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If it is in mythology, books, and films, then of course this fear also gets rooted in video games. Games that go into the horrors of the sea may not be quite as popular as zombie-survival or ghost-hunting games, but they certainly do exist. Some are well known and others take a little digging for a sea-themed horror fan to find.
Updated April 21, 2022 by Allison Stalberg: Gamers are on the trend of seeking out underwater horror games. The genre actually has a lot in common with space horror, as creatures much like aliens can be found in the depths of the sea and submarines can be as interesting as spaceships. There is good reason to be afraid of the sea, as there are places no light can touch, nowhere to breathe without the help of technology, and enough room to hide unknowable monsters.
15 Silt
Silt is an indie title that actually is not out yet, but looks quite promising for a horror sea-themed game. It is set to come out this spring for PC and the demo is currently available on Steam. The creepy setting is all hand-drawn by artist Tom Mead, and the style has been compared to games like Limbo.
It uses monochrome colors and keeps its world unsettling and dark. Furthermore, part of the mechanics is possessing sea creatures to solve puzzles.
14 The Sirena Expedition
Made by the indie game developer, Giraffe Cat, The Sirena Expedition is a short free-to-download horror platformer. It was created for the HPS1 Summer of Shivers game jam on Itch.io, a site dedicated to indie games.
While made recently, The Sirena Expedition was created to look like a PS1 game. Those who have played mention wishing the game was longer, and the developers may turn the game into a bigger project in the future. The game is best for fans that love intrigue, spooky ambiance, and a compelling story.
13 The Bends
The Bends is much like The Sirena Expedition in that it was also made for the HPS1 Summer of Shivers game jam on Itch.io. It is also free to download, and it is mentioned that the game is meant to be played with headphones and an Xbox controller.
The game is low-resolution, quite eerie, and centers on a diver exploring the ocean floor. The further players explore the stranger the anomalies. The game has a great atmosphere and it is recommended to have it on a big screen.
12 Wadanohara And The Great Blue Sea
It would be no surprise for even the biggest horror-game fan to not know about Wadanohara. It is a hidden gem entirely made from RPG Maker and disguises itself to look quite innocent at first.
The story is about a sea witch named Wadanohara, and she lives in an underwater kingdom with humanized sea creatures as her friends. It is all quite sweet at first, but the story takes a drastic turn towards the dark, scary, and violent. It is definitely worth a look, and like many RPG Maker games, it’s free.
11 Narcosis
This game takes players to the seafloor as an industrial diver with little light and only a couple of tools. Basically, players need to make it back to the surface before either their sanity or oxygen run out. Players encounter plenty of nightmarish creatures. The music is also composed by Akira Yamaoka, who is the composer for much of the music in the Silent Hill series.
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The game has mildly positive reviews on Steam. Some players wrote that they found the jump scares predictable and disliked the puzzles.
10 Deep Fear
This game is a bit old, having come out in 1998. Deep Fear’s age is not the only aspect of it that can make it hard to come by. It was also only released in Japan and Europe for the Sega Saturn. At the time, many critics called this game a “Resident Evil clone.”
So many gamers think of it as an underwater Resident Evil, as it all takes place about 300 meters down in the Pacific Ocean and the player character encounters frightening mutated creatures.
9 Depth
What is sea-themed horror without some sharks? In this game, gamers get to play as either a shark or diver. Depending on what they choose, either another player or an A.I. will play the human or shark. With a mixture of combat and stealth, the human and shark character both try to overpower each other.
Unfortunately, this game came out in 2014, so the online multiplayer version of this title is a little dead.
8 Sea Salt
Released in October 2019, Sea Salt takes horror from a bit of a different perspective. In this game, gamers get to play the sea monsters. The game mixes action and strategy. Players take the role of an old angry sea god and get to summon minions to rise up and take revenge on humanity for refusing to make sacrifices to them.
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The game is highly rated, but it may not be what a horror fan is looking for. It is hard to be scared when the player’s role is the monster. However, there are definitely horror elements all over the game.
7 Amberskull
This indie horror game tells a couple of scary stories. Only one story takes place at sea while the other is in settings like a forest, frozen wasteland, and abandoned facility. So you get four bite-sized horror games.
The game keeps its mechanics quite simple and sticks to a first-person perspective. The price is also right at just five dollars for a couple of hours of fun, scary, and memorable gameplay.
6 Barotrauma
Barotrauma is unique in that it is a survival horror co-op game. The game is 2D and puts players in a submarine simulator. This means the players need to steer the submarine, fix leaks, operate machinery, craft various items, and keep their eyes peeled for danger and stay prepared to fight monsters.
PC Gamer has called Barotrauma “FTL with giant sea monsters.” Steam reviews are very positive, but mention that it can take a bit to master the various mechanics.
5 Resident Evil: Revelations
Released in 2012, Resident Evil: Revelations was originally on the 3DS. Since then, though, it has been ported into other consoles like the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PS4. The story is on a creepy cruise ship and like any other Resident Evil game, its genre is a survival horror with plenty of puzzles and bosses.
The cruise ship is in the middle of the ocean, leaving players feeling pretty helpless and isolated throughout ht story. While the game has its classic zombie enemies, they have sea-themed twists, being water-logged and deformed.
4 Subnautica
In terms of quality, Subnautica would be ranked higher. However, Subnautica is not purely horror-oriented. At its core, it is a survival game. There are some spooky elements, but only at certain points. The game is perfect for sea-loving players.
Subnautica has both bright and (mostly) safe environments populated by cute creatures, as well as hauntingly beautiful dark areas inhabited by nightmarish monstrosities.
3 Sunless Sea
This creepy game very much leans into Eldrich-sea-horror. It has a lot of Victorian Gothic-horror elements. The player character is the captain of a ship in a land where it is easy for the average person to lose their mind.
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There are powerful sea monsters, cults, unsolved mysteries, and more. There are also a lot of RPG elements for gamers that are the sort who loves to make decisions. Note that this game has a lot of unfriendly consequences.
2 Soma
This title was promising from the start, as it was made by the same creators as the horror-game classic Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
The game is sci-fi horror and takes place in a facility under the Atlantic Ocean. Reviews on Steam are overwhelmingly positive from all ends. Players get to face corrupted humans, scary creatures, broken robots, and a creepy omnipresent A.I. There is no fighting either, only outsmarting and fleeing.
1 Bioshock
Bioshock is one of the crown jewels of horror games. While Infinite is the more recent title and took place in a city in the sky, the first game was underwater. The entire city, Rapture, is in shambles and is filled with insane people in masks, Big Daddies, and a creepy atmosphere.
Even non-horror fans play this game because of how famous it is. The lore is interesting, the gameplay is intense, and the location is a failed underwater utopia.
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