The best calm games set in a flooded world are Submerged: Hidden Depths, where you boat through a drowned city with no combat, and Flotsam, a colorful city builder on a sea of floating junk. For a gentler kind of post-apocalypse, try Terra Nil or Cloud Gardens. We checked every game on October 29, 2026.
At a glance
| Game | Best for | Length | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Submerged: Hidden Depths | Boat and climb through a drowned city in a calm adventure with no combat | About 4 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox |
| Flotsam | Builders who want a flooded world with color and jokes instead of gloom | About 19 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | PC |
| Wavetale | Players who want to move fast and feel free on the water | About 4 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox |
| Raft | Players who want an endless sea and a home that floats | Open-ended | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X |
| Terra Nil | Players who want a post-apocalyptic game that feels hopeful | Varies | PC, Mac, Linux |
| Cloud Gardens | Players who want to watch nature take back a ruin | About 5.5 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Mac |
| Jusant | Players who want a slow, beautiful climb with very little talk | About 4.5 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X |
| Floodland | City builder fans who want a serious, hard game about a flooded world | About 18 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | PC |
| A Short Sail | Players who want old ruins under the sea in a sunny, gentle game | Not shared yet | PC (Windows), Mac, Web, Steam Deck |
Our picks
- Best first pick: Submerged: Hidden Depths
- Best city builder: Flotsam
- Best for movement: Wavetale
- Best open sea: Raft (on Peaceful)
- Most hopeful: Terra Nil
- Best for ten quiet minutes: Cloud Gardens
- Best if you want a tense one: Floodland
- Our own game: A Short Sail (not a flooded world, but it has old ruins under the sea)
Why drowned worlds feel calm
A flooded world sounds grim, but in games it is often the opposite. The noise is gone. There are no cars and no crowds, only water, birds and the tops of old buildings. You move slowly, by boat or on foot, and you find small signs of the people who lived there before. Some games use that quiet for a sad story. The ones below mostly use it for peace.
We split the list into two groups: games set on the water after a flood, and calm games set after the end of the world in some other way. At the end is one game with a tense tone, so you know what you are picking. If you mostly want the sea, see cozy ocean games and relaxing boat games.
On the water after a flood
Submerged: Hidden Depths
Who it is for: anyone who wants the purest “calm boat trip through a drowned city.”
Two siblings travel by boat through the ruins of a sunken world. The tips of old skyscrapers stand above the waves. You steer between them, climb the towers, collect relics of the past and find seeds that help the world heal. The store page calls it a non-combat “relaxploration” game, and reviewers agree there are no enemies and no health bar.
The downside: several reviewers found it thin and repetitive, and some found the boat a little hard to steer. It is short, so it suits a weekend.
Developer: Uppercut Games | Year: 2022 | Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox | Length: about 4 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
Flotsam
Who it is for: builders who want a flooded world with color and jokes instead of gloom.
You lead a small group of drifters on a town built from ocean garbage. You desalinate water, fish, and turn junk into homes, workshops and gardens. Then you sail the town out to explore soaked ruins and forgotten islands, rescue survivors and friendly animals, and find old technology. It left early access with its full release in December 2025.
The downside: it is still a survival city builder. Your drifters need water, food and shelter, so there is some pressure to keep up.
Developer: Pajama Llama Games | Year: 2025 | Platforms: PC | Length: about 19 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
Wavetale
Who it is for: players who want to move fast and feel free on the water.
You play Sigrid, a girl who gains the power to walk on water. You run, surf and swing between the buildings of a decaying archipelago where much of the old town is under the sea. You help fishermen, hermits and other islanders, and the story is about loss and making up. Reviewers loved the movement.
The downside: there is light combat against shadowy creatures. Reviewers call the fights easy and the weakest part, and you can skip most of them, but they are there.
Developer: Thunderful Development | Year: 2022 | Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox | Length: about 4 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | Steam Deck: Playable | Steam page
Raft
Who it is for: players who want an endless sea and a home that floats.
You wake on a tiny raft in a vast ocean with no land in sight. You hook floating debris, grow the raft into a base, and sail to islands and reefs. You can play alone or with friends. In Peaceful mode, the shark and other animals do not attack you.
