Sonar Shock

Release Date: May 24, 2024

Action, FPP, horror, RPG elements, humorous, adventure elements, indie games, immersive sim, singleplayer

86%

Steam

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A horror immersive sim taking place on board of a Soviet submarine overrun by nightmarish creatures. Sonar Shock tasks us with finding the source of the plague. We also have to interact with the drunken crew, explore the decks and use weapons to deal with enemies.

Plot
Mechanics
Technical aspects

Sonar Shock is an immersive sim with a horror theme. The game was developed by an independent developer - Raphael Bossniak - for whom the source of inspiration were both iconic dungeon crawlers from the 1990s, as well as the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Plot

Sonar Shock takes us to S1-Utopia, a submarine that is the pinnacle of Soviet technological thought. The sub fells to the trap of dark forces, and there are monsters straight from nightmares on board. During the game we take on the role of one of the crew members of the submarine and we have to fight for survival, while trying to find out what caused the supernatural plague on Utopia.

Mechanics

In Sonar Shock we watch the action from a first-person perspective (FPP). The submarine consists of four floors, which we can freely traverse, getting to know the people stationed there and talking to them, as well as trading with them and performing various quests for them.

Apart from missions pushing the plot forward, there are various side tasks waiting to be completed here. They include criminal investigations, during which we are accompanied by... Sherlock Holmes himself. The presence of Holmes, as well as the fact that most of the crew is more or less on a roll, show that the game does not take itself entirely seriously. Apart from that, from time to time we have to solve logical and environmental puzzles, which among allow us to access hidden rooms.

We often have to reach for weapons, as the S1-Utopia is teeming with enemies. We primarily encounter grotesque figures inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft and Slavic folklore. We eliminate enemies using a rich arsenal - apart from standard firearms, we have more sophisticated murder tools at our disposal, such as flamethrowers or harpoons.

It should be remembered that ammunition is a scarce commodity here, so if possible, it is worth avoiding confrontations with adversaries. Any contact with supernatural beings does not leave our character's mental health unaffected. This means we must keep an eye on the protagonist to prevent a complete nervous breakdown.