Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic

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"Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic" is a submarine simulation game set in World War II. Command a Type VII U-boat and engage in tactical combat against Allied convoys. Experience dynamic campaign missions, customizable submersibles, and realistic graphics as you navigate the treacherous waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

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Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic screenshot

42%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,755 reviews

graphics102 positive mentions

story20 negative mentions

The game offers a great atmosphere and immersive experience of commanding a U-boat during WWII.
With the 'Wolves of Steel' mod, the game becomes much more enjoyable and fixes many of the bugs present in the vanilla version.
The graphics and sound design are impressive, providing a visually appealing experience.

The game is plagued with bugs and glitches, making it difficult to progress in missions and often resulting in crashes.
Uplay integration is cumbersome and often leads to connection issues, preventing players from launching the game.
Many players find the controls and user interface to be unintuitive and frustrating, especially compared to previous entries in the series.

story
294 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
87%
7%
The game's story is set against a WWII backdrop, providing a sense of historical authenticity that enhances the missions. However, players report significant issues with mission progression due to bugs that prevent the game from accurately tracking objectives, leading to frustration and an inability to complete missions. While some users appreciate the potential for immersive storytelling, the overwhelming technical problems detract from the overall experience, making it difficult to engage with the narrative effectively.
- “The atmosphere is palpable, and the historical context adds layers of authenticity that make every mission feel like a true adventure under the waves.”
- “In the Wolves of Steel modset, there are historical events added in via received radio messages, which actually happened during the war, such as Operation Wikinger, or during Operation Weserübung, which is an in-game mission, but had a lot happen during the operation to take over Norway, while you are tasked to sink tonnage in the area.”
- “That being said, I would recommend at least starting a game without the Wolves of Steel mod just so you can experience the beginning storyline of being promoted from first officer to captain of the boat.”
- “Even on the very first mission, I can't complete it because the game will not count the ships that I sink, even though I'm in the correct area.”
- “The game is rubbish, can't complete missions because the game does not save tonnage; stay away from this dung pile.”
- “Having played this game for over 60 hours total and having recently played again after a 5 year hiatus, I would call this game now unplayable due to the merchant tonnage bug, where merchant ships sunk do not add to your mission total when sunk in the patrol area.”
stability
250 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
The stability of Silent Hunter 5 is widely criticized, with numerous users reporting it as extremely buggy and often unplayable without significant modding. Many players express frustration over frequent crashes, glitches, and incomplete features, leading to a consensus that the game was released in a poorly finished state. While some users have managed to enjoy the game with mods like "Wolves of Steel," the general sentiment is that the vanilla version is riddled with issues that detract from the overall experience.
- “It runs great on my AMD 6-core with 8GB of DDR3 and a GTX 750.”
- “This game is a buggy unplayable disaster and I would not recommend it to anybody.”
- “The game itself is broken and buggy to the point of being unplayable.”
- “Ubisoft pushed this game out in a complete mess, like a lot of their other games from the time period that are notorious for being buggy, because at the time, they realized that Assassin's Creed was what was making them money.”
graphics
230 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
54%
2%
The graphics of the game are generally praised as impressive for its age, with many users noting that they hold up well and offer beautiful visuals, especially with the right mods. However, some reviews highlight that while the graphics are a significant improvement over previous installments, they are occasionally marred by bugs and gameplay issues. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, but they do not fully compensate for the game's other shortcomings.
- “For a game that's more than ten years old, the graphics look darned good.”
- “The graphics are beautiful, the gameplay is seamless, and it functions like Ubisoft should have made it function.”
- “The graphics are, at times, absolutely gorgeous.”
- “Though Silent Hunter 3 is probably the most realistic of the bunch, the graphics are very dated, and it's tough to play on high-resolution screens.”
- “The graphics have also not aged particularly well and the gameplay can feel a little too unrealistic at times.”
- “So all that graphic work has been wasted by totally incompetent gameplay, which really makes me mad because this game could have been a really primo product...and still could be if somebody at Ubisoft cared and fixed it.”
gameplay
146 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
73%
3%
Gameplay in the Silent Hunter series, particularly in the latest installment, has received mixed reviews. While some players appreciate the graphics and immersive experience, many criticize the numerous bugs, subpar mechanics, and the need for extensive modding to enhance gameplay. Overall, the game is seen as inferior to its predecessors, with a significant portion of the community recommending earlier titles for a more polished experience.
- “With the right mods, you get a subsim with amazing gameplay and for a 2010 game, it has amazing graphics.”
- “The graphics are excellent and the gameplay is so realistic it blows my mind.”
- “Endless hours of flawless gameplay and great graphics even for a dated game.”
- “Horrible gameplay.”
- “The graphics have never been better and the gameplay has never been worse.”
- “The worst thing about this game however, is that they took the game mechanics from the previous titles and botched them up to such a degree that you wouldn't want this game to be playable anyway.”
