Subnautica

this is a truly incredible game with infinite potential, the game revolves around you, your crashed ship, and an barren, ocean planet!

What a great, nice game. A bit of cute here, a bit of scary there, exploration, crafting, base building... Actually felt sad when launching the Neptune.

Absolutely great experience, loving every minute of it, such a unique survival experience and would strongly recommend to any who are interested in survival style games.

Subnautica was, in retrospect, my first-ever introduction to a real game. Perhaps I had spent long hours of the night goofing away on my DSI XL or my old Kindle Fire back in the day, but that was nothing compared to the way everything changed the moment I got my hands on Subnautica.
I was young when I first played, and my brain was unable to comprehend much of what I saw, even if the game was in early access at the time. Now, even as I've aged, whenever I boot up the game I can't help but feel just as mesmerized as the first time I dove head-first (pun ABSOLUTELY intended) into the depths of Subnautica's ocean. Perhaps, yes, I have had my fair share of terrifying moments, ones that have made me scream so loud that I fool everyone around me into thinking a murder is happening, but not even the horror of the unknown and the harrowing roars of the leviathans can keep me at bay for more than just a moment.
Also, I won't spoil anything, but a certain event near the ending always manages to make me cry.
All in all, I cannot recommend this game enough. It's enthralling, wonderful, awe-inspiring, sad, and utterly terrifying all at once. There is no way to put into words how much I love Subnautica. Unknown Worlds truly outdid themselves.

One of the best of the best. A true joy to play, even the kids love watching the avatar swim around and explore.

It's a beautiful game, excellent, immersive, one of my favorite videogames, I love its soundtrack, the ambience, the story, the gameplay, 10/10

I wish I could play this game for the first time again. I was terrified playing this game but I couldn't stop exploring despite it. There's this indescribable feeling that makes me want to explore more in spite of the fear.

Subnautica, at times, was one of the most enjoyable (and scary) games I have played, but it is also not without its flaws and faults. If you’re interested in playing it, I suggest you learn as little as possible and let the game deliver.

And what Subnautica delivers is a potent sense of danger and struggle for survival, perfectly mixed with adventure and wonder in the early game. That panic when running out of air, facing disorientation in a tight cave, exploring vast depths, avoiding monsters lurking in the dark… it curled my toes so much I had to put my podiatrist on retainer.

Additionally, the unfolding story, mysteries, and a range of characters (met through audio recordings) give layers to the experience. The quality of voice-acting and sound design really stood out at times (in both directions, unfortunately).

There’s also a strong sense of loneliness in this game. You are by yourself in a dark and scary world, and you’re doing your best. But this doesn’t seem to be an element the developers intended or even understood. I think there are many players who can identify with this feeling through the modern world, and that it adds to the connection people feel to this game.

But this game is full of shortcomings too, and it ultimately delivered a middling experience for me. Mostly, the game seems incomplete. It is full of under-developed ideas, clumsy mechanics, bugs-a-plenty (some that are game-breaking), and even a few missing animations. Environmental lighting is highly important in this game but the engine is terrible. You can be looking directly up at the sun through the water’s surface, but see only darkness… because you’re in a cave (and the cave is meant to be dark). But when you need to know how to get out of the cave before you run out of air, and you expect to be able to see the sun, this is a major issue.

The game offers a permadeath mode, which I elected for my first play-through, but the game-breaking bugs undermined this experience. I had to restore my self-made save file backups at several points when the game broke. I understand the constrains of development, and that the developer almost went bankrupt at several points, but this game does not feel finished, even with updates.

The game also suffers from pacing problems toward the end. After you solve or learn how to avoid all the life-threatening issues about halfway through, the world starts to feel very small and boring. The campaign took me 95 hours to complete, with the last 1/3rd being just an out-and-out grind. And personally, I did not find the game’s ending to be satisfying, the ultimate bummer.

The remainder of my review moves into some mild spoilers as I share my thoughts on the design choices.

I did take issue with many of the design choices in this game. The point of Subnautica is to survive, but the developers seemed to think this game needed to be Minecraft too. The result is that it neither mechanic is particularly good. I would have liked much better orienteering mechanics (including maps), a much larger, sprawling environment, ration-planning, salvaging, and more real-world survival logic. Repairing salvaged items could have replaced much of the crafting, and been much more interesting and challenging. I keep thinking that diving crush-depths and a risk of getting the bends would have been great additions. It naturally leads to hyperbaric chamber base components and a liquid-breathing tech-tree. There’s a lot of missed opportunity with the underwater elements to this game.

