This Early ‘90s Submarine Combat Game is Utterly Terrifying

How I stumbled across a game that turned out to be a horrific — if somewhat unconventional — experience

Ah, the halcyon days of early PC gaming. When Intel ruled supreme and hard disk space was measured in megabytes rather than gigabytes. If you had internet access at the time, you were granted wizard status amongst your friends and peers. PC games were sold in huge cardboard boxes, affectionally known as big-box PC games, and often filled to the brim with instructions and lore. The antithesis of gaming today, as the world opts for reduced packaging and the continued proliferation for digital-only.

No “click here to buy”, but a trip into town with friends. An adventure of sorts, as much as children in the ‘90s could adventure. Sure, we weren’t exactly looking for the stolen gold of Yamashita, or for the city of Atlantis, but who knows what we’d find lurking on dusty shelves and bargain bins? There was excitement to be had in the mystery, the prospect, with no consideration of going home empty-handed.

This anticipatory temperament was the product of a life that often felt glacial. TV shows were released on a weekly basis. Gaming magazines monthly. Weekends were for fun after a week of school. Information was only as fast as…