Subside

About

"Submerge into a serene underwater world in Subside, a visually stunning VR simulation game. Explore multiple areas while interacting with lifelike aquatic creatures, all designed with unparalleled realism. Experience the freedom of swimming and d in shallow waters, creating a truly immersive aquatic adventure."

Genres & Tags

Simulation

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

98%

Audience ScoreBased on 414 reviews

graphics87 positive mentions

story4 negative mentions

Incredible graphics and immersive environments that create a stunning underwater experience.
Intuitive swimming mechanics that feel natural and enhance the exploration aspect of the game.
Relaxing gameplay focused on exploration and collecting items, making it a great showcase for VR technology.

Limited content and gameplay can lead to boredom after the initial wow factor wears off.
Some technical issues, including frame rate drops and awkward interactions with objects in the environment.
The requirement to find collectibles to unlock new levels can feel tedious and detracts from the overall experience.

graphics
118 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
74%
23%
3%
The graphics in this VR game are widely praised for their stunning realism and high level of detail, particularly in underwater environments, with many users noting exceptional water physics and immersive visuals. While some players experienced frame rate drops and criticized certain textures, the overall consensus highlights the game's visuals as among the best in VR, making it a standout experience for underwater exploration. The combination of beautiful graphics, realistic sound design, and engaging gameplay contributes to a deeply immersive experience that many players find captivating.
- “Simply the king: the most beautiful underwater game on the market, a must-have freediver simulator with incredible graphics and physics and a solo-developer gem!”
- “From the moment I put on my headset, I was drawn into a visually mesmerizing world with stunning graphics, where every detail—lighting, textures, and environments—felt vivid and alive.”
- “The graphics are stunning and deeply immersive – the water rendering, both above and below the surface, is exceptional.”
- “Nothing special, areas are quite small, graphics aren't that great, lighting is okay I guess, textures are low resolution, muddy and rough looking, lack of settings/options, creatures look mediocre though the animations look great. Overall, a low-quality tech demo with unrealistic graphics. The teleportation is frustrating; you just teleport 2 feet in front of you, which gets irritating fast. Wait until a sale and only play if there's nothing else to do.”
- “I also experienced some fairly harsh random frame rate drops with an RTX 4080, even when lowering all the graphic options.”
- “Do not expect a full 'game' as per se, but explore the ocean and creatures with some top-notch AAA graphics that fully immerse.”
gameplay
51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
55%
6%
The gameplay primarily revolves around swimming, exploration, and collecting items, with a focus on immersion rather than traditional game mechanics. While the swimming mechanics are praised for their natural feel and intuitive controls, the overall gameplay experience is described as limited, lacking depth and a clear objective. Players express a desire for more content and narrative elements to enhance the exploration aspect and make the gameplay more rewarding.
- “The swimming gameplay mechanics are particularly impressive, with controls that feel extremely intuitive, allowing you to naturally glide, dive, and explore underwater environments with ease.”
- “Very immersive, all the game mechanics work beautifully together to give you that great sense of presence.”
- “The swimming mechanic works really well with surprisingly little VR jank, hand motions in the water propel you in the correct direction and it does recreate the feeling I get snorkeling in real life.”
- “This is first and foremost a swimming simulator with very little gameplay.”
- “There's no real 'gameplay' besides just exploring and collecting things.”
- “I think the gameplay loop and amount of content stretches this just beyond a limited tech demo.”
story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
50%
33%
The game lacks a traditional narrative, focusing instead on exploration and discovery within beautiful underwater environments. Players appreciate the absence of a plot or enemies, emphasizing a relaxing experience centered around finding collectibles and treasures that unlock new levels. Overall, the story aspect is minimal, as the game prioritizes pure exploration over structured storytelling.
- “As others have noted, there isn't a typical game story; instead, the focus is on exploring and finding things, including a few kinds of collectibles (they fit right in).”
- “As others have noted, there isn't a typical game story; the focus is instead on exploring and finding things, including a few kinds of collectibles (they fit right in).”
- “There is no plot, no story or enemies; these things could not improve what this is - a fantastic underwater exploration experience.”
- “Subside is a wonderfully relaxing experience where you explore stunning underwater environments without forced quests or objectives, though there is a hunt for treasures that unlock more levels.”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
Overall, the game's optimization is highly praised, with users reporting excellent performance, particularly on high-end machines like the 4090, achieving locked 90fps with max settings. The visuals are considered fantastic, and the support for native Oculus and SteamVR drivers ensures optimal performance for a wide range of users. However, some players expressed a desire for enhanced visual options, particularly regarding water clarity.
- “Performance is better than a lot of other equivalent games too, with everything maxed out I was locked at 90fps (admittedly on a 4090).”
- “The visuals are fantastic and performance is top notch as well for the most part.”
- “The game supports native Oculus drivers and native SteamVR drivers, so most users should get optimal performance.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its stunning visuals and immersive level design, particularly highlighting the impressive water rendering. While some players note that the gameplay may feel limited, the overall vibe and aesthetic create a captivating experience.
- “Come for the stunning water rendering, stay for the rich, immersive atmosphere.”
- “Atmosphere and level designs are top notch.”
- “I adore the visuals and overall vibe/atmosphere, but it is just a swimming simulator.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
The game offers limited content, yet many players find it highly replayable due to its engaging mechanics. However, some users feel that the replayability diminishes over time as levels become familiar. Overall, opinions are mixed, with a tendency towards a positive view on replayability despite content constraints.
- “On the small side for content, but very replayable.”
- “Replayability is not that great, I guess. Eventually, you have seen all the levels.”
- “Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back and play it again.”
- “The lack of variety in gameplay makes replaying the game feel tedious.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a rich soundscape filled with ambient noises that enhance the immersive experience, though it lacks traditional music. This attention to environmental sounds contributes to a vibrant and lively world.
- “A great soundscape, no music mind you, but always ambient noises that make the world feel alive.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the collecting system somewhat tedious, yet acknowledge that it encourages deeper exploration of the game’s environments, balancing out their frustrations with other positive qualities of the game.
- “I'm not a huge fan of the collecting system; it feels a bit tedious at times. However, the other qualities make up for it, and if the system didn't exist, I don't know if I would have explored the environments as deeply as I did.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Users consistently praise the game's stability, noting that it runs smoothly and features responsive controls, contributing to an overall positive gameplay experience.
- “The game looks great, runs great, and controls well.”
- “The game looks great, runs great, and controls well.”
- “The game looks great, runs great, and controls well.”

Buy Subside

Subside
$24.99
See offer on Steam

4h Median play time

4h Average play time

4-4h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

Videos

82%623reviews

Kayak VR: Mirage

2022

Casual Racing

95%386reviews

Gnomes & Goblins

2016

Casual Simulation

85%1.7kreviews

theBlu

2022

Casual Simulation

88%1.6kreviews

Death in the Water 2

2023

Shooter

81%1.5kreviews

Beyond Blue

2020

Casual Simulation

+13

81%234reviews

FREEDIVER: Triton Down

2019

Simulation

87%17.9kreviews

Abzu

2016

Casual Simulation

This game contains adult content

90%4.5kreviews

The Room VR: A Dark Matter

2020

Puzzle

43%467reviews

World of Diving

2014

Sport

88%1.7kreviews

Astrometica

2024

Simulation

Subside Tweets

Subside

Platforms

About

Buy Subside

Subside

Videos

Games Like Subside

Kayak VR: Mirage

Gnomes & Goblins

theBlu

Death in the Water 2

Beyond Blue

FREEDIVER: Triton Down

Abzu

The Room VR: A Dark Matter

World of Diving

Astrometica