Iron Lung Meets Bloodborne In New Lovecraftian Horror Available Now

Published Aug 16, 2026, 8:30 AM EDT

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The thing is, a lot of these games have innovated in the space to the point where they offer such unique experiences that it's worth a punt. But more importantly, it's also very easy to incorporate multiplayer into horror games, and have everyone join in on the scares together.

Really, any framework can work for a horror game. That includes this new project live now on Steam, which melds multiple high-profile properties together in a way you don't see very often at all.

If you're remotely into the horror genre or Lovecraftian tales of madness, you may want to check out Static Dread: The Submarine, which just launched on Steam this weekend.

The setup is pretty intriguing on its own: "Descend into Lovecraftian horror aboard a claustrophobic military submarine. Assign tasks as a captain’s right hand, analyze sonar signals, make hard decisions, and keep the crew from madness. Dark horrors lurk both within… and beyond the hull."

The premise is basically Lovecraftian horror meets Iron Lung, and you'll need to survive as you're trapped on a submarine in the North Atlantic, where you uncover something horrifying. It's a classic Lovecraft framework (getting trapped somewhere remote with a small group of people), and it works perfectly in theory, as long as developer Solarsuit Games can execute. Since the game just came out this weekend, you'll start to see reviews roll in immediately.

Each crew member is described as being "haunted by their own fears and suffering," which will lead to all sorts of revelations among them, as well as different dialogue options. As the captain's trusted advisor, you'll also have to assign the crew to their own devices and look after them while uncovering the mystery of the submarine.

If you want to try a demo, you're out of luck for now. A demo was previously available, but it was pulled on August 3 because it was considered "quite outdated and differs significantly from the final build." Now, you'll need to rely on the kindness of strangers for reviews.

All in all, the dominoes seem pretty well set up for Static Dread on Steam. The premise is interesting enough to warrant exploration on its own.

Brand Valve

Original Release Date September 12, 2003