Barotrauma Meets The Thing
We’ve been talking about a lot of horror games that draw inspiration from John Carpenter’s The Thing recently, and this article is not going to break that pattern. Sorry, not sorry. We’re just big fans of that whole shapeshifting ooze monster aesthetic. Plus, that thing where the torso breaks open into a mouth? Classic. Conarium and Buried in Ice have proven that there are few things scarier than being trapped in Antarctica with monsters, but Hidden Deep goes one step further and buries you deep under the ocean floor with monsters. To which we say, nice! That might actually be more terrifying than Antarctica. This announcement trailer made our skin crawl.
Created by one-man developer Cogwheel Software, Hidden Deep puts the player in control of four researchers on a mission to explore a facility deep under the sea floor. The people stationed there suddenly broke off contact with the surface. Your job is to find out why. Command your teammates, discover what happened to your colleagues, explore the cavernous depths, and try not to get eaten by aliens. Because yes, there are aliens and they are hungry. Don’t worry, this is a dark sci-fi game. Those never overlap with Lovecraftian horror… right?
The game features:
- A mission-based single player experience where you control your team directly or by giving orders.
- Story mode with more than 50 narrative-driven, handcrafted levels paying homage to 80s and 90s sci-fi classics.
- Challenge mode with randomized levels for fast-paced, intense action.
- Exploration of suboceanic caves using grappling-hooks, scanners, drones, heavy machinery and more.
- Sneaky and deadly aliens, environmental traps and other hidden dangers to make your life miserable – and exciting.
Hidden Deep will be available on Steam later this year.
What’s your favorite Lovecraftian game? Let us know down in the comments, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook.