Summary

  • The ocean's unknown depths make for terrifying horror games that tap into isolation and danger like no other setting can.
  • From eerie puzzles in Silt to eldritch monsters in Returnal, these games deliver unforgettable thrills in underwater environments.
  • Whether facing hallucinations in Narcosis or fending off predators in Subnautica, the horrors of the deep sea are hauntingly real.

There’s something terrifying about the ocean because the unknown has always been the most significant source of human fear. The water extends as far as the eye can see, hiding any number of underwater horrors waiting to catch their prey. Furthermore, while outer space might seem like the final frontier, we still don’t know what lurks in the deepest corners of the seven seas.

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It’s no wonder underwater settings make for great horror games, giving you a sense of isolation and danger that’s hard to get in any other place. With that in mind, here are the ten best games that explore underwater horrors for you to choose your next spine-chilling experience.

Updated on September 30, 2024 by Jack Pierik: It’s hard to kill the human spirit, and part of that includes inclinations for exploration and discovery. Sure, as primarily land-dwelling mammals, humans have no business sailing across the open seas, or deep diving into the oceans, but it happened anyway, despite the fear or tragedy that came with it. Even though it can come with risks, curiosity is natural, and odds are, there’s something in the back of your mind nagging you to confront your fears and figure out just how scary creatures or monsters that lurk deep underwater are. Thankfully, you can do that digitally.

12 Death In The Water 2

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Pick between a campaign, survival mode, or free roam, and dive into murky waters teeming with moray eels, sharks, snakes, creepy mermaids with pitch-black eyes, or worse, all controlled by Death, a gigantic Kraken hell-bent on seeing your demise come to fruition.

As you explore deep-sea structures, underwater caves, and lush areas bristling with flora, you’ll have to scavenge for treasure, and pick up oxygen, new weapons, and other gear and vital upgrades along the way to keep up with Death’s relentless onslaught against you.

11 Still Wakes The Deep

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Still Wakes the Deep

Survival Horror Released June 18, 2024 ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due To Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Use of Tobacco, Strong Language Developer(s) The Chinese Room Publisher(s) Secret Mode Engine Unreal Engine 5 Platform(s) PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S Powered by Expand Collapse

In Still Wakes the Deep, you’re Cameron McLeary, or ‘Caz’ as your coworkers like to call you, and you’re an offshore oil rig electrician from 1970s Scotland simultaneously trying to provide for your wife and two daughters, and evade the police, who are trying to pin you on assault charges.

Alas, that’ll turn out to be the least of your worries, since your rude, profit-driven boss David Rennick, ignored maintenance and safety protocols, and drilled straight into a sunken, supernatural monument that unleashed horrors beyond human comprehension, mutating your coworkers and bending your mind.

10 Silt

Silt is a charming 2D puzzle adventure that makes the best of its monochromatic art style to create a beautiful underwater landscape. However, while Silt is gorgeous, it’s also terrifying, forcing you to interact with the horror of sea fauna to progress through the game.

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The gameplay is quite simple, and you won’t be stuck in puzzles for too long. In addition, the lack of direction can be confusing, as the underwater levels are vast, and it’s easy to get lost. Still, Silt is an unforgettable experience due to the atmosphere of constant dredge it manages to conjure, thanks to its striking visuals.

9 Returnal

Returnal

Third-Person Shooter Released April 30, 2021 ESRB T for Teen: Blood, Mild Language, Violence Developer(s) Housemarque Publisher(s) Sony Engine Unreal Engine 4 Platform(s) PC, PlayStation 5 How Long To Beat 20 Hours Powered by Expand Collapse

Returnal teases its underwater influences from the beginning by making you fight hordes of grotesque enemies with tentacles that float around as they swim. It all comes together in the game’s last biome, which finally takes you underwater to face eldritch monsters.

From octopuses to mollusks, Returnal draws inspiration from sea creatures to make nightmarish visions come to life to torment you in your search for the truth. The environment of the last biome in Returnal also contributes to the unbearable atmosphere of the game, as the darkness of the ocean's depths seems to engulf everything around you and put the world's weight over your shoulders.

Our Returnal review praises the game's hyper-fast gunplay while underlining how its steep difficulty curve will punish your failures.

8 Narcosis

Narcosis puts you inside a high-tech diving suit and sends you to the depths of the oceans, where darkness hides horrors until they are within your reach. While your suit can withstand the pressure of the water above your head, you don’t have many tools to help you on your way, forcing you to experience an uncomfortable feeling of vulnerability. Plus, the lack of oxygen causes hallucinations that will leave you wondering what’s real or not.

