under the sea
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Posted Dec 26, 2019, 7:52 AM UTC
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Someone already pointed out the obvious subnautica so I'll talk about SOMA. It's a horror game and the underwater aspect worked very well because I really hate and am creeped out by the deep ocean and varying levels of darkness, in an already creepy af game. When you aren't out in the water you are in large isolated buildings that remind you through windows, floods, etc, that you are indeed trapped very deep down.
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To add to this, it actually brought out a deep fear I never knew I really had.
The fear of the deep ocean...
Though it's kind of different the way SOMA evokes it. Usually you're scared of what's beneath you're feet when you're in the ocean. With SOMA I'm afraid of what's above my head.
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Usually i like to explore levels until i hit a boundary - an invisible wall, a high cliff or something else that doesn't let you go farther. But in SOMA i really couldn't force myself to go far away from glowing waypoints into the darkness of the ocean.
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I really like underwater settings. In the case of games like Bioshock it helps to reinforce the oppressive atmosphere. With all the leaking it feels like the weight of the ocean is on your shoulders. And in the case you're playing a character who isn't particularly good in the water or alternatively you're extremely far off from land it's a pretty solid way to make you feel cut off from normal civilization forcing you to get enraptured (pun intended) in your new setting.
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Abzu was the first thing that came to my mind. The way it captures that feeling of discovery and the way all the eco systems move around the little diver and you feel like you're a part of them is sensational. Hard to describe, but absolutely worth playing.
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Barotrauma is an excelent co-op, horror sidescrolling game about navigating submarines across alien waters. It is very fun with friends.
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Going back a bit, the Wii had a pair of really relaxing diving simulators called Endless Ocean (or Forever Blue). In hindsight, they kind of predicted the rise of "walking simulators," since they similarly had very little gameplay or danger. You just got to explore cool underwater environments, hang out with whales, and eventually discover and explore a sunken city.
(They were also among the very few Wii games that let you play your own MP3s via the SD slot.)
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This. Endless Ocean was good already, and EO2 is just fantastic with a lot of variation between areas across the globe. I wish they made a 3 for the Switch.
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Sunless Sea isn't really an underwater setting, but it does have an underwater expansion and it's a pretty unique concept for an underground ocean. Great writing, decent gameplay.
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https://store.steampowered.com/app/24420/Aquaria/
Aquaria is an interesting one. One of the zones is just a huge black area that's almost completely devoid of light.
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Aquaria is partially a homage to Ecco the Dolphin, including the lightless area, but doesn't quite play the same.
Either ways, Ecco is an answer, and I would say Tides of Time is probably a good suggestion. Not even Subnautica is as good as it in achieving the whole "oh god I'm running out of breath" panic.
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When reading the beginning of your post, I immediately thought about Bioshock and Aquaria of being my favorite "Sea" setting games. Then you started writing about alien lifeforms..... so I guess you're looking for survival sandbox type of games in a similar manner?
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Alien as in deep sea fish, things we don't get to see often on land
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Might want to try r/gamingsuggestions/
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Idk if it's remotely possible anymore.
But ark had entire play styles revolving around the water.
You could make rafts and fit then for a bunch of stuff. You could eventually make underwater bases too. There were some islands too.
There was some pretty cool water creatures and the game was sure as shit scary deep in the ocean.
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It might not be underwater, but I think Wind Waker has a great ocean setting. There were a lot of cool events that happen during the story like fighting a frog riding a typhoon, getting caught in a whirl pool with a giant squid, and spotting the ghost ship at night. I really wish a new game was made in the same style to really take it to the next level.
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Subnautica feels like the obvious #1 here— really helped that it focused on that setting. For less obvious ones I particularly recall— Starbound's ocean planets were pretty fun and interesting to explore. Underwater cities and wrecks, new flora and fauna, fantastic music— it's nice.
In 4x games like Civilization or Endless Legend the ocean can become a big, mysterious expanse that hides new lands, allies— and enemies, until explored.
GTAV's ocean is, oddly, particularly crushing for me. Really get that anxiety in those— and Subnautica was mostly fine. Weird thing about that— I am terrified of the ocean, but it's fine in video games most of the time. If we're talking about just the surface— it's a place of safety, in a sense. Usually a good way to escape. Same goes for previous GTA games, Sleeping Dogs, Watch_Dogs, and other games in that genre.
Subnautica fits OPs suggestion perfectly.
There's really nothing like being deep, 250 meters down somewhere new in one of those small submersibles. Hearing creatures around you, the thud as they smack against the glass.
Headphones are a must for Subnautica. They elevate the game to a whole new level because the sound alone is so immersive.
Yup, i think being on the edge of the map in subnautica captures the feeling perfectly! There is also a metroidvania i can't remember the name of, but the edge of the map leads into the abyss and captures the moment of finding it perfectly with some dark ambiance
Aquaria is maybe what you're thinking of?
Nope, aquaria is almost entirely enclosed iirc
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