You quickly learn too that the largest, most scary monsters have limited and defined patrol ranges. You can simple avoid these areas without issue. I kept thinking I would have to venture into those areas later in the game, but I never did. Instead, if the monsters roamed freely in deeper waters, so much would have been added to this game. And why did they give the scariest monster a face with a butt-shaped chin, goatee, mean eyes and a mohawk? And the sound of lion's roar even though we're underwater? It’s just silly. It's so silly.

There’s a day/night cycle, but it’s of little importance – more missed potential. Tides and weather events are completely absent. Some of the environments are so silly and broke my immersion, such as an underwater lava lake. Water boils when that hot, yo. The developers are clearly not divers, biologists, geologists, astrophysicists or rocket engineers. Unfortunately, I am a biologist. Bad science really sticks out in a game where you’re kind of like David Attenborough in space.

I used to love the ocean before the game. Now I don't. Come here to gain a fear of the deep, of darkness and of silence, as well as making you never consider being a hadal zone marine biologist. I still remember my first encounter with a reaper leviathan.... I went towards it thinking it was something else and started to wonder why it kept growing... then it started coming my way. And scanning it makes for some extra nightmare fuel.

Good design, a slowly expanding world through your upgrades and equipment, though at times it is easy to lose those upgrades and equipment especially as SOME things get in the way. I am sure that at some point the game might become unplayable, but I would still prefer if we had some means to keep the things away rather than just relying on stealth, but the man had a point that this creates real terror... that other underwater game just had you shoot things until you were done and move on. The atmosphere is certainly unique, as it's not those usual jumpscare horror games, but rather one that cultivates a constant terror, knowing things are out there, knowing they can ruin your fun... and they often do. Can't leave your seamoth unattended that some giant squid will start pecking on it.

Play this if you want to feel terror and want to dislike the idea of the deep ocean, but it's a good game overall.

This was my introduction to the survival genre (aside Mincraft)
Now no other survival game can live up to the standard.

10/10 thalassophobia

A really good game, it has an an emotional story and an actually scary experience that isn't just the game throwing loud noises at you left and right, most of the time it isn't that scary, it scares you by presenting a danger that you cannot confront as your own fear is keeping you from it. On the other hand there is Below Zero, Ha Ha haaaa. (Check my review on it for my opinion)

I can say a lot about this game. I have at least over hundreds and hundreds of hours on this game. I recently got it on my new PC. I've had it on my Xbox and my last PC so I think I can give it a proper review. now if you're into chillax but unsettling horror I would definitely play this game the storyline is absolutely incredible I like how it's free roam underwater it is seriously the perfect mix I would definitely say subnautica an below zero are worth buying collectively they're both great games storyline can't get over it very well-made. I would recommend playing this game.

DON'T HAVE THALSSAFOBIA IF YOU ARE GOING TO PLAY THIS GAME, Otherwise, have fun lead and silver ore are in sandstone deposits witch can be found in kelp forest.

So it is definitely buggy but it's still a beautiful game. Definitely one of those ones I'd say to play in your lifetime. Great mix of survivor, light horror elements, and exploration.

This was an amazing game. Exploring the world of Subnautica was terrifying and awe-inspiring. I recommend this for those who like an adventure and don't mind some resource gathering.

Even with the occasional glitch, Subnautica is my favorite game for the following reasons:
1. The music matches the game well. It adds a nice feel while being well written itself
2. It's a beautiful game. Even on low graphics, the game is still detailed and the landscape is amazing
3. It's a bit scary. The game uses sound and visibility to add a terror aspect. This keeps things a little exciting, even after a hundred hours of game play. (I may only have 77 hours on steam, but I also have it on the switch, going on 40 hours there)
4. Total bias here. I've been a huge nerd all of my life and read science textbooks. I wanted to explore uncharted planets, work underwater, cure known and unknown diseases, and discover new life. I also wanted to be a ladybug. I got to do all of this in Subnautica, minus the ladybug lol.

Subnautica is a very unique and wonderful game. It's not everyone's cup of tea since patience is required to get far, but I personally enjoyed this game :)

My fear of the ocean embodied to a T. Beautiful and terrifying. I both want to play and don't, because it scares me that much. Beautiful world, great gameplay, great challenge. Just don't put a reaper in my sights and I'm good. XD

Good game, little bit time consuming but it has a great story. Tip for not being scared: get scared as many times as you need to until you're not scared about it anymore. That's how I got over being scared except for certain things I will not try to expose myself too.

