So, as a kid, I was crazy about Silent Hunter games since I read a review in Bug by Oleg Maštruk (greetings to the legend) related to Silent Hunter III.
The whole concept of controlling a submarine seemed brutal to me, but I never had a computer that could run it. When Silent Hunter 5 came out, I had a top comp, got it the same way Jack Sparrow would have gotten it on one of the 7 seas, booted it up, and… Realized I didn't have time for it.
Some 15 years later, Uboat comes to us, and when they asked me if I would try it, I just said...
This is not such a good trick because the submarine is going up, but imagine if I dived.
The genre we've been missing
Simulations used to be huge hits, and even though they are still around today, they used to be a massive hit.
Silent Hunter was the series that dominated submarine simulations and set the benchmark.
In the Silent Hunter series, your main role was to follow instruments, hunt convoys and watch the angle of attack. Uboat goes one step further. You are a captain, a strategist and a psychologist.
It's the same here, primarily this is a crew management game.
They need to be fed, provided with rest, pay attention to morals and interpersonal relationships. Small mistakes like poorly timed shifts or a forgotten compressor can mean the difference between returning to port and sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic.
It is this management layer that brings freshness, but it can also be a double-edged sword, after a few hours of playing it can become repetitive and require more micromanagement than some players would like. Who would have thought that life on a submarine is not full of adrenaline!
The greatest value of the game is in the moments of tension it creates. A patrol can start routinely - the sinking of several merchant ships, then the sudden news that a ship with secret information is hiding in an enemy convoy. The convoy is protected by cruisers and battleships, but if you know the tactics, you can slip deep between their formations, launch torpedoes and try to escape silently. All this takes tens of minutes in real time, where any mistake – for example, leaving a noise-making machine running – can result in the death of the entire crew. It is not an instant action, but a slow gradation of tension that culminates in explosions of depth charges and complete chaos in the control room.
Technical presentation and sound
Before I started the game, I thought it was a shame that I couldn't get inside the submarine and that I would only be looking at a section like a model in a textbook.
The first hour completely changed my impression. I went inside, passed through the narrow passages, stood by the periscope and peered into the torpedo chamber. That part was super fun because I didn't know it could be opened.
I felt the narrowness of the space and the rhythm of life of the crew, who pass each other's shoulders in corridors barely wide enough for two people. At that moment, you realize that the visual idea has completely succeeded, the submarine is not a scenery but a living organism.
The interior model is lavish in details. The valves shine with grease, the pipes have traces of condensation, the neck joints leave a fine patina of wear, and the instruments are not just textures but functional devices that pulse with the play of lights and needles that actually move.
When the lighting is switched to night mode, the cabin gets a warm red light and the entire space turns into a silent stage where every movement of the crew comes to the fore. Dynamic lighting works beautifully in tight spaces and creates contrasts between the murky depth and the glint of the surface after emerging.
Even little things like drops falling from the ceiling, a slight shake of the camera when changing depth or a flash of sparks in the engine room when the damage is in play contribute to the impression that you are really inside.
The surface model of the sea, the waves, the splash and the traces of the movement of the submarine across the surface seem convincing, but the real spectacle begins when I dive in and shift the focus to the interior.
The crew animations are functional and varied enough that they don't feel like repeating the same few actions. The wheels, levers, dive and ascent controls have convincing kinetics. It doesn't look like a set of animations glued to puppets, but like the organized chaos of a small ship in crisis.
When chaos ensues due to damage, water pours into compartments, puddles are left on the floor, and lights flicker on the verge of going out. Then, even without any numbers, you feel the gravity of the situation.
The sound image is equally strong. Diesel engines on the surface work deep and throaty, inside you feel the vibration even though you are in front of the monitor. After the dive, the tone is muffled and everything becomes softer, the sound of the ocean and the distant metallic whisper of the hull working under load can be heard. The sounds of ventilation, condensation drops, the creak of partitions, the turn of the periscope and the clicks of switches build the atmosphere layer by layer.
