Sub-Species first impressions: Scrap metal and sea monsters

Sub-Species is an upcoming sci-fi multidirectional shooter, developed and published by Howling Hamster Entertainment. With a simple premise and a surprisingly satisfying gameplay loop, the Sub-Species demo is a short but sweet taste of the full game’s potential.

Worth a dip, or a swim to avoid? Strap in and prepare to dive.

The Escapist recaps

• Sub-Species is an upcoming sci-fi shooter adventure, developed and published by Howling Hamster Entertainment.
• We played through the early access demo iteration of Sub-Species on PC, experiencing roughly 25 minutes of gameplay overall. It’s not the longest demo, but it’s a great indicator of what to expect from the full game.
• In Sub-Species, you pilot a small submarine and have to trawl the ocean as part of your role in a salvage crew. While looking for crucial resources and wrecks, you’ll need to fight off all manner of otherworldly beasts with your submarine’s weaponry.
• As you progress, you’ll be able to improve your weapons and heal up, while learning more about the game’s wider story. 
• The gameplay loop is simple yet meditative; fans of arcade shooters will enjoy it. It has an element of Subnautica to it, with its looming caverns and mesmerizing loneliness. 

Beautiful scenery, deadly critters

In Sub-Species, you’re tasked with working as part of a salvage crew, piloting a small but mighty submarine. Your main aim is to explore and gather scrap materials from wrecked ships across the sea floor, but as you might’ve guessed, you won’t be alone while navigating the murky depths.

There are numerous aliens in Sub-Species, which’ll come flying towards you as soon as they spot you. These critters get deadlier and deadlier as you progress through the game, with a final fight marking the end of the demo run.

While your submarine might not be particularly punchy at first, you will be able to upgrade it as you salvage materials, getting perks like a rotating shield or a dual gun. Exploration feels rewarding, and it’s necessary for getting through the combat encounters in one piece.

The combat didn’t feel overly challenging in the demo – it’s a case of aiming and shooting, while making sure not to pilot your craft into the nearby rocks – but it was still plenty enjoyable.

Sub-Species isn’t quite a sci-horror, but it was somewhat intimidating to see a swarm of enemies pop up on the mini-map, knowing they were seconds away from striking and trying to take the ship down. It’s nothing like Iron Lung or Frictional’s SOMA in its intensity, but it does offer its own higher-stakes moments. 

The Sub-Species demo doesn’t delve into the game’s story too much, with just a few dialogue segments, but it felt largely gameplay-oriented, with the bulk of conversation revolving around tutorials and key game mechanics. 

Simple but effective 

One of the best things about Sub-Species is how vast and lonely the environments feel. Sometimes, underwater games can lose their visual style across levels and struggle to build a consistent atmosphere; Sub-Species doesn’t fall into this trap.

Exploration felt intriguing, thanks to the small size of the submarine compared to everything around it. The ship is easily swamped by the whales pottering around near the surface, and the world feels intimidating, particularly in the close-quarters sections.

It’s also worth noting that megalophobics should avoid Sub-Species; if you’re someone who finds giant enemies frightening, this may not be the game for you. Some of the enemies are easily ten times the size of the ship, which creates a solid sense of dread in enclosed encounters.

Performance-wise, Sub-Species ran well during our time with it, with no notable frame drops or quirks to mention. 

The demo looks good, with some beautiful scenic shots, despite being in early access, and it offered a comprehensive tutorial, too, giving a clear and concise overview that still felt thematically appropriate.

While the Sub-Species demo isn’t overly challenging to zip through, it does paint a vibrant portrait of the full game’s quality. The arcade-like, Space Invaders-esque style of play might not be for everyone, but if you’re a fan of visually striking, underwater worlds and shooting aliens directly in the face, you’ll likely get a kick out of this title. 

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References

1. Planned Release Date: To be announced (Steam)