Narcosis was developed as an underwater VR experience, making the game scarier. The narrow field of vision and your suit's slow movement only amplify the dangers, as there’s no way to run away from threats.

Even if the challenging control scheme pushes you away from Narcosis at the first moment, the game has such a fantastic plot twist at its ending that it’s well worth spending a few hours getting there.

7 Bioshock

BioShock

FPS 10.0/10 Released August 21, 2007 ESRB m Developer(s) Irrational Games Publisher(s) 2K Games Engine havok, unreal engine 2.5, unreal engine 3, vengeance engine Platform(s) PC, PS3, Xbox 360 How Long To Beat 12 Hours Powered by Expand Collapse

Bioshock is a revolutionary first-person shooter that allows you to use genetic modifications to get new powers to destroy your enemies. Bioshock is also a spine-chilling horror game set in an underwater city where all the inhabitants devolved into blood-lusting creatures after abusing genetic technologies.

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Your journey through Rapture is filled with jump scares and grotesque creatures inspired by underwater imagery. Furthermore, there’s always the pressure of the ocean to push you through the hordes of enemies on your way, as one burst pipe can flood entire sections of the city and drown you.

6 Iron Lung

Iron Lung

Indie Games Adventure Simulation 10.0/10 Released March 10, 2022 ESRB t Engine unity Platform(s) PC, Nintendo Switch Developer David Szymanski, Dread XP Publisher David Szymanski, Dread XP How Long To Beat 2 hours Powered by Expand Collapse

Iron Lung takes place in a one-room submarine with rudimentary navigational equipment. There’s no way to exit this confined space, and your only hope of survival is to use the minimalistic interface of the submarine’s system to explore the ocean of blood outside your enclosure. Yes, you read it right: an ocean of blood.

Set in a future where stars and habitable planets mysteriously vanish, Iron Lung takes place on a moon where a baffling ocean of human blood appears. As a convict charged with using your disposable life to uncover the mysteries of this moon, you must survive the claustrophobic setting and limited amounts of oxygen to buy your freedom back.

5 Sunless Sea

Sunless Sea

RPG Adventure Indie Games Shooter Released February 6, 2015 ESRB t Engine unreal engine4 Platform(s) Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Linux, iOS, Android, Xbox One Developer Failbetter Games Publisher Failbetter Games How Long To Beat 125 hours Powered by Expand Collapse

Taking place entirely on an underground ocean, Sunless Sea gives you control of a ship as you uncover the mysteries of the dark waters that surround you. The profound lore of Sunless Sea is scattered over its many islands, and your goal is to collect resources, trade, and survive the dangers that lurk underwater.

The oppressive setting of Sunless Sea only makes things harder on you, as it’s impossible to see what new horrors you might face until they are too close. Furthermore, the game only gives you one life to spend, and death puts a definitive ending to your adventure, another layer of tension added to this unnerving game.

4 Barotrauma

Barotrauma

Survival Horror Released March 13, 2023 ESRB t Publisher(s) Daedalic Entertainment Engine MonoGame Multiplayer Online Co-Op Platform(s) PC Developer Undertow Games, FakeFish Games Powered by Expand Collapse

Barotrauma is the rare horror experience you get to share with other people. In the game, you play as one of the crew members of a submarine exploring the alien ocean of one of Jupiter’s moons. Each crew member has their own role to play and access to specific responsibilities and technical knowledge. Everyone must work together to survive the aggressive fauna and parasite outbreaks.

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As if the underwater dangers were not enough to put some pressure on your journey, there can also be traitors among the crew whose mission is to sabotage the trip. Because of that, Barotrauma also offers a constant feeling of paranoia that keeps you tense all the time.

3 Soma

SOMA

Horror Released September 15, 2015 ESRB t Developer(s) Frictional Games Publisher(s) Frictional Games Engine hpl engine Platform(s) PS4, Xbox One, PC How Long To Beat 10 Hours Metascore 84 Powered by Expand Collapse

Soma puts you in the shoes of a woman who suddenly wakes you in an underwater research facility without knowing how he got there. Many deadly creatures are roaming the research facility, and if they reach you, you die. However, you don’t have any weapons to defend yourself, meaning you must count on stealth and puzzle-solving to survive and unveil the game’s story.

Knowing that you are trapped inside a place surrounded by the ocean already feeds the underwater horrors of Soma. Still, the game also has breathtaking sections where you must walk the seabed to escape your dire situation.