Howling Hamster Entertainment dropped the official announcement trailer for Sub-Species on December 12, 2025, revealing a 2.5D multidirectional shooter set in Earth’s oceans after a devastating alien outbreak. The Irish independent studio from Galway positions the game as a spiritual successor to classics like Ecco the Dolphin and The Abyss, but with a heavily armed submarine replacing friendly dolphins. You pilot a vessel with full 360-degree rotation through contaminated quarantine zones, battling extraterrestrial creatures while exploring the wreckage of doomed naval installations and uncovering the mystery behind your crew’s fate.
The game embraces retro shoot-em-up design philosophy while adding modern exploration and puzzle-solving elements. You’ll navigate claustrophobic tunnels, disarm unstable reactors, deploy strategic tools like flares and mines, and survive ambushes in collapsed underwater bases. Creative director Manus Burke emphasizes that the deep ocean represents the closest thing to an alien world on Earth, making it the perfect setting for a sci-fi horror shooter. A demo arrives shortly after the holidays, with the full PC release on Steam coming later with no specific date announced yet.
360 Degrees of Submarine Combat
Sub-Species implements full 360-degree rotation for your submarine, letting you respond to threats from any direction in real-time. This isn’t a side-scrolling shooter where enemies politely approach from one side – alien creatures swarm from above, below, and all around while you rotate your vessel to bring weapons to bear. The multidirectional combat creates frantic situations where spatial awareness and quick rotation matter as much as aim.
The submarine control scheme echoes classic arcade shooters like Asteroids where rotation and momentum combine into distinctive movement physics. You can’t instantly flip directions or stop on a dime – the sub has weight and inertia that persists through maneuvers. This creates a learning curve where new players overcompensate and experienced pilots develop intuitive feel for how the vessel handles under different conditions.
Strategic tools expand tactical options beyond just shooting. Deploy flares to scout ahead and reveal hidden threats lurking in the darkness. Lay mines to create defensive perimeters or funnel enemies into kill zones. Use dodge bursts for emergency evasion when overwhelmed by swarming creatures. The combination of rotation, momentum, weapons, and tools creates depth that separates Sub-Species from simple bullet-hell shooters where you just dodge and spam fire.
The Alien Ocean Infestation
Earth’s oceans have been overrun by an alien outbreak that transformed aquatic environments into hostile quarantine zones filled with mutant lifeforms and contaminated ecosystems. You’re piloting one of the last operational submarines capable of entering these deadly depths to investigate what happened and potentially find survivors. The premise echoes The Abyss and Sphere – human technology encountering incomprehensible extraterrestrial phenomena in the most isolated environment on Earth.
The alien creatures you fight aren’t just palette-swapped fish with more hit points. According to the trailer and promotional materials, you’re facing genuinely bizarre extraterrestrial biology – organisms that shouldn’t exist according to terrestrial evolution. Some enemies appear biomechanical, others are pure organic nightmares, and certain threats suggest the aliens are adapting human technology for their own purposes. The visual variety prevents monotony while reinforcing that you’re fighting an invasion, not just aggressive wildlife.
Environmental hazards compound the alien threat. Contaminated zones pulse with strange energy that damages your sub’s hull. Rogue technology from failed expeditions activates unpredictably, creating additional obstacles beyond the creatures themselves. Unstable reactors threaten to explode if not properly disarmed. The ocean itself becomes hostile through a combination of natural dangers and alien transformation, making navigation as deadly as combat.
Exploration Beyond Just Shooting
While Sub-Species emphasizes action, Howling Hamster Entertainment confirmed they’re incorporating exploration and puzzle-solving elements alongside the combat. You’ll navigate complex environments including naval ruins, flooded research labs, and pulsating alien hives that require more than just shooting your way through. Navigation puzzles force you to find alternate routes through collapsed tunnels or figure out how to access locked sections of underwater bases.
The exploration component echoes Ecco the Dolphin’s emphasis on discovering secrets hidden throughout aquatic environments. You’re not just surviving – you’re investigating what happened to your crew, uncovering the origins of the alien outbreak, and piecing together humanity’s desperate attempts to contain the infestation. This narrative framework provides context and motivation beyond just racking up high scores.
Handcrafted environments ensure each location tells specific stories through environmental details. Collapsed naval installations suggest catastrophic battles against the alien invasion. Flooded research facilities reveal scientific experiments gone wrong. Alien caverns demonstrate how extraterrestrial biology is actively transforming Earth’s ocean ecosystems. The level design serves both gameplay and narrative purposes rather than just creating random obstacle courses.
