PIXELHelp a marine biologist's research by piloting a submarine, as you tune in to the souls of jellyfish… and maybe help her learn a thing or two about life too!
bonitāka’s aquarium of medusae is out on Steam at $3.19, with a 20% launch discount at the time of writing. You pilot a submarine and tune in to the souls of jellyfish, which is not a sentence we expected to write today either.
You are helping with research
The framing is that you are assisting a marine biologist’s work, piloting a submarine through her study area. That gives the exploration a purpose without turning it into a survival game.
Tuning in to jellyfish
The central mechanic, as the developer puts it, is tuning in to the souls of jellyfish. It is deliberately strange, and the store page leans into that rather than explaining it away.
There is a story underneath
bonitāka hints that the biologist has something to learn about her own life along the way. That suggests the jellyfish are a vehicle for the character rather than the point in themselves — which would put this closer to a short narrative game than a simulator.
Small, and priced like it
Three dollars, tagged Adventure, Casual and Indie, from a single developer publishing under their own name. Treat it as an evening rather than a campaign.
Three dollars
$3.19 at the time of writing with the launch discount applied.
Small games can afford strange ideas
Tuning in to the souls of jellyfish is not a mechanic a large studio would greenlight. At three dollars from a single developer, it does not need to justify itself to anyone — which is exactly the condition under which the odd, memorable ideas tend to appear.
The submarine framing keeps it grounded enough to be legible. You are doing research, the research has a method, and the method happens to be listening to jellyfish.
Expect an evening, not a campaign
Tagged Adventure, Casual and Indie, published by the developer under their own name. Everything about the listing points to a short, authored piece rather than something with a progression curve.
The hint that the biologist has something to work through suggests the jellyfish are carrying a story about her. If that lands, it is the kind of small game people remember for longer than its runtime.
A submarine, not a diver
Piloting rather than swimming changes the feel of an underwater game. You are enclosed, slower, and looking out through something — which suits observation over exploration, and fits a game about watching jellyfish rather than collecting them.
It also removes the oxygen timer that most underwater games lean on for tension. bonitāka appear to be making something calm on purpose, which is a harder sell and a rarer one.
At a glance — verified Steam listing
Developer: bonitāka · Publisher: bonitāka · Released: 15 September 2026 · Price: $3.19 (20% launch discount at the time of writing) · Genre: Adventure, Casual, Indie · View on Steam
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