''Uboat'' is a

submarine simulator A submarine simulator is a video game in which the player commands a submarine. The usual form of the game is to go on a series of missions, each of which features a number of encounters where the goal is to sink surface ships and to survive ...

video game, released by Deep Water Studio and being published by PlayWay S.A. The game is inspired by the game mechanics of ''

Fallout Shelter A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designated to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War. Durin ...

'', ''

XCOM ''XCOM'' (originally called ''X-COM'') is a science fiction video game franchise featuring an elite international organization tasked with countering alien invasions of Earth. The series began with the strategy video game '' UFO: Enemy Unknown' ...

'', and also the movie ''

Das Boot (; ) is a 1981 West Germany, West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer and Klaus Wennemann. An Film adaptation, adaptation of Lothar-Günthe ...

''. Like other submarine simulation games, such as the ''

Silent Hunter Silent Hunter may refer to: * Silent Hunter (video game) * Silent Hunter (laser weapon) {{disambig ...

'' series, the player is put in command of a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Development

Initially, development of the game started in 2016 with a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign to provide funding for the project. The original goal of the project was to raise CA$20,000 to fund the project but the campaign managed to raise CA$38,000 from 1,511 backers. The team developing the game are reportedly "a mix of young open-minded people and old hands at game development". Significant amounts of the game had already been completed in 2017 and according to the then most recent developer diary the game was "getting more and more full of shape". Originally, release was planned for 2017, but was delayed to the first quarter of 2019. A beta was released to Kickstarter backers on October 14, 2018 and was updated frequently since then. However, it remained in beta until August 2, 2024, when it saw its full release. The game was called ''Uboot'' during the first few years of development.

Overview

''Uboat'' gives players command of Type II and Type VII submarines during

. The player is not in charge of the submarine itself but in fact "in charge of the men controlling the submarine" as a U-Boat captain. The player has to manage the morale, discipline and trauma of the crew and make sure all the crew come back alive at the end of a mission. The crew are also made up of individuals who each have their own individual stories and personalities. According to ''

Rock, Paper, Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017. History ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' ...

'', "Everything has been created down to the tiniest of details to make sure WWII buffs get what they want, and realistic and modern graphics are promised as well." The developers have also developed precise and historically accurate interior of the ship to further enhance gameplay and give the player the ability to take control of certain tasks on the ship themselves such as firing

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

es, using radios and piloting the submarine.

Release

''Uboat'' released on 30 April 2019 in

early access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release Software release life cycle, developm ...

to the public, some Kickstarter contributors who had received the game earlier during beta and alpha testing were released from non-disclosure agreements and allowed to post videos and media of the game. It was not yet published in 2019. In 2016, a

macOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

version was planned but the game is currently for Windows only. A 1.0 version was released on 2 August 2024 and is now available on the

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

catalogue.

Reception

Reception for the game is currently generally positive. ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

'' writer, Charlie Hall, wrote that "there’s a brilliant experience lurking in its depths". He praised the effort the developers had gone to making an authentic experience, but stated concerns about how early access the release was and that the game lacked game-play due to large amounts of bugs.

References

External links