First details emerge for Static Dread: The Submarine

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Standalone Lovecraftian horror sequel to The Lighthouse revealed for Windows PC 

Earlier this year, indie developer Solarsuit dropped players into a lonely lighthouse to oversee the fates of incoming ships. But if you thought that felt claustrophobic, wait'll you see what they have planned for an encore in the upcoming Static Dread: The Submarine. 

While The Lighthouse had players performing the busy duties of a lighthouse keeper while struggling to maintain sanity in the aftermath of a powerful, mysterious aurora that caused a "global cataclysm," the new game sends players below the waves and into the "modern submarine Ares, operating in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean." The effects of the aurora have wreaked havoc here as well, and someone – or something – is killing off the crew one by one. With 75 dead and only six left alive, you and the other survivors must "fight isolation, failing systems, and something far older than any map" as you "guide the Ares through black water, piece together what the aurora awakened, and decide how much of your crew – and yourself – you’re willing to sacrifice to see the next dawn."

As with its predecessor, The Submarine is a Lovecraft-inspired psychological thriller taking place in a "strange near-future world" in which humanity now faces "unfamiliar threats and impossible choices." Shut off from the outside world and forced to navigate a boat filled with the bodies of dead sailors, players are sure to "feel the pressure build" from the constrictive "steel bulkheads, narrow corridors, and the crushing weight of the ocean above you – not to mention the "atmosphere of unknowable horror" caused by whatever it is that's killing the crew. In this first-person 3D horror game with a low-poly presentation, you'll have to take over the duties of fallen crewmates to "reroute procedures, and keep the Ares operational with fewer hands." You'll also monitor the ship's sonar with both active and passive scans to "reveal wrecks, trenches, and things that answer back," requiring you to "decode strange echoes to uncover secrets buried on the seafloor." The "hard choices" you make in the process will lead to branching paths that "reshape gameplay and your crew" on the way to one of multiple possible endings. 

There is no target release date just yet, but Static Dread: The Submarine can now be wishlisted on Steam for Windows PC, with plenty of time to catch up on what you may have missed in the first game while you wait, though no prior familiarity is necessary to dive straight into the sequel.