Variable State’s Deepest Fear is a retro-futuristic survival horror game heavily inspired by classic ’80s horror flicks like The Abyss and The Thing, both in terms of its distinctive 1980s aesthetic and the emphasis those films place on isolation in a desolate place. Stranded in a mysterious underwater facility, players must carefully explore the station, solve fluid-based puzzles, and acquire a series of Metroidvania-style unlocks to access new areas. Deepest Fear‘s greatest survival horror twist, however, is that its monsters can arise from any puddle of realistically simulated water.
In an interview with Game Rant, Variable State co-founder and game director Lyndon Holland along with co-founder and animator Terry Kenny weighed in on how the game’s emphasis on water makes for a uniquely horrifying experience. They spoke about how the ever-present danger of drowning and the relationship between monsters and water is the foundation for this game’s flavor of survival horror.
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Deepest Fear Taps Into What Made Subnautica Scary
Although games like Bioshock and Soma might be scary titles that take place in an underwater setting, there are remarkably few survivor horror games that treat water as a primary antagonist. Being huge fans of The Abyss among other classic horror films of the ’80s, the Variable State team saw an opportunity to fill a niche that also invites a standout approach to horror gameplay. Holland points to Subnautica as an inspiration, where much of the game’s terror comes from the inherent hostility of an oxygen-deprived environment and the player’s struggles to survive within it.
I guess the main reason for pursuing it was we felt that it hadn’t really been seen in this way. We had some early experiments with the water system, and we thought it would be really cool to see a
Dead Space
or
Resident Evil
-type game in that setting.We hope that’s a selling point for
Deepest Fear
. I think the swimming as well—the claustrophobia of potentially drowning. One of my favorite games is
Subnautica,
and there are moments where you’re swimming into shipwrecks and not knowing if you can get out in time. That’s not explored too much in the demo, but I think it’s something we can add to a survival game.
Anyone who has played Subnautica can agree that although Subnautica‘s reaper leviathans and other terrifying sea creatures are certainly tense encounters, it’s often the low oxygen warning that causes the adrenaline to start pumping. These moments demand some stressful decision-making: should the player forge ahead in the hopes that they’ll reach the exit in time, or turn around now and seek an alternative path? Flooded rooms and corridors also open the door for much of the game’s Metroidvania-style progression and immersive-sim problem solving, as a newly-acquired O2 tank or clever use of the game’s dynamic fluid simulation might be the key to moving forward.
Deepest Fear’s Monsters Have A Unique And Terrifying Twist
In Deepest Fear, the water also poses an additional threat: it’s where the game’s creatures are made manifest. Anywhere where there’s water–which is expectedly common in an underwater facility–there’s also the danger that enemies might suddenly appear. Busted pipes, shattered windows exposing rooms to the ocean, and leaking faucets are all homes for Deepest Fear‘s monsters. To Kenny, this is one of Deepest Fear‘s defining characteristics and the source of its most compelling survival horror gameplay moments.
I think that’s it. It’s situations like that—the fact that anywhere there’s water, there’s going to be enemies. There are lots of areas where the floor is wet, there are puddles of water, sinks, and the place is constantly springing leaks.
It gives us an opportunity to have a fairly dynamic way of spawning threats, whether it’s enemies, the risk of drowning, or suddenly changing the environment. A place that might have been easy to get through when it was dry becomes a lot more difficult when it’s flooded. It just seemed to offer a lot of dynamism to the environment and gameplay.
Deepest Fear‘s fluid simulation is incredibly detailed, with water flowing naturally from its source and generating realistic currents that gently pull the player along. As a consequence, many of Deepest Fear‘s puzzles and immersive sim elements involve manipulating and managing the flow of water by building dams with the game’s resin gun–similar to Prey‘s Gloo Gun–or frantically shutting valves before the water and its otherworldly inhabitants claim another victim.
Deepest Fear is currently in development for PC.