subROV : Underwater Ops

Pros:
Love this game! Very atmospheric with beautiful marine biomes. Perfect execution of a deep sea exploration sim, and a good mix of educational & entertaining gameplay.

Cons:
I hope to see further development because there are very few missions for a $20 game. It would also be nice to have a variety of boats, vessels, and ROVs you can select from.

First thing first, if you want to get an id what ROV is. Go and look at youtube for Schmidt Ocean, they do live feed on dives. 2nd come back and get this game if you like to look into the deep but cant aford an rc rov OR diving equiptment :D Here you can take controll over the ship and the ROV to explore the ocean sea bed. I would say that this game is something out of the normal sim standard and that the devloper has open ears for feedback. Will recomend this game big time and if you deside to get this game. Head over to the discord and be a part of the "diving crew" there. Talk about the dive and the game :D have fun and give the dev some constructive feedback if you have some so he can be better or just drop by to say Hi :D

This is one of the best underwater experiences on Steam. It's calming yet oddly terrifying, and while not all of the visuals are spectacular, the ones that matter really shine. The water post processing effects look great, and the few underwater life models I've seen so far look really well, especially at a distance. The water haze effect is VERY well done. I feel like I learned a lot about how underwater ROV's operate, and that's a really cool experience, so kudos to the dev and the partners that funded this project! I really hope to see this experience continue to grow.

What a fantastic hidden treasure. I came across this title by accident, looking for something else on the list of early access games. Definitely more people should find out about this game. It's not overly complicated for a simulator, but it provides a lot of fun, while maintaining a decent level of realism and offering a fantastic atmosphere of underwater exploration. The fantastic and inventive interface (ROV control panel) is clear and usable, and looks great. The sound design is good, the missions very interesting and atmospheric. This is my biggest accidental discovery of recent months. I will deep dive this deep dive exploration game like ROV ;)

I have to say that I don't recommend this, purely because it is not for me.

That being said, if this is your kind of thing (exploring the open ocean, and very few, but very realistic, things that one might find down there) i can recommend it.

If you, like me, aren't interested with spending 30 minutes and finding literally nothing, then this game probably isn't for you. In my time down there I saw one tiny little, speck of what i think might have been a coral fan.

If you want to be a deep sea marinebiologist, or want to map the sea floor, or do literally anything that would require ROV training, then this would be a great way to find out if that's something you like the idea of, or actually like doing.

This is a chill little underwater simulator. It smooths out some of the rough edges to make controlling the submarine enjoyable rather than too frustrating (you can fast forward time during the long times of the sub being raised/lowered to the sea floor, you have a magic scanner to ID objects/creatures, the controls appear to generally prevent you from making major mistakes such as moving the ship via main propeller while the submarine is deployed).

I'd recommend it for anyone who wants a nonviolent educational simulator. If you know a patient kid (or adult ;) who wants to be a marine biologist or operate a submarine, I could see them investing hours into this. The non-tutorial missions seem to take at least an hour to complete, but that's mostly travel/navigating/searching.

If you like the ocean, and are interested in perhaps going into a career that involves the ocean, than this game is definitely for you. Absolutely love this game so far, and can't wait to play it more.

Fantastic exploration game. I've waited for something like this for a long time and so far they have delivered an excellent sim! I can't wait to get some more exploring in, but I had to leave a review because these devs deserve it. Thanks devs!

I really liked how this game introduces you to the ocean and the submarine world, in a realistic yet enjoyable (playable) way. The controls are complete but not overwhelmingly complicated, and you can speed up time in the deployment/recovery procedure (although you them might miss the whales!). The details on the atmosphere and on the landscape are great, as well as the feeling of the water when you go down.

The game is very stable and does not feel like an early release (both in terms of buggyness, and on the available missions), and I have found no glitches (to date).

So, if you like nature, exploring, submarines or simulators (or all of the above) you might want to give this game a try! That the developer seems to be very active in the community hub and constructively responding to feedback is a plus. I hope they release more missions soon!!