optimization
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
50%
14%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting significant performance issues, including frame rate drops and lag, particularly when using mods like Wolves of Steel. While certain tweaks, such as disabling "half-rate shading," can improve clarity and performance, many users feel the game is poorly optimized overall, especially on higher-end systems. However, mods like TWOS are noted to enhance performance and user experience, indicating that community solutions can mitigate some of the game's inherent optimization problems.
- “Turning off 'half-rate shading' made unreadable text perfectly clear; on Steam Deck, it's a toggle in the quick performance settings menu on the right side of the screen.”
- “Twos mod improves performance, overhauls the UI, improves the sound, gives the game more tools, and drastically expands the game's content.”
- “Wolves of Steel fixes the majority of issues the game has and it runs smoothly without crashing.”
- “Poorly optimized; i7 + GTX 1070 struggles and often experiences big frame rate drops.”
- “This game has a bazillion problems... -1000%... the game itself is amazing, but the realization and optimization are just horrible, making the game impossible to play.”
- “Not only is this the biggest pile of crap in the franchise (I have played every single one), it actually flickers with the performance of my PC.”
atmosphere
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
29%
14%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its palpable intensity and historical authenticity, making each mission feel like a genuine underwater adventure. Players appreciate the stunning graphics and immersive experience, often enhanced by personal soundtracks, which contribute to a rich and engaging environment. Despite some technical issues, the overall ambiance remains a standout feature, distinguishing it from more sterile simulations.
- “The atmosphere is palpable, and the historical context adds layers of authenticity that make every mission feel like a true adventure under the waves.”
- “The game looked fantastic and had the atmosphere spot on, coupled with my 'Das Boot' soundtrack running in the background; nothing could stop me as I plundered allied convoys and watched them burn while they sank into the Atlantic Ocean.”
- “It's very atmospheric and intense, unlike a lot of cold and sterile sims.”
- “If you are going to mod this game out of the atmosphere (subsim forums is the place to go, by the way), then by all means get it. Remember, you need to be patient and careful with the modding.”
- “Oddly enough, with all this, the game will not give up on the atmosphere.”
music
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
64%
21%
The music in the game is generally praised for enhancing the atmosphere, with players enjoying the addition of historical radio broadcasts and custom music mods. However, some users reported issues with the game not progressing past the musical intro, indicating a lack of consistent musical experience. Overall, when functional, the music significantly contributes to the immersive experience of gameplay.
- “The music and sounds are really enjoyable to listen to as well.”
- “The game looked fantastic and had the atmosphere bang on, coupled with my Das Boot soundtrack running in the background; nothing could stop me as I plundered allied convoys and watched them burn whilst they sunk into the Atlantic Ocean.”
- “☑ No music that I'm aware of.”
- “It won't open past the musical intro.”
- “With some of the radio and music mods that you can add, you can hear BBC broadcasts that happened during the war in the years that they happened.”
grinding
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
86%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be overly tedious and frustrating, often detracting from the enjoyment of battles. The complex mechanics and poor user interface contribute to a cumbersome experience, making the journey to combat feel laborious despite the satisfaction of engaging in battles. Many reviewers suggest that the game requires significant time investment, likening it to needing a "second life" for grinding.
- “But the mechanics of the game, the UI layout, and the controls are just so sloppy and bad that it makes handling the sub so tedious and frustrating.”
- “Wreaking havoc amongst enemy convoys is incredibly satisfying, but getting to the battle in the first place is a very tedious process.”
- “This process is sometimes very tedious, and here comes to the aid of the ability to accelerate.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
40%
20%
The game offers high replayability, with players noting extensive playtime of 61-100 hours. However, some users express frustration with technical issues, such as crashes, and a desire for more playable submarine options beyond the Type VII.
- “Very long (61-100 hours) [high replayability]”
- “Wolves of the Pacific (SH IV) wasn't very good, but it was better and more playable than this version.”
- “You'd think with it being on Steam that they'd have some regard for having games that are playable to the extent that you aren't crashing every so often without having done anything to 'upset' the game.”
- “I only wish there were more playable subs other than just the Type VII.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted as amusing, particularly in the context of its numerous bugs and crashes, which some players find ironically entertaining. However, the overall experience is marred by technical issues, leading to a recommendation against the Steam version until further patches are released. Players suggest that using mods can enhance the experience, adding a layer of humor to the game's shortcomings.
- “Funny actions ^^”
- “All this is quite funny.”
- “Isn't that funny... so I hear this game is the best with mods.”
monetization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a "cash grab," with users noting that promotional content from Ubisoft feels overly commercialized. However, players appreciate the absence of microtransactions, which somewhat mitigates the negative perception.
- “Looks like a final cut-rate cash grab.”
- “The few YouTube videos I found made by Ubisoft were nothing short of shameless advertisements.”
- “Heck, at least there aren't any microtransactions in it.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional response to the game is overwhelmingly negative, with users expressing frustration and disappointment over its lack of updates and ongoing issues, leading to a decision to uninstall and abandon it.