Man a crew on a World War II submarine in this survival-sandbox game

Crash through the waves and under the sea in “UBOAT” by Deep Water Studio, which released April 30.

Simulating a submarine from the World War, “UBOAT” is a survival- sandbox video game with crew management mechanics. The game is based on the life of German sailors, where the boat is their home but very easily can also be their grave.

Crew mechanics

The submarine you control and how it performs is largely dependent on the crew inside. If they are hungry, tired or demoralized, the submarine will not perform as well as it should. This can easily cost the crew and the sub their lives.

Extensive damage system

As your crew and submarine battle with other ships and the elements, they will incur damage. Damage, even minor, can spell doom for the sub and her crew. Many things can happen and are bound to happen.

Such things include having to seal a bulkhead from flooding with crewmembers inside, or fixing the engines so the rotors keep working. These are just a few of the things that can happen.

Manage resources

While traveling through the open seas, mostly alone, you will need to find a way to restock your ship’s supplies. If allies are not present to resupply, you can loot from the wrecks of your enemies. Depending on the needs of both your sub and crew, you must spend resources accordingly.

This means disabling unnecessary devices to keep your accumulators running for longer and telling your crew to stay in their bunks to preserve oxygen.

If the crew’s morale is low — play with them a session of Skat or play music from nearby radio stations to fortify their hearts.

Assignments from headquarters and upgrades

Missions are never linear, and orders may be given while completing them. If you ignore orders, problems may arise.

By completing assignments, you will be rewarded resources and funds from headquarters to upgrade and repair your submarine to better combat the enemies’ own technological advances.

You will also gain a reputation the more missions you complete. This reputation can be used to gain new torpedoes, sonar decoys, CO2 absorbers and much more.

The simulation does not affect gameplay

While “UBOAT” is extremely realistic, the gameplay is still enjoyable. There are plenty of complex mechanics, but these can be learned as more time is spent managing the submarine.

There are things such as ballast and earth’s curvature that impact the gameplay.

Commanding a German submarine in the midst of WWII is an exciting prospect for many. Thanks to Deep Water Studio, this can be achieved with stunning accuracy. Assigning tasks, managing resources, repairing and upgrading the sub, completing missions and generally making a mess of things for the enemy is a part of what it means to be a U-boat skipper.