As of 3/1/2023:

I like this game. As it is still in early access, I cannot speak in concrete terms, as you may be seeing this upon full release. The controls and ROV operations are good. It's a god foundation. THe only thing that's leaving me wanting is a much more vivid marine life environment full of life. So much of what there is to scan and discover is repetitive benthic species; with the exception of charismatic megafauna encountered while lowering the ROV through the water column. Even with the abundant inverts on the sea floor, the benthic environment is barren and nothing feels real and alive.

I hope, however, that when the game reaches gold, that that will change. The ocean is full of unique, ediverse, and bustling life, This game only scratches the surface of its potential. For what it is as of this writing, it is worth supporting. And I look forward to seeing greater developments that enhance the experience.

Wanted to love this game. I love the concept but alas once underwater you find you are on an alien world devoide of life except for maybe the ONE deep sea fish that you are supposed to scan, ONE sea fan or sponge etc... There is NOTHING on the bottom and NO schools of fish you would of course see... In deep water you dont even get to see a bottom dweller skittering along anywhere...

Another big problem is that its SOLD as a game that has lots of life underwater. Just look at the SubROV title page!!! Life and color everywhere... BUT NOT SO!!!! I looked for a setting to maybe turn on sea life somewhere and found none so

I REALLY wanted to love this game. The physics and mechanics are really good, but the visuals are remarkably dry and uninteresting. Under lights, the ocean floor is an explosion of color, In this game its a bare shade of blue.... That they got VERY wrong.

The game needs to be updated to include enugh life so you feel you are on EARTH instead of on some lifeless exoplanet somewhere...

Does not have much content at the moment but the content that is implemented is pretty well polished. I am both very impressed and pleased with this sim and am really looking forward to future updates

As an ROV operator, I really appreciate this game. A part of my work includes benthic echosystem analysis which this game includes. Controls are customizable so changing buttons to match different ROV controller configurations is possible. ROV deployments are a bit long but it is possible to stop and explore pelagic species wandering around.

a wonderful find! i love exploring the maps and the mission objectives are quite fun (some more challenging than others). there may not be a lot of sea life variety (yet!) but the graphics of those included so far are great. i was quite surprised at what else can be found on the sea floor, i look forward to seeing more getting added.
oh, and i WILL find that Giant Squid one day!

If you are a fan of the Underwater genre, like exploring and dig tech, then I would recommend this game. I have had this on my wishlist for a while and was really excited to see it came out. I have not been disappointed, have enjoyed every minute of my first 3 hrs. As an early access title, its pretty polished and I am looking forward to seeing what is still to come on the road to 1.0. Nice work Devs!

Not bad at all as a time filler to relax after work. ROV controls are smooth, movement is believable (a bit too little inertia imho). ROV drifts, even in forced stable hover mode if the current is strong. Lighting is nice, on the rover and the "mothership" (tether management system). A full mission can take hours ("make 8 dives in the map area"), but is automatically saved, should you choose to exit at some point.

Yet... There isn't much mission variety, at least I haven't seen much yet personally). Haven't seen any of those wrecks they tout.
Seafloor is rather barren, really hope they populate seafloor better, the engine feels like it has some resources left, without slowing down.
So far looks like the base elements are nice, now if they work on filling this with more content, this is going to grow into an excellent edutainment/relaxation game.

Responsive Devs

Game looks cool but is unplayable. I have an ultra widescreen monitor and I can't use my native 3840x1080 resolution, the screen is blacked on both edges. I have reported it and put it in a reply in the discussions. Devs seem pretty responsive, but based from this reason I cannot recommend it to any of my Ultra widescreen mafia brothers.

Within hours of my request, the devs were able to make the game playable. I am glad they did, because even though I only had time to play the tutorial, it was the immersive submersible game /simulation I was looking for.

It is my recommendation that not only should you now play this game in ultra-wide but that you at least give the tutorial a shot, if you like it, fine. If not return it. With what little I saw, I highly recommend this to anyone.

