Dangerous Waters

2005 Sonalysts Strategy

Windows 11With a fix

MacNot sold

LinuxPlatinum

Gamicality score

Metacritic 824

OpenCritic Not rated

Steam players 741

How it’s combined

Playability today

Runs today3/5

Design today2.5/5

Steam user reviews

Mostly Positive

78%

374 reviews1

Get it on Steam Watch the trailer

Facts checked November 1, 2026

Does Dangerous Waters run on Windows 11, Apple Silicon Macs, Linux and Steam Deck?

Windows 11With a fix

Runs with a fix. See the steps below.1

Mac (Apple Silicon)Not sold

No Mac version is sold.

LinuxPlatinum

Through Proton. ProtonDB: Platinum, runs perfectly out of the box.3

Played Dangerous Waters lately?

One click, no account, so the next player knows. How we check where it runs

How to get Dangerous Waters running today

Install Jiri Dvorak's Direct3D 8 wrapper for Dangerous Waters, which fixes display mode failures and the frozen mouse cursor on Windows 8 and newer (jiri-dvorak.cz).
If the cursor still stays locked in the center, set .Software Cursor to Yes in dangerouswaters.ini (PCGamingWiki).
If the game still crashes on Windows 11, especially on systems with two graphics chips, follow the community guide in the Steam discussions (Steam Community).

Synopsis

Dangerous Waters is a hardcore naval warfare simulator from Sonalysts Combat Simulations. Players command submarines, surface ships, helicopters and patrol aircraft, moving between detailed sonar, radar and weapons stations to track contacts and build firing solutions. It offers single missions, quick battles, a long campaign, a mission editor and multiplayer.

Developer: Sonalysts
Released: 2005
Genre: Strategy
Where to get it: Steam

Reception

Critics at release praised the depth and accuracy of every platform, and the game holds a Metascore of 82. Reviewers also warned that it is hostile to newcomers, with an unfriendly interface, little in-game help, dated graphics and a manual of several hundred pages. Steam players rate it Mostly Positive and still value it as a rare multi-platform naval sim. Many recent reviews and threads report that it fails to start or crashes on Windows 10 and 11 without community fixes.

Trailer from Steam

Playability today

The average of two parts, each from 1 to 5. Tap a check to see why. How it works

Runs today

3/5

Sold or given away today by an official source
Needs fan patches to run well on Windows 11
?Not confirmed yetSingle-player works without an internet connection
No source covers the current version yet, so this check counts as open, not passed. Played it lately? Tell us
All of its content still works (servers, DLC, unlocks)
Multiplayer still works over LAN or direct IP, since it never relied on a server browser (PCGamingWiki).
No proper support for modern resolutions and widescreen
Only 4:3 and 5:4 resolutions are offered, and the known widescreen fix just stretches the image (PCGamingWiki).
No full controller support and no remappable controls
Keys can be remapped, but there is no controller support (PCGamingWiki).
?Not confirmed yetSteam Deck Verified or Playable
No source covers the current version yet, so this check counts as open, not passed. Played it lately? Tell us
No intrusive DRM or required third-party launcher account
No pay-to-win or pushy microtransactions
Known game-breaking bugs in the current version
Many players still get crashes to desktop or a black screen on Windows 10 and 11 even after applying the known fixes (Steam Community).

Design today

2.5/5

Controls feel awkward on a modern controller or mouse and keyboard
Each platform is run through many separate station screens full of small dials and acronyms, and the mouse cursor freezes on modern Windows without a fix. Reviewers called the controls hard going even after hours. Source: gamingnexus.com, pcgamingwiki.com.
Menus, text or interface are hard to read on today's screens
The game only offers 4:3 and 5:4 resolutions up to 1280×1024, and its dense station displays were called not user-friendly at release. Source: pcgamingwiki.com, gamingnexus.com.
Saving is fair: free saves or frequent checkpoints, little lost progress
Missions can be saved and reloaded partway through; one player says saving often makes the occasional campaign crash no big deal. No review or guide documents the save system further. Source: steamcommunity.com.
Hard to make progress without a guide
There is very little in-game help, and learning the stations depends on a PDF manual of more than 550 pages. Source: gamingnexus.com, steamcommunity.com.
Pacing drags: grind, filler or forced backtracking
Many missions are long, quiet searches where the single attack at the end is the payoff for hours of careful work. Source: gamingnexus.com.
Camera and movement never fight the player
Most of the game is played from fixed 2D station screens rather than a moving camera, so camera handling rarely gets in the way. Source: gamingnexus.com.