A dive into stylish underwater alien shooter Sub-Species

Michael Hassall Published January 21, 2026

I’m sure we can all relate to the kind of awe and fear that the depths of the ocean bring forth. Strange creatures, the dark abyss, and a feeling of being quite literally out of your depth. Sub-Species, a new underwater shooter from Howling Hamster Entertainment, captures that feeling, but thankfully, gives you a submarine filled with guns to compensate.

Described as a 2.5D action-adventure shooter, Sub-Species captures something nostalgic and dark with its undersea combat. Jaxon.gg was lucky enough to receive an early access key to look at the Demo before its release today (Dec. 21). Here’s our thoughts as we plunged into the depths of Sub-Species.

Sub-Species, a stylish underwater shooter with retro charm

Playing like a kind of Shoot ’em up (SHMUP) meets platformer, Sub-Species is at its best when it’s asking you to do something technical, like pick up an object with Lunar Lander-style controls while the horrors of the deep abyss attempt to kill you. Your little submarine has multiple fire modes, some weapon power ups, and a boost mode to get you out of trouble. The immediate thought on loading up Sub-Species was that the game looked stylish, dark and brooding, thanks to the music and opening visuals. And this feeling is maintained throughout.

Sub-Species. Image Credit: Howling Hamster Entertainment

The Demo runs you through the basic mechanics of the game, a short tutorial followed by an introductory mission. This mission is pretty simple but it hints at some more complex gameplay, with some light puzzles.

Combat gets hectic, and the ability to seamlessly switch between your technical, pick-up and drop things mode, and your more mobile shooting mode is essential. The game is charming, simple, reminiscent of arcade classics, and hopefully expanded on. The fact there were far more levels shown in screenshots and trailers than we see in the demo seems to assure this. The devs confirmed as much in their comments about the Demo:

“It’s designed to let players feel the weight of the submarine, the tension of navigating hostile spaces, and how combat unfolds when every direction matters. By the end, you should have a real sense of what Sub-Species is about – and why going deeper is both tempting and dangerous.”

However, playing the game, my lack of coordination is the biggest enemy, and far more of a hurdle than deadly sea monsters attempting to devour my small submarine. The 2.5D visuals, and the moving plane makes more than my non-SHMUP player brain could handle, but practice could solve this.

Sub-Species. Image Credit: Howling Hamster Entertainment

Luckily, it’s the really tremendous visuals of the underwater areas that sells Sub-Species. 2.5D graphics have a charm that’s hard to beat, and these underwater worlds evoke something close to Ecco the Dolphin or the Donkey Kong Country underwater levels. Except hiding something darker.

If Sub-Species keeps the atmosphere which its screenshots and early trailers have set up, then this could be a perfect arcade romp to sink some hours into. This is Howling Hamster’s first game on Steam, and from a micro studio out of Galway, Ireland, it’s incredibly impressive.

Sub-Species is available to wishlist now on Steam. And if you want a teaser, the free Demo released on Dec. 21, as mentioned above.

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Featured Image Credit: Howling Hamster Entertainment