The Howling Hamster Studio
Howling Hamster Entertainment operates as an independent studio based in Galway, Ireland. Sub-Species represents their latest project after previous releases including Goldbeard’s Quest. The studio maintains presence in Galway’s growing game development community, a cluster of Irish indies that have produced notable titles despite the country lacking the established game industry infrastructure of larger nations.
Creative director Manus Burke’s emphasis on the deep ocean as Earth’s closest equivalent to an alien world reveals the team’s conceptual approach. Rather than just making another space shooter or underwater Metroidvania, they’re exploring the psychological horror of descending into unexplored depths where human technology barely functions and alien contamination transforms familiar environments into nightmare landscapes. This thematic cohesion elevates Sub-Species beyond simple genre mashing.
The studio actively engages with community feedback through Reddit, where they responded to comments on the announcement post. When asked whether the game leans more toward action or exploration, they acknowledged it focuses primarily on action while incorporating exploration elements and hints of puzzle-solving. This transparency about design priorities helps manage player expectations while building community investment in the project’s development.
R-Type Meets Subnautica
GameSpew described Sub-Species as “R-Type meets Subnautica” – an apt comparison that captures the game’s hybrid nature. R-Type represents the classic shoot-em-up genre with its side-scrolling spacecraft combat against biomechanical alien horrors. Subnautica pioneered modern underwater exploration games with its blend of survival mechanics, environmental storytelling, and aquatic alien biology. Sub-Species takes combat intensity from R-Type and combines it with Subnautica’s eerie underwater atmosphere and exploration focus.
The comparison also highlights what Sub-Species isn’t – it’s not a survival crafting game like Subnautica where you gather resources and build bases. The focus remains squarely on action-adventure gameplay where your submarine comes pre-equipped with weapons and tools rather than requiring extensive crafting systems. This design choice respects player time by eliminating grinding for materials in favor of immediate engagement with combat and exploration challenges.
The legal drama surrounding the Subnautica series (mentioned in GameSpew’s coverage) makes Sub-Species particularly timely. With Subnautica 3’s future uncertain due to ongoing legal issues, players hungry for underwater sci-fi experiences have limited options. Sub-Species fills that gap by offering aquatic alien horror from a different gameplay perspective – arcade action shooter rather than open-world survival.
Split-Screen Local Co-op
IGN’s game page lists split-screen as a confirmed feature for Sub-Species, suggesting local co-op support alongside the single-player campaign. This addition transforms the experience from solitary deep-sea horror into cooperative chaos where two players navigate the alien-infested ocean together. Coordinating submarine movements, covering different angles during combat, and solving navigation puzzles collaboratively adds substantial replay value.
Local co-op represents increasingly rare feature in modern indie games that typically prioritize online multiplayer or single-player experiences. The decision to include split-screen suggests Howling Hamster Entertainment values couch co-op gameplay and recognizes that submarine combat with a partner sitting next to you creates different social dynamics than anonymous online matchmaking. It’s a throwback to arcade gaming’s golden age when multiplayer meant sharing physical space.
The cooperative mode apparently includes competitive elements as well – promotional materials mention “local competitive mode for those who want to test their skills head-to-head.” This suggests versus multiplayer where players battle each other directly rather than just cooperating against AI enemies. The combination of cooperative campaign and competitive versus mode maximizes the split-screen feature’s utility for different group dynamics and player preferences.
The Demo Coming After Holidays
Howling Hamster Entertainment confirmed through Reddit comments that the demo will become accessible following the holiday season, suggesting a January or early February 2026 release timeframe. This gives the team breathing room to polish the demo build during December’s traditionally slow development period while capitalizing on post-holiday interest when players have free time and potentially new gaming hardware from holiday gifts.
The demo strategy provides crucial market validation before committing to full production. If player reception is enthusiastic and engagement metrics are strong, the studio knows they’re building something with commercial viability. If feedback reveals fundamental design problems or lukewarm interest, they can pivot before investing years into a game that won’t find its audience. This pragmatic approach to indie development reduces risk while maximizing learning opportunities.
Steam wishlists currently stand at undisclosed numbers, though the studio actively encourages players to add Sub-Species to their wishlists. These wishlist counts provide algorithms with signals that affect game visibility on Steam’s storefront. Higher wishlist numbers mean better positioning in recommendation systems and search results, creating organic discovery that indie studios desperately need when competing against thousands of monthly Steam releases.
