Steel Diver is an exclusive title for Nintendo's 3DS system, offering a fresh and immersive gaming experience. Set underwater, Steel Diver combines action and adventure elements with submarine combat.
The game's campaign mode takes players on a journey through side-scrolling environments, where they must navigate their submarine through treacherous waters, avoiding obstacles and hostile elements like mines and enemy subs. The control is handled entirely through the touch-screen, using horizontal and vertical sliders to move the sub forward and adjusting a wheel to change its angle. Players can also use torpedoes and repairs, and adjust the map screen by tapping specific points on the bottom screen.
Alongside the regular campaign mode, Steel Diver features a 3D-style periscope mini-game segment, where players take on a first-person perspective to dive, repair leaks, and launch torpedoes at enemy ships. This adds a new layer of strategy to the gameplay.
The game also includes a turn-based strategy element, Steel Commander , where players engage in a one or two-player battle through an overhead hexagonal map. The goal is to destroy all enemy ships without being detected, using sonar and movement controls on the touch-screen.
Steel Diver features additional gameplay modes, including download play for two-player competition, where "Ghosts" - representing players' previous best times - add a competitive element to the game.