Hidden Deep v0.97.31a - early access

Hidden Deep is a tense 2D action-exploration thriller that drops you and your team into a mining and research facility buried more than a mile beneath the ocean floor. The premise is simple and effective: a research team investigating strange anomalies goes silent after 681 days, and you lead the rescue expedition to uncover what happened and pull out any survivors. The game leans heavily into atmospheric, claustrophobic sci‑fi horror inspired by 80s-90s classics.

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Gameplay mixes direct control with squad commands. You can move individual team members yourself or assign orders to coordinate tasks - repairing machinery, clearing debris, and managing rescues. Progression depends on clever use of the toolkit: grappling hooks, scanners, drones, weapons and large machinery all play roles in exploration, traversal and combat. Encounters with alien lifeforms and other unknown horrors are frequent, so resource management and positioning matter.

Hidden Deep offers a hand-crafted single-player campaign that’s story-driven and reportedly provides over 20 hours of content. For replayability there’s a Challenge Mode with randomized levels and varied objectives, playable solo or in local co-op. Local and Remote Play co-op are already available; online co-op is planned to arrive during Early Access. There is also an experimental multiplayer alpha available through the Steam betas for players who want to test unstable builds and previews.

Strengths:
- Strong, moody sci-fi atmosphere and storytelling that channels Alien/The Thing/Half-Life vibes.
- Tactical, tool-based gameplay with a satisfying variety of equipment and gadgets.
- Robust solo experience plus co-op options and a Challenge Mode for replay value.

Considerations:
- The game is in Early Access, so some multiplayer features are still being completed and experimental builds can be unstable.
- The difficulty and micromanagement of a team-based rescue can be demanding, which might not suit players seeking a straightforward action romp.

Overall, Hidden Deep is a promising blend of exploration, survival horror and squad tactics. If you enjoy methodical, equipment-driven gameplay and tense underground sci‑fi settings-especially with friends on the couch-it’s well worth a look while it continues to mature in Early Access.