The game was designed as a science fiction take on the Japanese "Mansion Mystery" genre, with the aim being to create fear from the environments and monsters.

Notable staff included co-producer Rieko Kodama, composer Kenji Kawai, and artist Yasushi Nirasawa as monster designer.

The game met with generally positive reviews from critics; praise was given to its music and elements of its gameplay−which was often compared to Resident Evil, while reactions to its graphics were mixed and the voice acting was panned.

Deep Fear is a survival horror video game where players take on the role of John Mayor fighting mutants that are overrunning the Big Table underwater research base.

[1][4] The player navigates the Big Table, completing missions by finding certain characters and mission-related items, managing ammunition and resources such as first aid kits, and fighting enemies scattered through the environment.

[6] A key mechanic in-game is that each area in the Big Table has a limited air supply, which is depleted over time and decreases quicker with gunfire.

Emergency Rescue Service member John Mayor, recently transferred to run safety drills and currently suffering from a cold, investigates with his submersible pilot Mookie after contact is lost with the submarine's crew, revealed to be due to crewmembers mutating into hostile monsters.

The rest of the Big Table's personnel, including the SEAL team, are ultimately either mutated or killed aside from Mayor, Wiseberg and Dawkins.

[13] Executive producer Youji Ishii stated the team's wish to emulate the gameplay of Resident Evil (1996), while co-director Kunihiro Shirahata cited John Carpenter's movie The Thing (1982) as inspiration for the narrative.

He was dissatisfied with his final boss design, which strayed from the realistic approach taken with the other characters and monsters in favour of following developer requests.

[22][23] Speaking in a 2018 interview, Kodama was pleased that Deep Fear had a fan base, but felt that the game was "buried" due to its late release in the Saturn's life.

[26][27][30] Japanese magazine Famitsu highlighted the tension created by the enclosed corridor environments, though one reviewer found controlling Mayor difficult.

[32] GameSpot's James Mielke found the oxygen mechanic and underwater setting a refreshing take on the survival horror formula of the time.

[30] Edge described the game as having "wooden FMVs and atrocious dialogue",[26] while by contrast Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) lauded the graphics despite noting poor character animation.

[1][2][31][32] Bob Mackey, as part of a feature for 1UP.com on Resident Evil "rip-offs", gave praise to the use of air supply to add tension to the genre formula, and faulted Sega's decision not to publish in North America.