The downside: it is a survival game first. Hunger and thirst never go away, even on Peaceful, and you choose the mode when you make the world.
Developer: Redbeet Interactive | Year: 2022 | Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S | Length: open-ended | Steam Deck: Playable | Steam page
Calm games after the end of the world
Terra Nil
Who it is for: players who want a post-apocalyptic game that feels hopeful.
Terra Nil is a reverse city builder. You start on dead land and turn it back into grassland, forests and clean water, then you recycle your machines and leave. One level is a fracked floodplain that you clean up. The store page sums it up well: “not about infinite growth,” but about leaving the land in peace.
The downside: it is a puzzle about space and resources, so some levels take a few tries. It is not a game for zoning out.
Developer: Free Lives, Clockwork Acorn | Year: 2023 | Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
Cloud Gardens
Who it is for: players who want to watch nature take back a ruin.
Each level is a small diorama of an abandoned, broken-down place. You plant seeds and place old scrap, and the plants grow over everything. It is quiet, pretty and good for short sessions.
The downside: there is almost no story, so it feels more like a calm toy than an adventure. There is no water world here, only overgrowth.
Developer: Noio | Year: 2021 | Platforms: PC, Mac | Length: about 5.5 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | Steam Deck: Playable | Steam page
Jusant
Who it is for: players who want a slow, beautiful climb with very little talk.
You climb a huge tower with ropes and pitons, with a small creature that wakes nature along the way. You find letters and clues about the people who lived there. The store page calls it meditative, and the music is calm. A fall sets you back but never kills you.
The downside: climbing uses a stamina meter, so you have to plan your route. Some players find that tense rather than calm.
Developer: DON’T NOD | Year: 2023 | Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S | Length: about 4.5 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
Watch out: a flood game with a tense tone
Floodland
Who it is for: city builder fans who want a serious, hard game about a flooded world.
Rising seas have flooded the coasts, and you lead a band of survivors. You scavenge, research old technology and try to keep the peace between clans with different values. It looks calm and green, but the choices are hard and people can suffer. A later update relaunched it with bug fixes and new content.
The downside: it is not cozy. It is a survival strategy game with tough moral choices, and Steam lists it as unsupported on Steam Deck.
Developer: Vile Monarch | Year: 2022 | Platforms: PC | Length: about 18 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | Steam Deck: Unsupported | Steam page
Sunny, but with ruins under the sea
A Short Sail
Who it is for: players who want old ruins under the sea in a sunny, gentle game.
A Short Sail is a cozy sailing game where you are a little tabby cat with a sailboat. It is not a flooded-world game: it is a sunny game about delivering mail, fishing and making friends across the islands. But it does have one thing in common with this list. You can get a snorkel and swim over reefs and old ruins under the sea.
It comes to Steam and itch.io in Q1 2027, and you can play the free demo in your browser now.
Developer: Yos Riady | Platforms: PC (Windows), Mac, Web, Steam Deck | Length: not shared yet | Free demo at play.ashortsail.com | Play the demo
Our own game
We make A Short Sail.
Related guides
- Cozy ocean games
- Relaxing boat games
- Cozy but dark games
- Best cozy sailing games
- Games like Wind Waker on PC
- Cozy games like Dredge
Questions
What is a good relaxing game set in a flooded world?
Submerged: Hidden Depths. You sail a small boat through the ruins of a sunken city and climb the old towers, and there is no combat or health bar.
Are there cozy post-apocalyptic games?
Yes. Terra Nil and Cloud Gardens are calm games about bringing life back to ruined land, and Flotsam is a bright, friendly city builder after a flood.
Is Floodland a cozy game?
Not really. It is a survival city builder after rising seas, with hard choices between groups of survivors. It is calm to look at, but the mood is tense.
Does Raft have a peaceful mode?
Yes. In Peaceful mode the shark and other animals do not attack you. You pick it when you make a new world.
Is Wavetale cozy?
Mostly. You surf across a half-sunken town and help the people there, but there is light combat against shadowy creatures, and reviewers call it easy.
