S.O.N.A.R. Periscope Guide: What the Station Does

The periscope in S.O.N.A.R. is one of the nine crew stations aboard the submarine, named by the developer alongside navigation, diving, sonar, engineering and damage control. What does not exist yet is a step-by-step periscope tutorial: no page gathered here documents the exact key, the menu path to the station, or how far and how clearly the optics see. So the honest answer is that the periscope is a station your crew assigns and staffs, and the documented way to learn it is the single-player tutorial and training stations included in the free Steam demo.

What the periscope station is

The developer's own description of the game puts periscope operations in the same list as navigation, diving, sonar, engineering and damage control — nine critical stations that up to four crew members split between them. Two things follow from that wording:

• The periscope is a separate station, not a synonym for the sonar station. Sonar is described as the station that tracks contacts; the periscope appears as its own post in the station list.
• Because there are more stations than crew, one player usually covers more than one post. A small crew will be moving between the periscope and something else rather than camping it.

The store description advertises 1–6 player co-op, while the launch announcements describe "up to four crew members" managing the stations. If you are planning roles for a full lobby, expect the station split to be built around a four-person crew, and expect a solo player to run several stations alone.

How to learn the periscope before launch

The demo is the practical training ground, and it was built with exactly this problem in mind. The Steam Next Fest demo announcement (2026-10-19) lists a single-player tutorial with dedicated training stations "to master the basics before heading to the seafloor," plus a new 1–4 player co-op mission and some progression unlocks.

A sensible order, based on what the demo offers:

1. Run the single-player tutorial first. It exists to teach the basics without a crew depending on you.
2. Use the training stations to repeat individual posts. These are the developer's designated place to practise a station in isolation.
3. Then take a co-op mission and claim the periscope, with voice chat on.

The demo was released on 30 September 2026 and featured in Steam Next Fest from 19 to 26 October 2026; the demo build announced alongside Next Fest is v0.9.44.0. The full game launches on 29 October 2026 with a tutorial, a campaign of nearly 40 co-op missions, 4v4 Team Deathmatch, Survival Mode and an open-world survival mode, at $9.99 / €9.39 with a 15% launch discount.

Working the periscope with a crew

The communication systems are the part of periscope duty that is actually documented, in Abylight Barcelona's post on how communication works aboard the sub:

• 3D proximity voice chat. Voices carry between crew in the same room and fade into a mumble through the bulkheads, then disappear entirely as you move apart. Standing at the periscope while your engineer is aft means you need to be deliberate about who you are talking to.
• The ship's PA system. The captain can broadcast across the whole vessel using the security cameras and a microphone. This is the intended way to reach someone who is out of voice range.
• The non-verbal communication wheel. A radial menu of emotes and signals lets you point directly at a station or salute, which is useful when you need a crewmate's attention on the periscope without a sentence.

If the periscope feels useless in a session, the first thing to check is not the optics but the comms: whether the person feeding you information is in voice range, and whether anyone is on the PA. The second thing to check is whether the station is manned at all — with nine stations and four crew, an empty periscope is a normal state, not a bug.

What this page cannot tell you yet

• No controls are documented. The Steam page lists full controller support and DualShock/DualSense support, but nothing maps a specific button to periscope functions. Do not assume a browser demo or a video's on-screen prompts match the Steam build.
• No link to torpedo aiming is confirmed. The weapon station is described separately, and the v0.9.44.0 changelog notes that it can now launch a decoy to evade enemy torpedoes. Whether the periscope feeds targeting data is not stated anywhere in the material.
• Build matters. Playtest-era reports predate the navigation station rework and the weapon station changes in v0.9.44.0, so station layouts described in older videos may not match the demo you download.
• Platform scope. As of 2026-10-22, the official Steam page lists Windows only. An earlier July 2026 press release mentioned Steam with other platforms TBC and a first-quarter 2027 window, which the September release-date announcement superseded with 29 October 2026.

Next steps

• S.O.N.A.R. Controller Support: What the Steam Page Lists

FAQ

Is there a periscope guide for S.O.N.A.R.?

Not a button-by-button one. The periscope is confirmed as one of nine crew stations, and the documented way to learn it is the demo's single-player tutorial and training stations rather than a published control sheet.

Do I need the periscope to fire torpedoes?

The material does not say. Weapons are handled at a weapon station that can also launch decoys as of demo v0.9.44.0, and no source describes the periscope feeding torpedo solutions.

Can I practise the periscope without a crew?

The demo includes a single-player tutorial and dedicated training stations, and the full game lists a tutorial mode — that is the place to start solo. Which stations the training covers in detail is not itemized in the material.

When can I try the periscope?

The free demo has been available on Steam since 30 September 2026 and was part of Steam Next Fest from 19 to 26 October 2026. The full game releases on 29 October 2026.

For the store description and demo announcements, see the official S.O.N.A.R. Steam page.