Planned Release Date: Q4 2026

About This Game

Sink them before they sink you.

Depth ReCharged! is a fast, single-screen arcade shooter and an affectionate reimagining of the 1970s arcade classic Depth Charge. You're the lone ship on the surface. Below you, enemy subs are hunting you with mines and torpedoes. Drop depth charges, dodge what they throw back, and chase the high score.

It starts slow and ramps up fast. It was built for quick pick-up-and-play sessions on Steam Deck and other handhelds, and it plays just as well on a desktop.

How it plays

• Depth charge the subs. Your charges sink into the deep, so time your drops. You can only have 6 in the water at once.

• Avoid the mines. Mine-laying subs release mines that float up to the surface and explode. Don't be above them when they get there.

• Go deep for points. Faster and deeper subs are worth more, so the risky targets pay off.

• Survive the waves. Each wave is the same battlefield, but harder. Subs get faster, you need to sink more of them, and they lay more mines.

• Face the torpedo subs. From wave 4, a second sub type joins the fight and fires targeted torpedoes at you. Sitting still stops being an option.

Power-ups

Coloured subs can drop power-ups when you sink them. Catch them before they're gone.

• Score multipliers to boost your total

• Shields to protect your ship

• [DD] Double Depth Charges: raises your limit from 6 charges in the water to 12 for 15 seconds

• [CB] Cloud Burst: a bankable weapon, so keep it until you need it. It fires 10 depth charges at once, 5 to each side of your ship, evenly spaced along the surface.

• [N] Nuke: also bankable. It drops a nuclear bomb that detonates at mid-depth and destroys every sub in its blast radius.

Features

• Single-screen arcade action with progressively harder waves

• Two enemy sub types: mine layers and torpedo launchers

• Three weapon power-ups, plus shields and score multipliers

• Earn an extra life every 100,000 points, with a gold ship icon that fills as you get closer

• Local top 10 high score table, in true arcade style

• Retro, pixel-art look inspired by 90s arcade cabinets

• Runs on Windows and Linux, and designed for Steam Deck

Made by one person

Depth ReCharged! has been a passion project for nearly two years, made by a solo developer. It's still the game I play most on my own Steam Deck, and now I'd like to share it with you. I hope you have as much fun with it as I have.