At first I was so lost and confused a couples years back, so i revisited the game and completed it 100% a good thing to keep in mind is to shut down the cyclops if you get attacked by a creature

pros: good game with story but difficult to keep track of the missions, found myself on google often
cons: quickslot is just not enough with 4 slots, please upgrade the quickslops to at least go to 8 instead of 4

Bloody Awesome, good story, a lot of base building, easy to understand tools and systems
Bloody Awesome

Top ten games. I dont leave reviews, but I have to for this spectacular game. I cant wait for the third!!!!!

VR adaptation poorly done. Tons of obvious problems immediately apparent, I gave up trying after half an hour of frustration and searching online for answers.

Seems like the "VR" was just an abandoned cash grab, disappointing.

Insanely good game, has some good horror moments too due to the general atmosphere of the game, bit buggy at times though, and runs kinda badly ocasionally.

There's a plethora of exploration of building in Subnautica.It's incredibly open, but there are enough cookie crumbs to keep you enticed to discover the next piece without feeling aimless. It's a survival game with moments of panic, but generally you control the pace and how much excitement you want.

I love this game even though i have played it multiple times, its still a wonderful game to back and play it again!

Before I played this I had a small pp, no girlfriend and no will to live. None of these things have changed, but the game is pretty good

This game is absolutely amazing! I've been playing for over a year now, and even more! I used to spend most my time in creative mode, building massive bases and things. But I've finally started to start my own survival mode, and I've gotten quite far. And this game is also once more, amazing!

1. make seamoth
2. go too far from pod
3. get eaten by a big fucking fish
4. obtain severe thalassophobia

10/10 would get eatened by big fish again

When playing this game you are either like ooo I am scared of big scary fish in big dark ocean or you are like YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO COOL EPIC FISH

Don't even bother looking at the Negative Reviews and just play the damn game, believe me it's good. Great, actually.
You'll feel terror and fear you didn't think possible from a game like this.

And the kicker? This title runs VR.

I've played this at 8am, 4pm, and 2am. Doesn't matter how bright it is, a Peeper is always a terrifying thing to hit with a metal bubble when the game is dark.
That and the dozens of murderous fauna that can, and will, hunt you down and give you nightmares.

This is a damn good game.
I've tried a few of these survival sim type games. The concept appeals to me but I always find myself getting quickly bored of them.
Subnautica has not had this problem with me. It's well-paced. As I increase my capabilities, it really feels like an achievement, like I've broken through another game barrier.

I like the base building, the item gathering, the vehicles, the story and the constant sense of discovery.

I understand now why this is so popular. It truly is one of the best games of this genre out there and really focuses on the aspects of the game I find most enjoyable, fulfilling my sense of exploration and discovery of a new world.

It's really fun, scary but fun. I recommend this game a lot. You are trying to escape a planet with a bunch of sea aliens and sea monsters. So take breaks if you are speed-running this game because a lot is coming your way.

One of the best adventure games I've ever played. Still a few annoying bugs but none that ruin the experience.

Subnautica is without a doubt my favourite game of all time, just look at my profile and you'll see lol. God I remember the times when all the fragments were just white cuboids and the aurora was just a 2d image that you could never manage to get to. Now, 8 years after that and I first watched good ol' Jacksepticeye, it has come on so much as a franchise. Whilst yes, I do have a lot more grievances with Below Zero, but this isn't about that, its about the proper og, the best of the 2. Ofc, thats my opinion, but thats what reviews are for ehh?

Aight, ima try not to simp too hard, but Subnautica is just one of those games - where you can still know what to expect from every biome, know how to avoid or evade, or hell even kill, some of the leviathans - and you still be worried, with that nagging thing in the back of your head saying 'the reaper's definitely not sneaking up on me is it?', and then suddenly you turn around and see it right before it grabs you, oh and it roars right then too. So the feeling of terror lasts throughout the different times you play it. Albeit, at a decreased rate... but still it doesn't take away from the overall experience. I would say the graphics are good, but I play on a laptop so its gonna be bad graphics to get the good framerate. But, having said that, even at a low resolution it still looks good, still looks like Subnautica. The gameplay is my favourite type, mainly because this masterpiece of a game made it my favourite (I said I won't simp didn't I? Oh well, spitting facts isn't simping is it?). Survival open world, Minecraft but underwater some people call it. Its heavy on exploration and crafting of tools, equipment and subs (not meatball marinaras). And its just something else, exploring wrecks and getting those all important blueprints, going to different POIs to learn about the lore (despite me already knowing the lore, its still fun to collect the stuffs though) and ofc seeing the massive chunk of titanium mass thats just been plonked in the middle of a bunch of reapers. The sound design is superb as well, Simon Chylinski did a proper good job on it. The music is super atmospheric, and iconic (*cough cough* Abandon Ship, Into the Unknown, etc.) and it feels like its supposed to be there.

