Silent Hunter Online preview

A few weeks ago, Ubisoft released a dev diary for its upcoming browser-based sim, Silent Hunter Online. The video, more specifically, talks about the basics of fleet management. Just recently, however, I was able to play the game for myself in a closed beta. How is it? Read on to find out.

Before I go any further, for the uninitiated, Silent Hunter Online is a browser game. Normally, when you hear the term “browser game,” you don’t think hardcore or simulation. Silent Hunter Online, however, attempts to break that mindset by offering players a simulation game while also being a free-to-play game. So what’s going on here?

In Silent Hunter Online, you are the commander of a German U-boat. Your job is to hunt down any and all Allied ships. Whether they may be commercial ships or actual battleships, you are to sink these ships for the Nazi war effort. A very simple premise, but don’t be fooled by its simplicity: the game is difficult.

Being the browser game that it is, the focus of Silent Hunter Online can be summed up in one word, a word that hardcore enthusiasts of any game will scorn: accessibility. As such, you don’t even need experience to play Silent Hunter Online. Ubisoft Bluebyte, the developer of the game, acknowledges that not everyone is a tried-and-true sailor, so they included “Officers.” Every task or section of your sub has an officer assigned to it. As such, you can choose to either do everything in the game manually or ask the appropriate officer to do it for you. You need to know the trajectory of that torpedo you’re about to fire? Done. You want the sub to go at certain speeds without you doing a thing about it? Done.

This admittedly nice scale of depth is imperative if newcomers are to ease themselves into Silent Hunter Online. In addition, it’s oddly appropriate and realistic in that a real submarine captain wouldn’t do everything by him or herself. In relation to that, even the planner looks very authentic. For all of the calculations, the proper authentic tools are being used. Connected to the scale of depth are the wider strategic campaigns, as well as the management aspect. Individual missions are considered simply part of a multi-part campaign that has you slowly winning the “initiative” over the Allies. This will allow you to unlock later missions. However, Ubisoft Bluebyte crafted the Allied AI to respond to how well you’re doing. For example, if the Allies catch wind that you’re very active in a certain area, they will send over ships and convoys that will work in “convoy,” thus stacking the odds against you.

Managing your submarine is the final component. You will have a main base of operations. As such, not only is this your destination for refueling and rearming your sub, but also where you manage your crew and officers, as well as apply any modifications that you wish to your sub. Much like in World of Tanks, you can command more than one sub, so as long as you have enough resources, you can, for example, buy a better hull from headquarters for your sub, and then buy other components to make your sub better. Whether that includes a new rudder or a better engine, the choice is entirely yours.

As per the norms of every simulation game ever made, in Silent Hunter Online, you can customize your U-boat in many ways. From engines to sonar to any additional weaponry, such as anti-aircraft guns, you can make your U-boat a submarine of destruction. As in World of Tanks, a popular free-to-play tank simulation, you can spend real world dollars if you want to upgrade your parts at a faster pace. Since the game is free-to-play, however, there is no real obligation to spend actual money, though you’ll likely need to. Once you’re ready to go, you can set out to the open sea via a map screen to hunt down Allied ships.

This is where things truly get interesting. Once in the open sea, you are presented with a commander’s view of your sub’s controls. Everything from throttle to steering to periscope control can be tinkered with. As someone who doesn’t really play simulation games for a living, I will admit that there is one hell of a learning curve. Just memorizing half of what my sub’s buttons and levers do is a challenge in and of itself. However, much like in real life, if you are the patient type who is willing to learn, then you will be rewarded and hooked on Silent Hunter Online’s simulation gameplay.

What I didn’t get a chance to look at was the online component. You can join up with four other players to form a “wolfpack,” and work as a unit to complete missions in the campaign. All of the tactics and strategies you use as an individual player in the solo campaign can apply in the multiplayer component as well. I have yet to play the multiplayer, but I’ll go ahead and assume that pulling off a coordinated, multi-pronged attack will feel fantastic. Veteran players will also have incentive to help out newer players doing the earlier missions. The AI for the Allies is smart enough to take back the advantage if it sees that you neglected earlier missions. As a result, later missions will become increasingly more difficult than if you just completed all the earlier missions.