Solarsuit Games just announced Static Dread: The Submarine, and if their previous game Static Dread: The Lighthouse taught us anything, it’s that these developers understand Lovecraftian horror better than most AAA studios charging $70. This time, they’re taking the cosmic dread from lighthouses and moving it underwater – to a state-of-the-art submarine called Ares trapped beneath the Atlantic while something ancient wakes up.
The setup is gorgeously grim. A catastrophic aurora has swept across the entire planet, erasing modern civilization’s achievements and forcing humanity to face impossible choices. You’re a sailor aboard the Ares, operating in the Atlantic depths, and by circumstances entirely beyond your control, you’ve found yourself at the epicenter of these events. The closed playtest is coming in a few months, but the Steam wishlist is available now if you want to prepare yourself for what Solarsuit Games is planning.
Claustrophobia As a Game Mechanic
Here’s what makes Static Dread: The Submarine different from other horror games. The horror isn’t just atmospheric – it’s structural. You’re trapped in a submarine. There’s nowhere to run. The pressure of the ocean literally surrounds you. Every wall is steel. Every corridor is narrow. Every system failure could be fatal. This isn’t a haunted mansion where you can leave a room if things get scary. You’re in a metal tube at crush depth with mounting dread.
The Lovecraftian horror comes from that claustrophobia combined with the unknowable. You’ll use an active and passive sonar system to scan the waters around you. Sometimes you’ll find wrecks. Sometimes you’ll find deep trenches. Sometimes you’ll find things that answer back. And that’s when the real dread kicks in – there’s something down here that shouldn’t exist, and it’s responding to your calls.
Decoding Bizarre Echoes
The sonar mechanic isn’t just about navigation. It’s about interpretation. You’ll receive strange echoes, decoded signals, and messages from the depths that gradually reveal what the aurora actually awakened. The mystery unfolds through sonar data rather than exposition dumps. This forces players to piece together what’s happening through environmental storytelling and abstract audio information.
Crew Management As Tragedy
The most brutal system in Static Dread: The Submarine comes from crew management. Your sailors have jobs. Someone operates the engine. Someone manages sonar. Someone handles repairs. When a crew member dies – and they will die – their responsibilities don’t disappear. Someone has to cover their position. That someone is you.
Imagine your engineer dies. Now you’re running the engine room yourself while still performing your own duties. Imagine your sonar operator breaks psychologically. Now you’re trying to navigate using systems you don’t fully understand while the crew’s morale crumbles. As your crew diminishes, you’re forced to prioritize impossible choices. Do you keep the engines running or maintain the hull integrity? Do you focus on communication or weapons systems?
This isn’t a punishment system – it’s the core narrative mechanic. Every crew member you lose shapes how the game plays out. Every assignment you make has consequences. Your effectiveness as a captain directly impacts whether people survive.
Choices That Reshape the Story
Your route through the Atlantic, your priorities when systems fail, your reactions under extreme pressure – all of these determine which ending you get. Static Dread: The Submarine promises multiple endings driven by genuine player choice rather than cosmetic decisions. The story acknowledges that your choices in crisis mode reveal character. Will you sacrifice crew members to save the mission? Will you prioritize crew survival even if it means mission failure? Will you abandon hope or keep fighting?
Following Up The Lighthouse
Static Dread: The Lighthouse released earlier in 2025 as the first entry in the Static Dread universe. Set on a misty island, it put players in charge of a lighthouse during a catastrophic aurora event. You guided ships to safety while dealing with cultists, strange visitors, and cosmic horror creeping out of the sea. It was a smaller-scale experience – 15 days in one location making radio calls.
The Submarine expands that formula. Instead of a fixed location, you’re traversing an entire ocean. Instead of just radio communications, you’re commanding a military vessel. Instead of local characters visiting, you have an entire crew whose fates depend on your decisions. Solarsuit Games is taking everything they learned from The Lighthouse and building something more ambitious and claustrophobic.
The Aurora Mystery
The Lighthouse treated the aurora as a mysterious phenomenon that was clearly causing catastrophe. The Submarine will reveal more about what it actually was, where it came from, and what it awakened. Players will piece together the mystery through sonar echoes, crew observations, and environmental storytelling. The aurora isn’t just background flavor – it’s the central mystery that drives the entire narrative.
There’s a universe being built here. The Submarine is positioned as the second major story in the Static Dread universe. There will be more entries, more revelations, and more ways that this catastrophic event continues affecting humanity. Solarsuit Games seems committed to creating a cohesive mythology rather than standalone horror experiences.
When Can You Play
A closed playtest is coming in a few months, and the developers want to get the game into players’ hands as soon as possible. Steam wishlists are open now so you can follow the project. The full release date hasn’t been announced, but given the timeline they’re describing, expect the closed playtest sometime in early 2026 and the full release in 2026 or 2027.
FAQs
When is Static Dread: The Submarine releasing?
No official release date has been announced. A closed playtest is coming in a few months (likely early 2026). The developers are aiming to release as soon as possible but are prioritizing quality over rushing.
Can I wishlist the game now?
Yes, Static Dread: The Submarine is available to wishlist on Steam. Search for the game name directly.
Is this a sequel to Static Dread: The Lighthouse?
It’s a spiritual successor set in the same universe. The Lighthouse was released in 2025, and The Submarine is a new entry in the Static Dread universe with the same themes but a different location and characters.
What platforms will it be available on?
Static Dread: The Submarine is confirmed for PC. Published by Polden Publishing with development by Solarsuit Games.
How long is the campaign?
Length hasn’t been specified, but given the scope compared to The Lighthouse, expect several hours of gameplay with multiple endings and replay value based on different choices.
Is this purely single-player?
Yes, Static Dread: The Submarine is a single-player experience focused on narrative and crew management.
Does it require playing The Lighthouse first?
No. While both games share a universe and similar themes, The Submarine tells its own complete story. You don’t need to have played The Lighthouse to understand or enjoy The Submarine.
Will there be more Static Dread games after this?
Solarsuit Games seems to be building a universe with multiple Static Dread entries. More games in this universe are likely, but nothing official has been announced beyond The Submarine.
Conclusion
Static Dread: The Submarine represents exactly the kind of ambitious indie horror project that deserves attention. Solarsuit Games took the success of The Lighthouse and scaled up to something more mechanically complex while maintaining that claustrophobic Lovecraftian dread. A submarine trapped in the Atlantic with a dying crew, failing systems, and something ancient responding to your sonar – that’s the kind of premise that stays with you. The crew management system transforms the game from pure horror into a strategic tragedy where every decision costs something. Multiple endings and player-driven narrative ensure replay value. The closed playtest is coming soon, and full wishlists are open on Steam. If you enjoyed The Lighthouse or you’re looking for psychological horror that understands how isolation and claustrophobia amplify cosmic dread, Static Dread: The Submarine should be on your radar. Prepare to dive, and good luck keeping your crew alive in the abyss.