Now I fear that if I go on much more, I won't be able to hold back the simpiness. So my final words are, Subautica best game.

Loved this game played for hours. Of course the best version is on PC, or even a Steam Deck. My only complaint is, the developers seem to have dropped this game for Below Zero. I wish they would at least fix some minor bugs. When climbing a ladder from the moon pool you teleport up, and when entering or exiting you base you teleport though the door. No known fixes yet.

Where do I even begin with this masterpiece of a game that I have played and replayed oh so many times. While my current 392 hours during this review is nothing compared to some others who have played this game, I feel it still gives me the privilege of revealing this magnificent game made by Unknown Worlds. While the game has superb graphics and story that encourages exploration, free roam, and unique building for each player, one of the biggest joys this game gives me is it's sentimental value. Subnautica was the first game I have ever played and it kick-started my gaming journey and forever will hold a special place in my heart. While sentimental value is not the big selling point of this game, it is still very important to me. I don't think this would be a proper review without talking about the innovative experience Subnautica provides to all players no matter their play style whether they enjoy building interesting bases or exploring the deep kelp forests and the dangers that hold. I'm not saying this is the best game ever but I will say if you are looking for a somewhat new take on an ocean exploration and survival game set in a sci-fi era, Subnautica is the game for you. So please if you have taken the time to read this full review, buy the game, it is a special treat for all to enjoy.

Amazing game. I would pay hundreds to wipe my memory of this experience just to relive it. Unfortunately it does lack replayability, but that is only because your first playthrough will be one of the greatest experiences of your gaming life.

Well, this game is one helluva a challenge. This game is incredibly complex, which is a positive!

Beginning can be frustrating, mid-game is perfect and end-game at times seems a bit dragged out. By the end, it feels like the game lost its direction a little bit, but it might just be my own subjective opinion. I have to admit a I felt really lost couple of times and it can be difficult to work out the next step, because the game REALLY does not tell you :P

I really loved the art style of Subnautica as well :)

All in all, a very worthwhile experience, it was quite amazing to explore an alien ocean like this!

I really like this game, there is nothing not to like about it: It has amazing graphics, the details the producers put into this game are amazing, the amazing yet terrifying creatures, the amount of stuff you can do, etc. The only problem that I personally have is that I have extreme thalasophobia (fear of the sea, specifically the deep dark parts of it because of the unknown creatures lurking down there.) I bought this game before I developed this fear, but now, whenever I play it, even going down more than 100 meters is scary for me. I have no problem with the shallow parts though. Anyway, to the potential buyers that are thinking of buying this, don't let my review scare you off, theres a reason why I recommend this game. But take into account that this game is absolutely terrifying in some parts and that not every creature is docile...

This was definitely one of the best immersive open-world games I have played, and it also made me love more about our ocean and the mysteries that lie within it. The game does not hold your hand, which makes you look for ways to survive, making you feel accomplished when you get to discover something new (and secrets and new things always seemed to lurk around every corner). This game can be terrifying sometimes, but it rewards you with new experiences, stories, and the beauty of planet 4546B. Overall, it will be a great experience for anyone who tries this game for the first time.

TL;DR - Play this if you like the ocean or great stories or open-world immersive games

Amazing expansive areas to explore! Would like more base additions or creativity with regards to building them. Awesome game overall though...BEWARE what lurks in the deep

Amazing gameplay with an amazing story and lots of lore, you almost never run out of things to do. No flaws with it in my eyes.