The Ocean Horror Nobody Expected
The ocean remains one of gaming’s most underutilized settings despite its natural advantages for horror and sci-fi storytelling. Subnautica proved appetite exists for deep-sea exploration games, but few developers have followed with meaningful competition. Sub-Species approaches underwater gaming from the action-shooter angle rather than survival crafting, opening the setting to players who want arcade thrills over resource management tedium.
Manus Burke’s observation that the deep ocean represents Earth’s closest equivalent to an alien world resonates with scientific reality. We’ve explored more of Mars’s surface than our own ocean floors. Bizarre lifeforms exist in abyssal zones that operate on biological principles unlike surface ecosystems. The psychological isolation and environmental hostility of deep-sea diving parallels space exploration in ways that make oceanic settings perfect for sci-fi horror without requiring interstellar travel.
The alien invasion angle adds urgency to exploration. You’re not just documenting strange creatures for scientific curiosity – you’re fighting to prevent extraterrestrial contamination from spreading beyond quarantine zones and potentially threatening all terrestrial life. This stakes-driven narrative transforms what could be passive exploration into active resistance against existential threat, creating emotional investment in stopping the invasion.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Sub-Species release?
No specific release date announced yet, listed as “Coming Soon” on Steam. A demo arrives shortly after the 2025 holiday season, likely January or early February 2026.
What platforms will Sub-Species support?
Confirmed for PC via Steam. No console versions announced, though the split-screen local co-op feature suggests controller support that could facilitate future console ports.
Who is developing Sub-Species?
Howling Hamster Entertainment, an independent studio based in Galway, Ireland. Creative director Manus Burke leads the team behind this project and their previous game Goldbeard’s Quest.
What games inspired Sub-Species?
Takes inspiration from Ecco the Dolphin for underwater exploration, The Abyss for deep-sea alien horror atmosphere, and classic arcade shooters like R-Type for combat mechanics. GameSpew described it as “R-Type meets Subnautica.”
Does Sub-Species have multiplayer?
Yes, features split-screen local co-op for campaign play plus a separate local competitive versus mode. No online multiplayer has been announced.
How does the submarine control work?
Your submarine rotates 360 degrees to aim and fire in any direction. The vessel has weight and momentum rather than instant directional changes, creating arcade-style physics that reward skilled piloting.
Is this a survival crafting game like Subnautica?
No, Sub-Species focuses on action-shooter gameplay with exploration and puzzle-solving elements. You pilot a pre-equipped submarine rather than gathering resources and building bases.
What’s the story about?
Earth’s oceans have been overrun by an alien outbreak. You pilot a heavily armed submarine through quarantine zones to investigate the contamination, uncover what happened to your crew, and battle extraterrestrial creatures infesting the deep sea.
Why This One Matters
Sub-Species represents what indie gaming does best – taking underutilized settings and neglected genres, combining them in unexpected ways, and creating experiences that AAA studios would never greenlight. A 2.5D submarine shooter about alien ocean invasions doesn’t fit any focus-tested market demographic or sequel formula. It exists because a small Irish studio thought it sounded cool and had the skills to make it real.
The timing couldn’t be better with Subnautica 3’s future uncertain due to legal issues. Players hungry for underwater sci-fi have limited options beyond replaying existing games. Sub-Species offers fresh aquatic alien horror from the action-shooter perspective rather than survival crafting, appealing to different gameplay preferences while scratching the same thematic itch for deep-sea exploration and extraterrestrial encounters.
The inclusion of split-screen local co-op demonstrates Howling Hamster Entertainment values features that many modern developers dismiss as obsolete. Couch co-op remains beloved by players who want to share gaming experiences physically rather than just through voice chat. The competitive versus mode adds even more value for friend groups seeking varied multiplayer options from a single purchase.
Wishlist Sub-Species on Steam now to support an Irish indie studio making the submarine horror shooter you didn’t know you needed. Try the demo when it drops after the holidays to experience the 360-degree combat and claustrophobic alien-infested ocean environments firsthand. Follow Howling Hamster Entertainment on social media for development updates leading to full release. And if you’ve been missing Ecco the Dolphin’s aquatic exploration or craving something to fill the Subnautica-shaped hole in your life, this might be exactly what you’ve been waiting for – just with more explosions and alien nightmares lurking in the darkness below.