Darkwater

About

Darkwater is a single player and multiplayer survival role playing game with horror and science fiction themes. It was developed by Targon Studios and was released on March 26, 2026. It received positive reviews from players.

Darkwater is a cooperative extraction horror game for 1-4 players. Command a submarine trapped under the ice of an alien planet. Battle enemy vessels and deep sea abominations as you hunt for resources. Do what it takes to survive.

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83%

Audience ScoreBased on 621 reviews

gameplay36 positive mentions

stability20 negative mentions

Unique blend of submarine combat inspired by FTL and loot-based exploration similar to Lethal Company, offering a fresh gameplay loop.
Highly enjoyable co-op experience emphasizing teamwork, with distinct player roles such as piloting, repair, and weapons operation.
Impressive submarine customization and upgrade system adding strategic depth and replayability.

Game currently suffers from numerous bugs and technical issues including crashes, inventory loss, multiplayer connectivity problems, and UI glitches.
Combat, especially melee and enemy AI, feels clunky, unpolished, and sometimes unbalanced, reducing overall enjoyment.
Exploration and loot content is repetitive and lacks variety, with some outposts feeling bland and loot often underwhelming.

gameplay
103 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
53%
12%
The gameplay offers a fun and engaging submarine combat and exploration loop inspired by games like Lethal Company, FTL, and Barotrauma, with strong cooperative elements and submarine customization as highlights. While the core mechanics are praised for their uniqueness and potential, criticisms include repetitive and shallow combat, clunky or unintuitive controls, occasional bugs, lack of content variety, and some disappointing outpost gameplay. Overall, the gameplay is enjoyable, especially with friends, but would benefit from deeper mechanics, better polish, and more diverse content.
- “Submarine gameplay is amazing and the different rooms allow for different mechanics and playstyles; however, outposts are a bit copy-paste and can be bland in terms of combat.”
- “There's a mix of different responsibilities and gameplay elements that give each player a purpose, with just the right amount of chaos to shake things up each run.”
- “The gameplay builds on a series of interconnected loops that encourage cooperation and planning.”
- “Very few interactions in game, shallow loot and combat, unrefined mechanics, unclear instructions, confusing controls.”
- “Extremely dull gameplay, not worth the money.”
- “Gameplay is very basic and feels clunky, even moving around hurts my eyes with the forced screen tearing.”
stability
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
The game's stability is consistently described as buggy and unpolished, with frequent crashes, glitches, and game-breaking issues impacting multiplayer and progression. However, many users acknowledge it is an early access title developed by a solo dev, expressing forgiveness and optimism for future improvements. Despite technical problems, the game remains enjoyable and runs well for some players.
- “Solo dev and the game runs great; had no issues while playing.”
- “Aside from the boarding parties, the game is fairly bug-free considering its early access status.”
- “Fun so far and not very buggy.”
- “Crashes, bugs, freezes, connection problems, the whole package every single time you play.”
- “Buggy, unoptimized mess that runs poorly and takes away core items to prevent you from playing the game.”
- “I hate that I can't leave a numerical rating instead of thumbs up or down. This game is fun, I think it has potential but in its current state, it only takes a few plays to realize it's extremely buggy and poorly optimized -- there are many bugs that will literally erase an hour of progress in a second or force you to restart the server, not to mention the constant almost unplayable frame issues.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
36%
23%
The graphics are generally praised for their unique 90s-style and early 20th-century aesthetic, with effective lighting that enhances immersion. However, some users find the visuals simple, repetitive, and occasionally problematic—such as flickering light effects causing discomfort and limited graphics settings including forced motion blur. Performance issues at high settings lead many to lower graphics quality, which diminishes certain visual elements like lighting.
- “The 90's style menu graphics when using various computers are a nice touch.”
- “While sure the textures are a little basic, the lighting system (when it works) is good and adds a lot to the aesthetic.”
- “The graphics are visually pleasing, and the mechanics are straightforward, leaving not much room for wondering if you did something wrong or struggling to learn.”
- “The graphics could use some love (particularly the holding of a pistol looks kind of stupid), but the game really has potential!”
- “The art style is lacking, otherwise, the gameplay is quite good.”
- “The graphics settings are too limited, and high settings seem to force motion blur with no way to disable it.”
optimization
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
30%
35%
Optimization in the game is inconsistent, with many users reporting performance issues such as frame drops, stuttering, and bugs that impact smooth gameplay, especially in late-game or large areas. While some updates and versions have improved optimization significantly, further refinement is needed to ensure stable performance across various hardware. Reducing graphical settings can help mitigate some issues for now, but overall optimization remains a key area for improvement.
- “First off, performance: awesome.”
- “Steam Deck and Lenovo Legion Go performance has been solid with no crashes or issues so far.”
- “Finally we have the QA version, it showed us what the game really had in store for us, added a bunch of things, fixed bugs (you guessed it, blocking water is still here!!!), and optimized the game to the point where it always runs smoothly (for most) except when the outpost is a bit too large and struggles to load entirely but you can change the graphics settings for that.”
