MP selfie Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Storage: 512GB Operating system: Android 15 with HyperOS 2 Dimensions: 161 x 75 x 9.35mm Weight: 226g Colours: Black, Silver Chrome, White Also consider: The Sony Xperia 1 VI is about due for an update, but it still offers some of the most extensive manual camera control options around, including the best physical shutter button on the market and a unique 3.5x-7.1x variable zoom. Sony's low-intervention approach to image processing means you won't get the best point-and-shoot results, but it rewards extra care and attention if you take the time to edit the pictures after they are captured. 7. Best Phone Camera for Action Shots: Honor Magic 7 Pro £1,099.99 Buy Now Price at Honor The Honor Magic 7 Pro is a relative unknown, but it has a couple of interesting camera features that force it into the reckoning. If you take a lot of pictures with fast-moving subjects, whether that's a fidgety child or your local sports team, Honor's smartphone has a powerful feature it calls 'Smart Capture'. Activate this in the camera app and the phone will lock on and monitor your subject. When it detects quick movement, it will automatically capture the optimal shot, freezing them in motion. I put this to the test by performing star jumps in front of the camera, and the Honor Magic 7 Pro captured me perfectly mid-jump without so much as a hint of motion blur or lack of detail. Another neat camera trick is what's known as a 'variable aperture' on the main lens, which lets you switch between f/1.4 and f/2.0 on the fly. This allows for some extra level of control over the background depth of field effect (known as bokeh, the amount of blur behind your subject). Honor's flagship phone goes big on the zoom, too, with a 200-megapixel 3x lens. Using AI, it can create sharp zoom shots up to 100x, though in testing, this worked better on non-organic subjects, with zoomed-in faces and foliage looking rather mushy. Outside of photography, the Honor Magic 7 Pro is another highly capable smartphone, with the same Snapdragon 8 Elite chip that powers several of our top picks. Its 6.8-inch display gets extremely bright, and this is the rare Android phone to include a secure face unlock system like Apple's Face ID. Honor's customised Android interface is sadly as unappealing as Xiaomi's, but it's sufficiently customisable and works well enough. Key specifications Best phone camera FAQs Is the camera on the latest iPhone Pro or Samsung Galaxy S Ultra better? The iPhone 16 Pro has the better all-round camera system, with more natural-looking shots and greater quality video capture, but the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra takes superior zoomed images. What phone camera performs best in low-light conditions? I found that the iPhone 16 Pro provided the best balance between brightening up my pictures and retaining the shadowy areas of the image. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is capable of zooming the farthest at 120x zoom, but it also takes the sharpest images at lower, more practical zoom levels such as 30x.