The atmosphere in this sim/game is very immersive :)

Be sure to play it in a DARK room and with headphones that close out all other sounds.

The graphics of the ocean-floor and the limited visibility is pretty good. You can even throw up dust/sand with your rover-propellers.

There's a great sense of being deep down under lots of water.

Compared to videos from deep-sea roving I think the visuals and feeling are in the category we would call realistic.

The static bio-life, which is all I have encountered in my initial training to become a certified 'rover-pilot', is the only thing so far that I think doesn't look very good.

The barren sea-bed, however, in the vast darkness, is great though. You do get a sense of the water throwing some 'mass' around (It is not crystal-clear water, but water filled with 'particles' that give a very good sense of being surrounded by water without looking distracting. That aspect is superbly done)

The rover is very stable, although there are currents that will make you drift both laterally and vertically.

There is no rotational instability though (Pitch, Yaw, Roll), so no wobble (I have to say I do miss the rover wobbling just a little bit, to give a sense of being more 'free-floating' in water. But it's really no big deal, and would probably just make some of us sea-sick rather than having fun diving :) )

The control can be done via mouse or keyboard (Or both) and thankfully you don't need to learn endless pages of manuals to work out the controls.

There is a few intro-missions (A very well-made and well-structured tutorial) that will teach you what you need to know.

I run it on a Nvidia GTX980, on an i7-CPU from 2015, and it runs smooth at highest graphics-settings :)

I use a keyboard with lights in the keys and when playing this in a dark room... it completes the immersive level fully :)

A really good title if you're into simulations and like to take your time to go through things nice and easy and at your own pace.
(I have tried diving-games where you need to complete things while oxygen is ticking away at stressful tempos and they are never really any fun because you never have time to explore and just be in the moment)

This title is very relaxing if you're even the slightest geeky in nature :) )

I recommend this! :)

would recommend to anyone who likes the ocean. a few problems though:
there isn't a lot of missions that are centered around wildlife/isnt enough wildlife in general. i've only seen two animals in my 2.1 hours of playtime
a free dive mode might be nice, where you can just dive wherever you want. the map could have locations of interest marked on it.
mission ideas:
more missions where you search for wildlife
a mission where you observe a whale fall perhaps?

A relaxing scientific fantasy, underwater.

I started playing subROV expecting a hard simulation experience. Being at the helm of a submarine vehicle, controlling every knob, every detail of the machine configuration. I was delighted when I discovered a relaxing sim-lite experience. subROV is the fantasy of a high seas scientific vessel and its expeditions.

The pace of the game is quite calm. This is not a combat simulator or a space trader experience. We're here to enjoy the dive and to rejoice when a new animal or plant appears in the sonar and we manage to track it and scan it. The inclusion of a small catalog supports the scientific angle of subROV without being pedantic or dense. I never thought I'd get giddy after discovering a sponge!

This title reduces the complexities of the operation of an underwater vehicle and makes them enjoyable and interesting. subROV introduces its controls quite gently in a couple of brief scenarios and then opens into a collection of semi - guided expeditions. These expeditions have objectives to achieve but the game expects you to explore the seabed driven by your curiosity. This is science and we're here to discover.

I'd personally recommend to play this title with headphones. The audio is important in this game.

Its a fun game! Very early access but overall I enjoy it. I would say though it would be great to have a sandbox mode. It would be awesome to if eventually they add a human submersible submarine to explore in.

A good low key realistic exploration game. You pilot an Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) down into the deep sea to explore, service equipment and collect samples. There are missions with set objectives and you can also just move around the sea floor to try to discover all the items in the gallery. It has a decent amount of content for an initial early access release with more to be added. I've found the game to be quite stable and haven't had any performance issues. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to pilot an ROV, this is the game for you.

This game is an actual passion project from a solo dev, the scientific and technical rigor and the attention to detail is amazing, it's a must have to anyone interested on submarine exploration and simulation games