I recommend this game 100% and loved this game! However... I rate it only a 6/10 rather than the 10/10 which it could be. I love this game mostly because its very unique and different than all the other games out there. Its fun to explore, some say scary, (although I didn't think so), and overall its just a great game to play.
My biggest complaint at the time I'm playing it is there is NO map, and not enough clues to beat the game start to finish without cheating and googling clues etc.
The game does a good job providing story clues at the start with the help of the radio, however, I found myself not knowing what to do next many times after the radio clues dry up and I found myself wasting hours looking for something but not even know what I'm searching for.
Also the game can be punishing. It handles the edge map with a cliff and warning entering a zone devoid of life, or something to that effect... sounds like something you should investigate right? wrong ! If you go past the map edge monsters will spawn to attack you. Unfortunately for me I went past the edge at the surface level where you can't see the map edge so I didn't realize where I was. Then I proceeded downward. I spent a ton of time gathering everything to build a cyclops sub, stocked it with everything you can imagine, only to be killed by monsters attacking me off the edge of the map. My Biggest complaint was because I died past the edge of the map at a deep depth, I could not recover anything from my sub. By the way I had no way to load past saves. That was bad, but I still don't think its as bad as a vague story with not enough solid dummy proof clues to point you in the right direction... and did I mention NO MAP! Its a large world and difficult to navigate easily without a map. I think this is a major flaw. You can get around it somewhat with beacons and a compass, but its much harder than it needs to be.
So in summary, Great game! but the game needs a map and should do a better job at providing additional clues, otherwise you may find yourself having to cheat to win which I never like to do on any game I'm playing.

yes yes yes play this game, its beautifully terrifying and not hard to get the hang of. not recommended if you have any fears related to the ocean as you will shit your pants playing this at some point because of the massive alien fish that want to eat you.

TLDR: RNG exploration to find mandatory quest item.

This game was really close to being good. The pacing at the start was awesome. I loved gradually getting the unlocks and exploring the ocean. Unfortunately I hit a brick wall when I couldn't find the 3rd vehicle station blueprint. I had gotten every possible upgrade until then but was unable to make the first explorer ship. I went to probably ~10 large wreckages getting many duplicates of every blueprint except that one. Eventually it just felt like it was about an hour of swimming randomly and experiencing nothing but frustration. So I felt like I was wasting my time. I'm sure someone else can have a different experience and unlock this blueprint as the game intends.

I thought my boating skills would correlate well into this game, 3 hours in, and I was crapping my pants when I saw the first sand shark. 10/10 great game would crap my pants again.

Very enjoyable game. I was looking for something to scratch the survival itch after finishing another game and hadn't played this yet. Below Zero is next!

fishy fishy fishy hehe

jokes aside graphics are amazing i love this game, first watched markiplier play it and have loved it since

---{ Graphics }---
☑ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☑ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☑ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second live for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☑ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☑ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☑ 10

if you crash land at the beginning of the game you did something wrong, the game only starts once you escape the planet

Amazing underwater game i fall in love with the lore and i think u should try to beat the game on hardcore mode as for myself i did it first try witch was surprising and maybe unkown worlds should do diferent types of difficults

I remember seeing someone say £1 for every hour of gameplay is a good deal...... well this overdelivered on that tenfold

Great visuals, great story that unfolds as you learn how to escape and on top of all that..... endless screaming as leviathans chase after you. Sometimes with these it can eventually feel like a grind (sometimes quite often) but only had one moment of that when i made a mistake and had to go alllllll the way back to the bottom to find another resource lol

Fantastic game would recommend to anyone who wants to place a exploration survival game!!!!

Great game. I spent another 20 hours on another save because the achievement was glitched. All I had to do was replay the ending...

Its a good way to get thallasophobia. But its a great game and although I only just started playing survival (with nitrox mod) I have had the game for years.

This is easily one of my favorite games. I bought this game a couple of weeks before it was released and all I knew at the time was that it was a survival game where you crash land on an alien planet. I'm really glad I didn't spoil this game for myself like I've done with several other games in the past because it turned out to be so much cooler than I ever would've expected.
I kept wanting to come back for more while I was playing this because the exploration in this game is a lot of fun and every environment is interesting and unique. I found the progression from having next to nothing to building giant underwater bases and vehicles to be very satisfying. The story in this game is also intriguing, with the stories of not only your character, but also other crew members from your ship, past survivors, and clues to the mysteries of this planet's past...
The longer I played, the more I liked the game because it keeps you engaged, as long as you're willing to go deeper and face your fears to progress the story. The music is also great; each song fits the environment very well and adds a lot to the game. I've played through the game three times, but there are still some more things to find.

Overall, this was money well spent and I'm glad I played it.