When the hunt begins, the sonar ping echoes throughout the hull and causes reflex discomfort. Depth charges have an arrival phase, first a distant drumming, then a whistle and finally a crash that cuts through all conversations. At that moment, you also hear small things, the alarm bell, the shouts of the crew, the crunching of metal on the edge of endurance. During those minutes, sound becomes the mechanic of your imagination, it gives you clues as to where and how to react.
The mix is well balanced. The level of the environment makes crew conversations and short commands intelligible, while heavy engine sounds and explosions have room to dominate at critical moments without everything else completely disappearing.
The transition from the surface to the quiet ride in the depths is clearly heard through the change of the spectrum, the high frequencies disappear, the dull operation of the machines and the occasional sound of metal working under pressure remain. When you return to the surface, the air and the waves take over the scene again and the impression is as if you have opened the door from the basement to the stormy coast.
Mechanics
One of Uboat's greatest strengths is the way it balances pure simulation with more accessible gameplay.
Players have the freedom to choose whether they want to indulge in a detailed, almost mathematical level of control, or let the crew do the hard work and remain in the role of commander making strategic decisions.
If you like the hardcore approach, Uboat gives you the tools to feel like a real WWII submarine officer.
You can manually calculate the speed and course of the enemy ship using an optical range finder and periscope, record the data in a table and, based on that, determine the right angle of launching the torpedo.
The TDC (Torpedo Data Computer) system is not simplified, you need to track the distance, speed, direction and angle of the target, and any omission or wrong entry results in a miss and loss of precious torpedoes.
The same goes for navigation, you can rely on your own calculations using maps, protractors and compass measurements, instead of letting the game automatically show you where you are. This style of play slows down the pace, but the reward is the feeling that you won each victory with your own knowledge and patience.
On the other hand, Uboat understands that not everyone wants to spend hours calculating angles and practicing trigonometry. If you prefer to be a strategic leader, you can delegate these tasks to the crew. In this case, your sonar automatically reads the distances, the navigator calculates the course, and the officers enter the parameters into the TDC.
It is up to you to choose the moment of attack, decide whether you want to play aggressively and risk detection or wait patiently for a better opportunity. In this way, the game becomes accessible to those who want to experience the atmosphere without learning all the technical details.
A particular strength of the game is that both approaches can coexist. It is not necessary that the player strictly adheres to one style, you can manually do one part of the budget and leave the rest to the crew.
For example, you can measure the speed of the enemy ship yourself, but leave it to TDC to calculate the final trajectory of the torpedo. Or you can navigate yourself using the compass, and let the game calculate corrections for long trips. This flexible design allows the game to be played by both complete beginners and veterans of the Silent Hunter series, each at their own level of complexity.
Uboat also encourages experimentation. If you want, you can start the campaign on a more accessible mode, and then gradually take on more responsibility as you become more confident in the mechanics.
The game never forces a hardcore approach, but always offers it as an option for those who want the most realistic experience. This is a rarity in a genre that has often been closed to new players.
Weaknesses and room for improvement
The biggest minus right now is micromanagement, which can become tiresome. Manually changing shifts, the constant need to repeat the same actions and limited automation slow down the flow of the game.
Also, the storage system and resource layout could be more intuitive. These are details that may suit those who like absolute control, but can become a hindrance for a wider audience.
Potential and future
Although it is no longer early access, it still has a few bugs, but it shows constant progress. New updates bring tutorials, better optimization and content that makes the game even richer.
An active community and a developer team that listens to feedback give hope that this could become what Silent Hunter once was, a reference point for the entire genre. With the addition of a dynamic campaign, more automation, and room for a modding community, Uboat could cement its place as the ultimate submarine simulation.
Uboat is a modern attempt to bring back the feeling of total immersion in the submarine world, with the addition of RPG and management elements that make a difference. It's not perfect and it has its frustrations, but when depth charges start shaking the ship, and you're in the dark looking for salvation in the silence of the depths, you realize that we simply don't have enough games like this today.
A copy of the game was provided by the publisher Ultimate Games S.A. for review purposes.
