Having had spent a bit of time with 688 Attack Sub, Red Storm Rising and – of course – Silent Service (I and II) – back in my Amiga 500 days, I'm not exactly a stranger to submarine sims (though, given my below-average "sank to sunk" ratio, I wouldn't exactly call myself an enthusiast, either); so when Cold Waters popped up on my sonar, so to speak, I was kinda curious to see how far submarine sims have come in the past 20 years.

A 2017 title by Killerfish Games, an Australian indie studio devoted to nautical combat, Cold Waters is a tactical submarine sim that's heavy on content and gameplay and very light on frills. Which is not to say the game is plain – far from it: in terms of presentation, Cold Waters is a first-rate production whose artistic appeal is only slightly undermined by the gravity of its gameplay (which can find you killing hundreds of sailors in every "successful" attack).

From the sea itself – with its mesmerizing waves that vary in hue depending on the theater of operations – to impressive lighting; two fully-articulated whale models and, naturally, a sizeable fleet of surface vessels, subs, aircraft and even a few oil rigs that look as if they'd been painted by some otaku master-craftsman, Cold Waters is very easy on the eyes.

Sound and music are, likewise, well constructed and composed, with fitting effects (like the high-pitched whine of a torpedo propeller, the basso-buzz of an aircraft circling overhead, the startling thunder of detonation or the dreaded ping of active sonar); and a sparse, but well-composed, soundtrack that can go from foreboding to tense in an instant, as an engagement escalates.

Speaking of which, the mechanics of submarine combat seemed (to me, at least) mostly unchanged from what I remember. Between acquiring a contact, maneuvering to position, firing torpedos and slinking away undetected, the engagement loop was pretty much what it had been in the 1990s, with only a few new details introduced you needed to be mindful of.

The biggest improvement Cold Waters makes to the genre is simplification. In place of the endearing (but unnecessary) Preoccupation With Detail of its forebears, Cold Waters operates the way I imagine a real submarine command would. The list of things you can do is mercifully short and easy to perform even without the optional keyboard shortcuts.

Between seven simple tabs, you can set course and speed, depth, raise or lower your periscope and ESM masts, load and fire torpedos or missiles, identify sonar contacts, check weather conditions and assess the state of your boat (which, in most events, tends toward the binary). Each tab has fewer than 10 tasks assigned to it, with most averaging 3 or 4, which makes the game appear deceptively simple.

In practice, however, commanding an attack submarine isn't like those chess-inspired, contemplative scenes you see in movies. When you are lining up an attack on a single, defenseless cargo vessel, you might be able to take your time. When you are being pursued by multiple contacts, however, or even dealing with a single, competent opponent, all of your actions have to be quick and decisive — and they had better be right.

Simple to operate but hard to master, Cold Waters requires a decent grasp of tactics as well as a sound understanding of real world concepts like cavitation, thermal layers, passive versus active sonar and wire torpedo guidance. Even on easy, your opponents play like competent commanders and won't pull any punches.

It's in those tense moments of evading aircraft that have caught your scent, dueling with another attack sub in shallow waters off China's coast or desperately trying to lose the pursuit of destroyers that Won't; Stop; Coming; that Cold Waters truly shines, giving you responsive, tactical controls and offering terse, fast-paced — almost action — gameplay which may have you sweating buckets but feels vastly satisfying when (or if) you happen to succeed.

The game comes with seven training modules that'll teach you the basics of command, 17 scenarios (single missions with a specific setup) and three full-fledged campaigns, which place you on a world map in command of your very own, hand-picked sub with a particular goal in mind, but no specific direction as to how to Get It Done. The tutorials and single missions are the building blocks you'll need to handle the campaign experience, which incorporates global enemy movement, random encounters, logistics and repairs and a deadline by which you must accomplish your objective.

At the end of the day, much like Killerfish Games itself, Cold Waters is meant for a very specific audience. If (like me) you don't thrive in more realistic sims, there isn't much to recommend it: it's difficult, requires specialized knowledge and doesn't offer much in the way of a reward (at most, a successful campaign will net you a screen showing medal ribbons).

If, however, you've been into the genre for a while and were looking for something new to play, I can't recommend Cold Waters highly enough. Lovingly made by a studio of genuine enthusiasts, the game is a fitting spiritual successor to Red Storm Rising that also stands firmly on its own merits. With excellent presentation, a low overhead (installed, it takes up only 1.9 Gb), competent programming and well-researched historic (or anticipated) scenarios, Cold Waters is everything you'd want from a submarine sim with zero excess fat.

It may not move the genre forward, but it can sail proudly at the head of its new formation.

Pig Recommends:

• -if you are a fan of naval sims, support Killerfish Games; they've made four games to date (Atlantic Fleet, Pacific Fleet and War on the Sea – which are set during WWII; and Cold Waters); do quality work and – with a motto of "No Advertisements. No Pay-To-Progress. One Price = Full Game." – are a no-nonsense dev after my own heart;