- “I hate that I can't leave a numerical rating instead of thumbs up or down. This game is fun, and I think it has potential, but in its current state, it only takes a few plays to realize it's extremely buggy and poorly optimized. There are many bugs that will literally erase an hour of progress in a second or at the minimum force you to restart the server, not to mention the constant almost unplayable frame issues.”
- “Jank and bad performance.”
- “2) Micro-stuttering on high-end hardware (Ryzen 9 7950x3d & Nvidia 4090).”
story
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
The story in the game provides an absorbing and atmospheric backdrop with intriguing lore and emergent storytelling, but it is criticized for being brief, limited in depth, and lacking content variety. Players appreciate the narrative logs and tension but desire more expansive missions, deeper plot development, and additional modes to enhance longevity and engagement.
- “As it stands, Darkwater is an ambitious and absorbing dive into underwater survival, marked by atmospheric storytelling and tense, emergent gameplay.”
- “Story: exists, gets you by, is fun to read the logs when you have time.”
- “Computers give you a little backstory, a little information as to what's going on.”
- “The story never seems to go far and gameplay is a bit lackluster.”
- “The game lacks a lot of content; my friend and I ran through the storyline in less than two hours, and the game became very boring after five hours of total play.”
- “Love the game super fun and got good features to it but on the other hand the fact it's not endless and story based is a bummer; I would like to see it come out with an endless mode.”
humor
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
92%
8%
The game's humor is widely appreciated, especially for its funny moments and entertaining bugs that enhance social play with friends. While some bugs can disrupt gameplay, they often add to the comedic experience and are expected to be fixed over time. Overall, the humor contributes significantly to the game’s replayability and fun atmosphere.
- “I like this game very much. At first look via Instagram, I found it funny. When I bought it for myself and 3 other friends, we only stopped playing because it was 3 AM. If it was still 8 PM, we could have kept going for another 4 hours. I can say this with confidence!”
- “So fun with friends; it will keep you laughing and hollering with your friends for hours.”
- “This game is awesome, with lots of cool replayable elements and funny moments.”
- “Now that this unfunny comedy is out of the way, here's the problem:”
atmosphere
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
92%
8%
The atmosphere in Darkwater is widely praised for its tense, immersive, and unique underwater horror setting, combining elements of survival, teamwork, and emergent gameplay. Its dark, atmospheric storytelling and detailed environments create a compelling and absorbing experience, especially enhanced in cooperative play. Overall, the game's atmosphere is a standout strength that deeply engages players.
- “Darkwater is a tense, atmospheric extraction-horror experience that places you deep beneath an alien moon’s frozen oceans, where survival depends on teamwork, improvisation, and careful resource management.”
- “As it stands, Darkwater is an ambitious and absorbing dive into underwater survival, marked by atmospheric storytelling and tense, emergent gameplay.”
- “Darkwater delivers a strong horror atmosphere, a unique submarine setting, and is especially fun in co-op.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers enjoyable and varied replayability through different starter options and unlockable challenges, creating fun and engaging moments. However, some feel the limited random events reduce overall replay value, suggesting that expanding these elements could enhance variability and long-term appeal.
- “This game is awesome, with lots of cool replayable elements and funny moments.”
- “The different starter subs provide replayability and encourage you to go for challenges and achievements in order to unlock them.”
- “It's simple and a lot of fun with replayability.”
- “Also, there are too few random events, which cannot provide enough replay value.”
- “Expanding on that system in interesting ways to make the ship combat more varied across runs I think is where the core replayability of a game like this would reside.”
- “Beat it in 4 hours but it looks replayable.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The music in the game is generally praised for enhancing the experience, especially during cooperative play, though some find the shop music unpleasant. Players suggest adding more options for the gramophone and increasing its volume. Overall, the soundtrack is considered brilliant.
- “Even better when you've got a friend blasting music over the intercom while fighting other subs neck deep in water.”
- “The music amplifies the experience!”
- “Soundtrack is brilliant.”
- “More music options for the gramophone and also making it louder would be nice.”
- “We agreed the music at the shops is also terrible, and I ended up just muting all music altogether in the menus.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game can feel tedious and repetitive, especially in the early stages, with some players finding navigation frustrating without better directional aids. However, the experience improves as you progress, balancing challenge without becoming overly difficult. Overall, while grinding may feel monotonous at times, fans of underwater horror and exploration still find the gameplay engaging.
- “Early game can get a bit tedious and boring but does ramp up as you progress through the sea.”
- “It's very rinse and repeat and gets tedious.”
- “Very easy to get lost but not in a fun way, just a tedious way. Having a compass or a hotkey to point back to the ship would go a long way.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users are uncertain about the game's monetization, questioning whether it is a genuine effort by passionate developers or just a quick cash grab. However, they acknowledge that the advertising accurately represents the gameplay.