If you want to play a good adventure survival game, I would definitely recommend this one! Have fun, and don't let the leviathans bite!

An absolute dazzling gem of a game, with a wonderful balance of immersive exploration, satisfying crafting mechanics and even elements of horror. Aesthetic, original and mesmerizing, this is possibly one of the greatest open world exploration / crafting games ever made, with something in it for everyone. A must buy!

Subnautica is an experience and a half. I've completed this game on console once already, but definitely wanted the PC experience. I was scared and intimidated at first, but eventually, after I've upgraded myself, I found myself wanting to plunge myself into the unknown, no matter how horrific. The thrills I get playing Subnautica hit different opposed to other games I've played, and the atmosphere definitely amplifies it. I highly recommend this game to just about everyone, however *do not play Subnautica if you have a phobia of the ocean.* I cannot stress that enough. Take care of yourselves.

It's a survival/horror game if you have thalassophobia like I do, but very cool gameplay with plenty of different environments to explore!

To be clear, I do not have thalassophobia. I'm concerned about drowning on the surface, deep water bothers me not a whit. However...I have never played a game that does such a brilliant job at maintaining a constant level of fear and tension as this one.

From a game mechanics standpoint, this game is a solid, well-polished, but not exceptional, survival/building game. However, in the world-design and its presentation...it's absolutely brilliant.

You like water and deep unexplored oceans? Then play it!

Are you are deathly afraid of water and the ocean? Play it so your friends can laugh at your suffering!

I rate this 9,5 peepers/10

If you have a fear of literally anything underwater, I couldn't recommend this game more. Not because its for dealing with Aquaphobia, but rather because it is the BANE of those with Aquaphobia, and I. fucking. loved it. The feeling of being helpless at the start, fearing every single thing in the game (even some thing that may be harmless), slowly understanding the world around you and growing past your fears, only to come across a giant sea monster and going back into an "Holy FUCK what is that?" phase.

TLDR, Go in scared, go out scared but in a good way. Have fun :)

one of my favorite games of all time. ive beaten both on console multiple times and wanted the trifecta on pc. everything about the game is perfect. atmosphere, music, sound. the feeling of isolation on an alien world. play the game. i just wish i could replay it for the first time all over again because theres no other experience anything like it.

Just magnificent... in VR of course. Best immersion ever, splendid, superb, I can not unhook myself from going further.
Although some issues with VR: Need to click on reset seat position in Steam to get rid of a grey screen on start, had to mod the game to get the vertical axis on my controller, and the worst part is that the cursor is not targetting prperly the scanner function, not the cyclop command, making it a nightmare to control (had to turn my head in a upleft angle to have a chance to click on some elements. I am using Cosmos Vice HTC. for a game of 2018, kind of weird it wasn't fixed properly. After people complain VR is not working. Take me all the time 15 minutes to set up everything to play properly every single day, sometime twice a day..

An amazing, immersive experience that offers equal parts horror and wonder. I was taken off-guard by how great this game is. Absolutely loved it, to the point where I considered never completing the final 'quests' because I didn't want it to end.

Fun, can stabby stab if you wish, or run and hide. Much gathering, many neat things, I have fear of the ocean now.

In the beginning this was a very daunting game, endless ocean with terrifying shadows around every corner, but then you feel brave enough to explorer a bit further than your last trip and the feeling of running from levithans or searching alien structures is unrivalled. The story telling never tells you exactly what to do, it's on you to search for the answers.

Highly recommend 10/10

I think the ultimate judgement of any art is how it makes you feel, and by that measure Subnautica is one of the greatest works of art I've ever consumed. I first played it 5 years ago and to this day I regularly have vivid dreams about the ocean. This is some kind of spiritual experience masquerading as a video game.

bit on the expensive side but a real good way to chew threw time and get thalassophobia so now you can only go into baby pool instead of the mile deep pool

Easily one of the most incredible games I have ever played. No other game has ever given me the same sense of wonder from exploration and discovery. 100% recommend everyone play this game.

Subnautica is a great game with amazing story it´s fun to play I strongly recommend this game.
If you already finished story I recommend mods for other hours of great fun content.

10/10 game. Thalassophobia fuel with day and night cycles. Water go deep verY vERY DEEEEEEEP

fish plus seamoth = nonoononnonononononnonononononononono

You are the best captain on this planet, i'm not even squiding.

