Silent Hunter: Wolves of the Pacific offers to plunge into the times of World War II and take command of a submarine. To be more precise, US equipment in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The story campaign guides the newly minted captain through several missions, supported by briefings. The environment and events are conveyed cinematically, but authentically. This is especially true for military equipment, of which there are a total of 75. Each of them is modeled on the basis of real-life ones, such as the Yamato battleships.

There are 3 game modes to choose from in Silent Hunter: Wolves of the Pacific:

• Single player campaign. Patrols and forays with changing tasks and scripted presentation are supported by a briefing and plot.
• Quick fight. Short, storyless fights or patrols designed for training or momentary entertainment.
• Game online. Co-op or confrontation from 4 to 8 people over a local network or via the Internet. Flavored with pre-created and randomly generated missions, like a quick battle.

The submarine controls are quite arcade-like overall. A ram from a battleship, for example, will not sink a ship, although it should. However, at depth you have to navigate using instruments, because there is no external camera before surfacing. In addition, the life of the crew is simulated with relative realism. As an example, sailors may want to sleep after a heavy battle, depriving the submarine of control. Or they will forget to screw the fuse into the torpedo. The shortcomings, however, are corrected over time, as the crew develops their skills and even grows in rank.