Recently, I received the honour of being able to check out an early access demo for Howling Hamster Entertainment’s upcoming title ‘Sub-Species.’  ‘Sub-Species’ is a 2.5D Arcade Action/Adventure that sees players taking control of a submarine that rotates 360 degrees in order to battle alien sea monsters that will be coming at you from all angles. Join me now as I take a shallow dive into the demo and share my initial impressions.

Playing through the demo will see players through a brief tutorial mission that covers basic movement mechanics, shooting, and salvaging containers and wreckage for weapon power-ups and gadgets.

After completing the tutorial mission, players will then play through a short level that will see them facing off against a small variety of enemy alien monsters and a mini-boss while trying to complete the objective of acquiring a superior weapon component.

At first, I found it a little jarring as I got used to the movement mechanics. I think this is largely due to being more accustomed to more modern controller schemes that utilise both analog sticks. The submarine has two movement modes; the first I’ll dub combat mode. 

In combat mode, the left analog stick controls the rotation of the submarine, and you’ll need to press and hold the A button in order to control your thrust through the water.

Switching to salvage mode by pressing the Y button also activates a different movement mechanic: instead of holding the A button to thrust forward, all movement is handled by the left analog stick. I find that having two different forms of basic movement mechanics is confusing and unnecessary.

Having the left analog stick control movement and thrust, and having the right analog stick control rotation would eliminate this confusion between the two modes. I believe that movement and combat would feel much more fluid and enjoyable if the developers implemented a twin-stick movement scheme.

I can only assume and hope that the combat against the enemy alien monsters intensifies throughout the full game’s campaign. Fighting through the small groups of enemies and facing off against the mini-boss in the demo level felt incredibly solid, though, as I said before, combat would feel much more fluid with a twin-stick control scheme. 

Enemy monsters are quite aggressive, which presents a decent challenge, and from the brief taste of combat I experienced in the demo, I feel that it’s safe to assume that the challenge only intensifies throughout the full game.

Visuals are stunning. I particularly enjoyed the clever use of lighting as rays of sunlight penetrated deep into the ocean, lighting up the cave systems through cracks in the ocean floor. The enemy designs are a nice blend of familiar sea creatures like turtles and squids with a nice sci-fi alien twist. I get a sense that games like ‘Subnautica’, ‘Ecco the Dolphin’, and even ‘R-Type’ have served as inspiration for a lot of the level design choices. I can’t wait to see everything that the full game has to offer.

There is something almost euphoric about hearing a submarine swooshing through water as you sweep across the ocean floor, exploring around the level. However, the lack of a backing soundtrack does concern me. Whilst I enjoyed my combat experiences, I felt there was a lot of excitement missing in those moments because there was no suspenseful music in the background.

The ‘Sub-Species’ demo has clearly shown the potential for becoming a brilliant title, but this is sadly let down by the confusing control scheme. I look forward to seeing what the full release delivers, and yes, I really do hope the team implements a twin-stick movement scheme; if they do, that will be an instant wishlist from me. Try out the demo for yourself now on Steam, leave some feedback, and help the team at Howling Hamster Entertainment deliver a banger game.

Written by: Gary Nielsen