Games set underwater?

[Alienman]

My ultimate goal is to make a proper cRPG eventually and the idea was to set it on a water planet, where you would essentially create some kind of salvage/adventuring party with Big Jim suits acting as armor. Combat would be a mix of shipboard conflict and
underwater battlefields. I liked the idea of having semi-aquatic races to pick from... Underwater temples filled with manta ray warriors or jellyfish men. Lots of setting specific weapons obviously harpoons, bomb lances... Shit they killed whales with.

I'm terrible at describing things with words I should just do a mock up. Essentially I want it to feel like Baldur's Gate set mostly on the ocean and underwater.

Mark doesn't like underwater settings though. I've been chipping away at him about this over the years. Maybe the mockup would help.

And gillmen I hope?

You should do a mockup, or better yet a game in this setting. Sounds awesome.

 

[Alienman]

Have to add another game, or well, part of a game. Can't remember what expansion it was, but War of Warcraft had a whole zone that was underwater. Was a pretty cool zone. I do think, though, that it was part of the start of the decline of WoW...

 

[spectre]

I reckon you're not interested in the entire submarine sim subgenre?

Here's an oldie. I mostly remember it because it was one of the games that came with my first ever PC.


I also remeber this thing from way back:


Looking at newer things, this keeps popping up on my steam feed every now and then. Unfortunately, it's early access and I can't say if it's any good.

And this one looks purdy.


A bit less obvious, I remember you also have underwater tresure hunt sections in Assbandit's Creed,
and in a similar vein, Tomb Raider games had underwater sections. I remember hating the guts out of Tomb Raider 2 for it.

 

[Alienman]

Barotrauma is nice. Only problem, you need friends for 100% enjoyment. Played with JarlFrank, HeroMarine and Sinilevä once, but never again

It was awesome, though, the little we played. When it comes to deep-sea stuff, it's top-notch. I do wish it was 3D instead. 2D, while cool, feels limiting in a way. You can't really take a wrong turn in an alien created labyrinth in 2D. At least not in the same way as you would in a 3D one.

 

[The Decline]

Totally forgot about Subnautica. I did try it, but didn't like it that much. Felt too aimless to me. I wish I did, though. I got that anxiety inducing feeling when swimming too deep into the dark.

It has very weak and repetitive core gameplay once the novelty of exploration wears off.
The first third of the game is pretty ace though, it really nails the wonder and terror of being dropped into an alien ecosystem.

Subnautica+something a tad more implicitly Cthulhuish and a few refinements would probably be INSTANTWIN. I've recently watched, I think it was a GDC talk about how development of Subnautica went. At one point they figured a lot of the (at first) unintentional anxieties and fears triggered by the game apparently had much increased the interest in their (then) early-access release. Mainly through the leviathans.

I played this with my headphones on and you've got the admit they really nailed the sound design as well. I swear the first time

Spoiler

one of those reapers caught me by surprise by roaring RIGHT BEHIND ME and then turning my sub around so I was about to stare in WHATEVER THE FUCK I WAS GOING TO FACE's FACE

I raised my hands to shield my eyes, which I hadn't done since watching horror movies as a little kid. I like classic horror games, but this was something else.

I liked Subnautica for what it was, but what I'd really like is a version where nearly everything in the ocean is out to kill and eat you. So it's you trying to conquer and exploit a very hostile underwater ecosystem. Bonus points if taking down large alpha creatures was similar to the Monster Hunter series, tracking and hunting these monsters using traps and skill.

 

[Lucumo]

Aquanox 2: Revelation is the only underwater game I've played...and I may or may not have only bought it because of the cover, while on a class trip.

