Cold Waters Review

A spiritual successor to Red Storm Rising (1988.)

I’ve always been a lover of (modern/recent) naval combat but it seems like no one makes these types of games anymore. Sure World of Warships is around but that’s just an arcade game really, not bad but I would like some kind of sim version or close to sim as possible. My very first naval combat game as a little one was Sub Command. To put simply my reaction to it: you gave a little boy access to Pentagon level technology and expected him to save the day.
Obviously being so young I didn’t fully appreciate the game cause it was so hardcore real. Having to figure out a targets sound profile, trying not to be detected by going slower than a snail, and of course making sure you’re weapons don’t lock on to friendly/neutral targets. All that hardcore-ness was lost on me, until I got older of course. Then I found it awesome trying to do all of the above but sadly I was the only one around that liked it, everyone else wanted an arcade game (which back then not even World of Tanks was out yet) or a game that just people could just get in and fight without spending hours trying to figure out what is what.

Fighting under the ice.

But then the love of modern naval combat is a bit more on the technology side (i.e. computer targeting, towed arrays, etc.) than the “aim-and-hope-it-hits-something” technology of world war 1 or 2, but that’s a different story, hopefully someday soon.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t find this game on my own, my friend (Wiggin) mentioned it in passing and I was dumbfounded. Every once in a great while I look around naval games but like I said above not many are coming out/being made so I guess this was my “downtime” when Cold Waters came out.

With all that in mind, I will say this game is right in the middle of hardcore sim and arcade game. Some basic knowledge of how modern sub combat works or just simply learn from the quick tutorials tells you all you need to know on how to play the game. It’s very accessible to naval minded people. Instead of taking 2 hours (in game time) for something like Sub Command or Dangerous Waters to find out the target you’re tracking is just a cruise ship full of passengers, the battles you have take place at close range (close for naval combat) so you get right into the action and stealth of the game the second you press play.
Firing weapons is almost too easy. When you have a general idea of where your target is, you just select the tube with the weapon you want, on the enlarged map just space bar to get a targeting reticle and mouse click and weapon away. If it’s a missile you’re firing, job done, hopefully it will find the target you want. If it’s a torpedo, as long as your not at a 90 or more degrees from launching the torpedo you keep your wire control but if so it break and you have to hope it hits the target.

Cue Scottish actor playing a Russian Submarine captain.

The usual stuff we’re use to with modern combat is here as well. Active and passive sonar, radar, ESM, periscope, etc. The controls of the sub are far more intuitive than Sub Command. Instead of just telling your crew “this speed and depth,” you manually control the diving planes and ballast and try your best not to accidentally surface the ship while in combat.

As of now there is no voice acting but as of the beta patches they’re working on them and adding them soon. And while the game doesn’t have Steam Workshop, it does support mods and I’ve seen a couple of mods around adding more subs and such as right now there are only about 5 subs you control in the game. I personally look forward to a mod (or official addition) that adds surface ship I can command.

Weapons are easily handled and sonar/signature hunting is very easy to figure out.

The games campaign I like from the way it works and honestly wish more games (of any type) would allow you do this. You choose a ship, time is accelerated (one second is one hour,) you have a map (in this case northern Atlantic Ocean between Iceland and Russia) and you get a mission (which is different each time you start it up) and you’re tasked with search/destroy or inserting commandos or anything else and a certain amount of time to finish it. If you fail to finish in time, you fail but continue the overall campaign but of course if you die the story is over and you have to start over.

Missions you get at during the campaign are simple to understand and time sensitive.

The blue sub icon in the middle of the Norwegian Sea is you. All the aircraft and subs move around the map and can intercept you if you’re not careful.

The current negative, which I see they are working on, is the fact that the enemy AI is immediately hunting me even when I just started the game. Going against sneaky subs and having them instantly pinging me with sonar, surfacing, and launching missile-torpedoes at me and me still trying to figure out exactly where they are to shoot them. That and aircraft are too perfect at there aim and are able to drop weapons on me no matter what I do. Fixed winged and helicopters know exactly where I am even when I’m being as stealthy as possible and they always manage to drop weapons with in a couple hundred meters of me. So it basically feels like “launch everything before I die.” But like I said, they’re currently working on that so hopefully that will be sorted soon.

Overall this game is good, I’ve personally missed this type of game or naval games in general. I look forward to what people mod into the game or indeed if the devs add anything else to the game. Would love some surface combat, compete with the recent classic Dangerous Waters.