This new deep-sea roguelike turns mining into a survival horror grind

With The Subminer, Yogscast Games has taken the calm exploration of underwater survival and twisted it into something far more hostile. Set beneath the ice of Enceladus, this eerie roguelike isn't about relaxing dives and scenic views. It's about pushing into the dark, grabbing what you can, and getting out before whatever's down there decides you've overstayed your welcome.

The Subminer is set on Enceladus, a small, icy moon orbiting Saturn. In real life, scientists believe that it has vast oceans beneath the crust - and maybe even life.

In this universe, however, an explosion has wiped out the Enceladus research base, leaving nothing but silence behind. No signal, no answers. You're not even human - just a prototype bio-droid built to survive where nothing else can. You climb into your submarine and head down into the dark, scraping together resources while mysterious nautical beasties watch from the shadows, desperate to tear you limb from limb.

Dives have you carving through fully breakable, procedurally generated terrain, albeit at your own peril. Resources are tight, and one bad call can bring your run to an abrupt halt. The ocean is split across three escalating depth levels, each with new threats, traps, and creatures that you really don't want to meet. When you do die, it's not wasted time: you come back stronger, upgrade your tools, and push a little deeper on your next go.

Your submarine is the only reason you're still alive. It gets you down there, hauls your resources back, and gives you something to retreat to when everything starts closing in. But it's not enough on its own. At some point, you have to leave it.

You switch between piloting the sub and dropping into the water as a diver, tethered by a chain. The sub handles the heavy work. It's where your defenses are; where you can fight back or trigger massive chain reactions in the terrain to open new routes. But it can't reach everything.

That's where the diver comes in. You can squeeze into tighter spaces, chase down resources, and uncover things the sub can't reach. The trade-off is that out there you're exposed. The slogan of the game on the Steam page is "Live. Dive. Repeat." which is giving us Edge of Tomorrow vibes. There's nothing wrong with that. But we're also seeing the lesser known movie, Europa Report.

The Subminer is developed by studio Tech Turtles and being published by Yogscast Games - the indie label that delivered hits like PlateUp! and Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers. You can keep up-to-date with all of the latest Yogscast Games news and information by visiting the Yogscast Games website and following across BlueSky, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

The Subminer will launch on Steam in 2026. Be sure to wishlist it for a reminder when it launches.