 

[JarlFrank]

EDIT: Far Sky is no longer available on Steam since the developer dissolved and removed all their games from sale. So here's the Mobygames page:
https://www.mobygames.com/game/farsky

 

[HeroMarine]

 

[JarlFrank]

Some more I got on my wishlist but haven't bought yet:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1280750/Aquamarine/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/446790/Diluvion_Resubmerged/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/429050/Feed_and_Grow_Fish/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1784310/Knight_of_the_Deep/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/629820/Maneater/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1073210/Mermaid_Colony/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/814360/Mythic_Ocean/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/355240/NEO_AQUARIUM__The_King_of_Crustaceans/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1286280/Pronty/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1716450/Secret_of_Sardinia/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/460700/Song_of_the_Deep/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1277140/Underwater_Wars/

 

[SumDrunkGuy]

SOMA is fucking badass. Best underwater game by far.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

Abzu isn’t really a game from the little I played, more an interactive screensaver. Pretty though.

 

[Sinilevä]

Barotrauma is nice. Only problem, you need friends for 100% enjoyment. Played with JarlFrank, HeroMarine and Sinilevä once, but never again

It was awesome, though, the little we played. When it comes to deep-sea stuff, it's top-notch. I do wish it was 3D instead. 2D, while cool, feels limiting in a way. You can't really take a wrong turn in an alien created labyrinth in 2D. At least not in the same way as you would in a 3D one.

We should find time to play it again. It was pretty funny when my character got insane and thought the boat was on fire.

 

[Alienman]

Barotrauma is nice. Only problem, you need friends for 100% enjoyment. Played with JarlFrank, HeroMarine and Sinilevä once, but never again

It was awesome, though, the little we played. When it comes to deep-sea stuff, it's top-notch. I do wish it was 3D instead. 2D, while cool, feels limiting in a way. You can't really take a wrong turn in an alien created labyrinth in 2D. At least not in the same way as you would in a 3D one.

We should find time to play it again. It was pretty funny when my character got insane and thought the boat was on fire.

Yes, that was cool/funny as hell. The only other time I have seen that in a game was in Dead Space 3 while playing coop. Very confusing, but awesome experience.

 

[mastroego]

SOMA has an underwater section.
Unlike many though, I didn't especially like that game.

Aquanox 2: Revelation is the only underwater game I've played...and I may or may not have only bought it because of the cover, while on a class trip.

That's a glorious cover.
Can't help but noticing those.... reflections.
And those... torpedoes firing!
And those... colors.
And things.

 

[deuxhero]

Every SpongeBob game.

 

[Valestein]

Here's another submarine game, although it has a few "light gun" sections on the surface of the ocean.



And here's a whacky light gun submarine game.

 

[potatojohn]

Barotrauma https://store.steampowered.com/app/602960/Barotrauma/

Iron Lung https://store.steampowered.com/app/1846170/Iron_Lung/

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Here's another submarine game, although it has a few "light gun" sections on the surface of the ocean.

Make sure not to confuse this with the other Hunt for Red October game, which tried to be a straighter adaption of the novel and sucked HARD.

 

[JamesDixon]

I misread the title and thought it said Games Set In Your Underwear...

 

[Dickie]

I don't know what all is good, but Steampeek has 166 released games tagged with "underwater."

Top games when sorted by ranking:

1. Subnautica
2. Subnautica: Below Zero
3. SOMA
4. Barotrauma
5. ABZU
6. Depth
7. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated

https://steampeek.hu/?tagid=41

 

[Alienman]

That's a glorious cover.
Can't help but noticing those.... reflections.
And those... torpedoes firing!
And those... colors.
And things.

That right eye, though.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Wizards&Warrios have one big underwater section but it requires you to grind crab shells to craft underwater equipement. Pain to hunt crabs - bad RNG for their spawns and shells drops. And you need a lot of them for your team... glad I did solo run otherwise I would be mad.

Archimedean Dynasty + Aquanox 1&2

I could have sworn there was also an Elite-like game that was set underwater, but maybe I was just confusing it with one of the above.

I had such hope for Aquanox Deep Descent.

How bad it is?

 

[Alienman]

How bad it is?

Never played, just read/watched reviews. 49% approval currently on Steam.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

one of the most anticipated games ever: aquaventura.

 

[ELEXmakesMeHard]

Prisoner of Ice mostly takes place underwater right? Man it must've been 15 years or so since I've thought about that game, but it popped into my head. I remember it as a good Lovecraftian horror set in a submarine, and maybe in an underwater research station.