Some day, somebody’s going to make a cosy or wholesome submarine game, in which the submarine does not sprout leaks, does not run out of O2, and is never once invaded by any octopod-raddled zombies. That day is not today. Today there is only icy darkness and suffocation. Say “hello” and probably also “AIEEEEBLubLBBLBLBL” to Darkwater, a new co-op horror extraction game in which you brave the frigid oceans of an alien moon.
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There’s room on your sub for up to four people, and – wait, hang on, I forgot the plot! “A devastating disease has struck an alien planet,” explains the Steam page. “The government has frozen the surface of the ocean in response. You and your crew are trapped below the ice.” I’m missing the connection there between preventing the disease and freezing the ocean, but I’m sure it all makes sense in cutscenes.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah – up to four submariners per sub. You’ll need to work together to steer it from undersea outpost to outpost, with one player piloting while others take charge of the sonar and weapon systems such as harpoon launchers and mines. You will “uncover snippets of information relating to a greater truth”. You will “face down a variety of unpredictable enemies”, including crabs and angler fish, using blow torches, shotguns and sledgehammers. Of importance: making sure you have enough room on your sub for cannisters of fuel. You can’t fuel a submarine’s engines with sledgehammers.
There’s also the prospect of encounters with other submarines. In an unexpected ray of hope for a game of this ilk, you don’t have to fight other crews. You can negotiate with them. Also, your submarine can be upgraded with rooms for specialised tactics such as hacking and stealth. It sounds like there’s plenty to chew on.
They’ve saved the best detail for last: you can clamber into a torpedo and have yourself fired directly through the hull of another ship. Try that on for size, Sea Of Thieves. Darkwater is coming to Steam early access in 2025. The current biggest mystery here is how they’ll support single player properly – bots? I wouldn’t trust a bot at two thousand fathoms down.
Merry update – Following the publishing of this post, developers Targon Studios have adjusted the game so that you can use sledgehammers as fuel. Happy to have inspired some positive change in this world!