Under 3Dfx it was absolutely gorgeous. The graphics are the closest a game has gotten to real underwater yet. The landscape is made up of 100,000 polygons. There are also artifacts, such as an old boot, a rib cage and a bucket that all add to the realism of the game. Sub Culture was built on Criterion's proprietary Dive game engine.
Realistic lighting is used in the game by creating the illusion of an actual night and day cycle.
The sun actually rises and sets. At night the user is forced to use deep sea lights in order to be able to see everything well. Lens flares and light rays emanate from the sun through the water causing realistic effects. Through the help of a 3D accelerator, Sub Culture uses alpha-blending to cause the foggy water effect. This adds even more to the realism of the game.