So great to hear from you!
I thought I'd share a few reactions from the peanut gallery.
Sausage
I love the homage, but something about it feels off to me visually. At first I thought they seemed rather large and low, then I saw that they're presented similarly in Das Boot, around 8:45 in the part 2 video. I've seen the movie (and the miniseries!) several times and don't remember ever noticing them in that scene. They're really subtle in the movie's darkness, with the actors taking your attention, and much less subtle in the empty scene on the Playdate.
Maybe it's also about the room layout and the perspective you chose? It feels like they're pendulum'ing around in the center of the room, rather than being tucked up or around the edges, out of the way.
Casualty Report / Sinking
The first officer died. The navigator has died.
That felt pretty abrupt and unexplained. Not sure how, but maybe the game could provide a little more detail? (blunt trauma, drowned, ..how does a small number of men die from a depth charge?)
Sinking felt a bit abrupt and anticlimactic, too. I'm trying to remember how other media lend more weight to it, and all I can think of is Wrangel's first boat, a few minutes into a the first episode of Das Boot 2018. You don't have the same cinematography techniques available 🤔.
On the other hand, sometimes abrupt is nice, like at the premature end of a long run of Spelunky.
Descriptive Text
It's hard to imagine R. Christiansen smiling at his men, he's so stern.
Have you considered making a few variants of each portrait? I'm sure you don't want to separately illustrate every possible descriptive text, but maybe three or four variants could be used with different situations.
This feels more critical than I want to be. The control room looks great, and that periscope dark storm view is incredible. The sounds feel just right. I'm so excited to play this one day. (with headphones!)