Below The Layer
James Seaward Games iPhoneiPadiPod touch
Below The Layer is a free Games app for iPhone and iPad by James Seaward. Rated 5.0/5 from 3 ratings. Requires iOS 17.0. Updated October 5, 2026.
- Rating
- 5.0
- 3 ratings
- Price
- Free
- on the App Store
- Size
- 19 MB
- Age 9+
- Updated
- Oct 5
- 2026 · v2.02
Screenshots
About Below The Layer
Take command of a submarine in a tactical simulation where every decision matters. Read the ocean, interpret uncertain contacts, exploit the thermal layer, and decide when to evade or strike. No ads. No in-app purchases. No subscriptions. The complete game is yours from the moment you dive. Listen through passive sonar, classify contacts, and maneuver to turn uncertain bearings into a firing solution. Close the range, prepare your tubes, and decide whether the shot is worth revealing your position. Every choice has a cost. Speed helps you intercept, but it raises self-noise. The thermal layer may hide you—or conceal the enemy. A periscope observation can tighten a solution, but an exposed mast can betray you. Every torpedo launch leaves a datum that escorts, helicopters, and hostile submarines may investigate. FEATURES - Read faint contacts on a scrolling broadband waterfall, then dissect their signatures in narrowband - Build honest target-motion solutions from bearing rate, geometry, and your own maneuvers—not omniscient map markers - Risk raising the periscope to sweep the horizon, estimate range, and judge angle on the bow - Operate a working torpedo room: power, program, flood, open, fire, secure, and reload four independent tubes - Keep launched weapons on the guidance wire until their active seekers take over - Carry out changing patrol orders involving interception, reconnaissance, navigation, identification, and weapons-tight restrictions - Outsmart escorts, ASW helicopters, and hostile submarines that search for where they think you are - Exploit depth, silence, thermal layers, bottom terrain, maneuver, and decoys to break the enemy’s picture - Cross long patrol distances under time compression that yields when danger arrives - Face reproducible seeded patrols where imperfect information makes every decision matter Your crew handles routine classification and procedure. You decide where to listen, which contact to track, when to expose the boat, when to fire, and when to break contact and return home. Below the Layer rewards patience, geometry, stealth, and judgment—not reflex shooting.
What’s new
Version 2.02 · Updated October 5, 2026
Difficulty adjustments to improve gameplay: Going quiet now works. • Rig for ultra-quiet, go deep below the layer and slip away: escorts lose you, and ships a helicopter calls in only get a rough position, so they have to find you themselves. • Helicopters drop a torpedo only after confirming you with a second contact. Their sonar listens at the depth where they last found you: fire a decoy, turn and change depth to shake them. • Time compression drops back to 1× as a warning when an attack is coming, not after you've been hit.
App privacy
The developer, James Seaward, reported these privacy practices to Apple.
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
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| App | Rating | Price | Last updated | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Below The Layer | 5.0 / 5 (3 ratings) | Free | October 5, 2026 | |
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| Starfleet Odyssey | – | Free | Sep 2, 2026 | Compare |
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