When it comes to milsim combat games like War Thunder and World of Tanks, it's easy to forget just how many people made these war machines work. As you effortlessly glide across the virtual battlefield, the real world requires multiple soldiers and crew members to keep the gears turning. Uboat is a milsim that understands this effort, and after five long years in Steam Early Access, the beloved World War 2 submarine game is about to be released in full.
Uboat is different from the milsim competition. While War Thunder focuses on multiplayer battles from across land, air, and sea in history's greatest weapons, and Arma casts you as a boots-on-the-ground soldier, Uboat is a survival sandbox dressed up as a submarine game. It's part naval combat, part management, and all survival.
Set in the height of the Second World War, you command a German sub where the wellbeing of your crew is as important as the quality of your ship. Sailors all have physical and mental health to manage, food they need to eat, and morale that needs the occasional boost. You can't fight on an empty stomach, after all. Think of it a little bit like The Sims, but instead of trapping your people in the pool you need to stop them from sinking.
You're not just worrying about the sailors though, as the quality of your sub should be of high priority. Stay calm, repair the damage you take in combat, and keep moving. You might have to disable key devices in the height of a fight, and order your crew into the depths of the hull to keep them safe.
If you'd rather focus on the human element you can fine-tune all the realism mechanics in Uboat's settings, helping you ease into the milsim side of this intensive naval challenge. Amidst all that chaos you've still got a job to do too, as you receive and complete assignments you can then upgrade your sub, buy new equipment, and even send your officers on secretive tasks to research new upgrades and tech. You have ever-dwindling resources in Uboat, so be sure to keep on top of the ship, crew, and armaments you have.
Uboat's early access journey has already been incredibly successful, garnering almost 17,000 user reviews and a 'very positive' Steam rating in the last five years, and I can see why. While many other vehicle milsim games focus on nailing the 'realism' part of the equation, Uboat throws in the human element. Diving straight into the ocean floor after calculating the depth wrong won't just damage your ship, it'll scar your crew for life, and you've got to deal with that.
Funnily enough, Uboat isn't the only submarine sim with news at the moment, as legendary strategy developer MicroProse just announced Silent Depth 2, which promises a similar but more "sim-lite" experience.
Uboat is leaving Steam Early Access on Friday August 2, and you can find it on Valve's platform right here. More details will be revealed regarding Uboat's full release, and what it means for the state of the game, closer to launch.
There are also plenty more strategy games and WW2 games to keep you busy ahead of Uboat's full launch.
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