I have a complaint—whoever sang that "it’s better down where it’s wetter" was either a terrible liar, or hadn’t seen what lurks under the waves and what players will be tussling with in Darkwater, a Lethal Company-inspired underwater co-op horror game revealed at today’s PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted. Four players, one cramped, retro-tech submarine and one very angry ocean full of things that want them dead. A successful and familiar formula, if not a bit well-worn this year with the likes of Still Wakes the Deep.
This one does seem to be picking from a wider set of influences, right down to sharing its ‘trapped under the ice sheets of an alien planet’ setting with Barotrauma. Darkwater leans more heavily into combat than some of its peers, with FTL-style naval battles and boarding actions possible when tussling with enemy subs. Of course, riffing off Lethal Company also means the ocean is populated by much nastier things than other angry submarine crews. The trailer promises horrible alien sea monsters and infected, mutated humans that probably pushed their luck a little too far.
As with Lethal Company, capitalism (truly the greatest abyssal monster of them all) still thrives even deep underwater. Money made from sorties into abandoned bases and combat with enemy ships can be invested in sub upgrades, torpedoes, or just expanding your vessel’s hull to keep your crew alive longer. I shamefully admit that I chuckled a bit too much at the option to visibly enlarge both the length and girth of your already-phallic tube full of seamen, but that’s a ‘me’ problem.
Even if I can’t help having a 12-year-old’s sense of humor, it looks like an intriguing blend of elements, especially for those who might have found Lethal Company’s instant death slapstick a little too capricious, or Barotrauma’s simulation elements a little too intense to keep up with. The hardest challenge, then, might yet be convincing three of your friends to pick it up to play with you.
One thing that highlights just how immensely influential Lethal Company has been (which I remind people is by a solo furry developer who started out making games in Roblox) is that this isn’t even the first submarine-based take on the formula. Darkwater already has some established underwater competition in the form of the somewhat more slapstick Murky Divers. Whether one will sink the other’s battleship, or if both will be lost to Davy Jones’ locker full of oversized bolts, only time will tell.
Darkwater doesn’t have a release date yet, but aspiring submariners can wishlist it on Steam now, and apply to join an upcoming public playtest over at the game’s official site here.
