There’s something about water that’s just so terrifying. It’s the feeling of knowing that, in an instant, a still, glittering river can wash you away if the current picks up, or that the ocean is a bottomless pit that’s crawling with eerie, almost alien life. While The Chinese Room’s Still Wakes the Deep toyed with those nautical phobias, Deepest Fear takes it to a whole new level. Set in an underwater facility on Neptune, you’ll have to uncover your estranged father’s secrets while sending monsters down to their watery grave with swift headshots and your (hopefully) undying wit.
You are Dr. Danni Carroll, and your day’s just got a whole lot worse. Trapped in the bowels of an underwater lab on Neptune, you’re tasked with getting yourself to safety while simultaneously unraveling the mysterious conspiracy that surrounds your estranged father’s experiments. Much like other horror games, you’ll have to use your brains and your sharp aim to survive in Deepest Fear if you want to get off of Neptune alive.
As you’ve likely guessed, this apparently abandoned facility is, in fact, teeming with twisted alien life, infested by creatures that can spawn from any water source. A simple puddle can quickly become a deathtrap, and given the entire facility is underwater, I suspect there may, indeed, be one or two puddles.
Areas of the map will be blocked off by fallen debris, and submerged environments can be a barrier one moment, but free to explore the next. Things can collapse mid-battle, and the currents can rise, sweeping you and your hungry foes away in an instant. Where Dead Space plays on those deafening silences, Deepest Fear makes nature its core focus; it’s not just the enemies you’ll have to survive, but the unpredictability of a crumbling, water-logged structure.
You’ll have to use your wits as well as your sharp gun skills to make it out, with a heavy focus on puzzle gameplay and problem-solving that’s reminiscent of some of the best Metroidvania games. Of course, you can always pump enemies full of lead (if they still use lead in the future), but oftentimes that’s a one-way ticket to an untimely demise.
Deepest Fear comes from the minds of Variable State, the creators of the BAFTA-winning Virgina. While there’s no release date on the cards just yet, you can wishlist it on Steam right now.
If you’re looking for something equally chaotic to play in the meantime, however, we have a list of all the best FPS games. Or, if you’re looking into next year, here are all of the biggest upcoming PC games for 2024 and beyond.
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