Sea exploration game pc

Between the on-island stealth and combat and the robust shipbuilding, Black Flag keeps its franchise roots intact while digging up new treasure at the same time. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker shook up many aspects of Nintendo's flagship action-adventure series, not the least of which was its setting: using his new ship, Link could sail the high seas of Hyrule, moving from island to island on another great adventure.

The Great Sea and its islands make exploration feel more intentional — when you see land, you know something has to be there. This brand new for the franchise style of exploration, coupled with the striking color design of everything on the ocean contrasting with the unbroken sheet of blue, gives The Wind Waker a tremendous sense of discovery with each new dot on the horizon.

Abzu takes a much more intimate approach to sea-exploration than our previous entries. Giant Squid Studios' undersea exploration game puts you in the flippers of an undersea diver, as you explore different parts of a vast and varied ocean. As a diver, you get to have very up-close and personal encounters with all the marine life as you leisurely swim from one underwater biome to another.

Abzu is very much a game about atmosphere. The simulated sea and its many mysteries within are the main priority. Easily the most expansive undersea world on the list, Subnautica , along with its expansion Subnautica: Below Zero, offers players an unprecedented amount of submerged real estate to explore.

As an explorer who's crash-landed on an alien world, the player must scrape together enough materials from the strange ocean to survive — harvesting food, building better tools for exploration, and encountering all manner of undersea life, both friendly and less so. The game has a variety of difficulty levels to toggle just how punishing the experience is. For players who aren't interested in a hardcore survival challenge, lighter difficulty settings can make this much more of an open-ended exploration adventure.

Beyond Blue , an educational game developed by E-Line Media, is a vivid, lush look at all the marine life cruising through the deep blue sea. What really sets Beyond Blue apart from all the other deep dives on this list is its extreme fidelity to detail.

It was released in for the Nintendo Switch and people can watch the making of Koral on YouTube right now. Like many games of Ecco the Dolphin's era, it has a high level of difficulty. Completing the first level is easy, but after that, the game gets more challenging.

Ecco is exposed to harsh underwater environments, as players use echolocation to achieve objectives. With a soundtrack that can be both dramatic and upbeat, Ecco the Dolphin is a joy to play. While people can pick up Ecco the Dolphin via Steam, the Sega Genesis Mini comes as the preferred way to experience the game.

The retro console includes 40 Sega Genesis games including Ecco the Dolphin. In the first sequel to the BioShock series , BioShock 2 has a different approach to the city of Rapture. Players play as a Big Daddy, a human being who has had its body grafted into a heavy suit of armor, equipped with an enormous drill and other weapons. BioShock 2 may not be the best in the series, yet the game is still one of the best underwater games of all time.

It goes to show how high the standards are for the BioShock series. Despite some negative feedback from critics and the community, many enjoy the style of play regardless.

The original Spongebob Squarepants : Battle for Bikini Bottom made a splash over a decade ago, bringing with it surprisingly clean and fun platforming. It had grown to be a community favorite that fans were desperate to play on current consoles. THQ Nordic appeased the crowds with a faithful remake of the beloved game. This Sponge has been rehydrated. This platforming collectathon sees Spongebob take on Plankton and his robot army while teaming up with friends to gather dirty socks, golden spatulas, and shiny objects.

Make your way through Bikini Bottom, Jellyfish Fields, Goo Lagoon, and other favorite spots from the show to take the fight to Plankton in this bright and colorful under the sea adventure. SOMA is no walk in the park. Unlike most other games on this list, SOMA is not relaxing. In this one, players will fear for their life, which means that SOMA accomplishes its purpose of being a survival-horror game. The base game is chock-full of suspenseful moments and jump scares.

Players who live for the surreal, otherworldly horror vibe of titles like Dead Space will likely appreciate SOMA, too. But there is now a "Safe Mode" to make the game more accessible for players with less robust horror thresholds.

From a difficulty standpoint, Abzu is not that challenging, but continuously moving with the environment makes Abzu a strange sensation. Abzu is pretty linear, but the beautiful dynamic environments keep Abzu interesting.

If players spend time exploring environments rather than focusing on objectives, things can become far less linear. The artwork alone is reason enough to play Abzu , even if the game is short. For those trying to understand what Subnautica is about, think of an underwater No Man's Sky set on a single planet. As in that title , players have to search for resources, complete objectives, and build bases.

Subnautica was in a preview phase for quite some time, but now that the game is officially released, there are too many reasons to buy Subnautica. Players can tackle that latent Thalassophobia from the comfort of their couch or computer chair. For an in-depth underwater experience and endless hours of enjoyment, Subnautica is a top choice. Set in a grim fantasy world, Maelstrom has little room for realism. Instead, it has leviathans, orcs, dwarves, and fast-paced medieval naval combat. Sink enemy pirate ships, defeat ocean leviathans, loot floating bounties, upgrade your ship, and more!

Windward is an action-filled naval sandbox game that puts you at the helm of the ship as you sail within the high seas of the procedurally generated world. Whether you want to use a swift schooner to explore the oceans or a heavy galleon to challenge multiple enemy ships at once, it is up to you to decide.

Naval Action is a game that focuses on realism. It allows you to truly experience sailing when sailing ships ruled the high seas. With an enormous open world, utmost realism, you can build ships, trade, and engage in naval combat with enemy ships.

While Naval Action focuses on historical sailing ships, Sailaway focuses on modern sailboats.