-Cyclops

Amazingly horrifying but phenomenal game.
I've never been so overwhelmed by fear but amazed at the possibilities at the same time.
The game trusts you enough to figure things out on your own, and doesn't hold your hand along the story, which really added to the feeling of isolation that the game drives into you.

The vehicles are also really fun, each one of them feels unique in the way you control it and has its own uses.

Overall huge recommend - I now have a new phobia- cheerio

Pretty good. Only downsides are its kinda grindy and hard to build.

One of the most phenomenal and terrifying first playthroughs I've ever experienced, and even more fun on subsequent playthroughs. Also a very healthy modding community if you're interested in that sort of thing!

I love the music and sounds in general, the exploration is great, terrifying at times too. But I love it.

I am not usually one for single player survival games but this game is so well done! I found it on the top 10 video games of all time and wasn't disappointed.

A really great survival game with really unique creatures and environments

Remember : the bigger the fish, the friendlier it is. Swim up to them and say hi :)

One of my top 3 games of all time I highly recommend this game to anyone

Easily the best handling of underwater play that I've seen. Rather than locking advanced content behind McGuffin walls, you advance through upgrading your air reserve and/or transportation so you can reach deeper areas, which is a unique approach I really appreciated. One note, you should grab some mods before playing, as there's elements left out that don't make much sense in-universe. After all, a space-faring race that equips all their crew with mobile AIs that integrate everything they encounter really ought to have mastered maps.

Beautiful and scary at the same time.

My heart bursts out of my chest at every creature sound, and yet I can't stop. More silver, more copper, faster, more oxygen.

I've been playing for a long time in creative mode, I'm not done with survival yet.

Exciting lore, fascinating exploration and a breathtaking soundtrack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p4Rsh3lva8

Summary: I find Subnautica is challenging to get into, though the environment & immersion is truly one-of-a-kind.

Details: My biggest irritation at 24.5 hours into the game (a bit inflated due to AFK, say 20 hrs-ish), and I see no path yet to removing the drudgery of titanium farming (or related), blueprint acquisition or inventory management. In NMS (No Man's Sky), which I've played for roughly 300 hrs, you could see a path to removing those drudgery elements before 20 hrs into the game & work towards that. I've read about Scanner Rooms which seems to be a big step in this direction but I'm still trying to complete a beacon & battery charger blueprint at 20+ hrs into the game! Blueprint RNG is one of the key differences w/NMS & makes it difficult to plan effectively until you have all the blueprints required, which you never really know if/when you'll find them (like beacons, battery chargers, laser-cutters, etc...). Some may prefer this "box-of-chocolates" style, others such as myself, may prefer a more deterministic model/approach.

It's also a bit frustrating to finally completing the blueprint for the Seamoth, going to Lifepod 12, & on the way out meet a reaper leviathan who immediately destroyed said Seamoth, though I escaped unharmed. I actually was so terrified, I snapped a panic photo of the Reaper (playing on controller), which is pretty apropos!

Anyhow, I do like the game & don't regret the purchase, just don't know if I'll finish it, as the RNG frustration level is high & it's unclear how to reduce it other than put in dozens of hours. I say you need to try it for yourself, but getting blueprints is painfully arduous (I'm still trying to complete beacon & battery charger blueprints; beacons are absolutely essential to having any idea where anything is...) along with the crafting tedium. I can't tell you how many times I was trying to gather materials & just about to finish when "Inventory Full" came up & I had to head back to LifePod 5 100's of meters away to dump stuff in my floating water storage & then go back. That's pretty frustrating, though typical for survival games especially early-on. I'm playing Freedom which removes everything except health/O2. I'm happy with the choice as Creative seemed a bit overboard (no risk whatsoever) but I'm glad to not have to worry about food/water though those turn out to be easier than expected.

On the strong positive, there is always a genuine palpable & abiding feeling of dissonance of real fear & terror, narrative mystery, and continual unfolding discovery in the game which is really alluring as most games lose that initial goosebump-feeling quick. Subnautica has that in spades, & I'm not sure Subnautica will ever lose it! I'm just as terrified to swim into deep waters 20+ hrs in as I was at 0 hrs, I just don't know if it's enough to keep me. It's definitely more edgy & less chill than NMS, which is a nice differentiation from NMS, at least 20+ hrs in. Combat, so-far, makes it very clear you are a mosquito in the ocean. I have no idea how many times I have to strike a Stalker to kill it with my survival knife, but it's a bunch (20+?) & since it's a 3-D combat space & you have O2 to worry about, you are always at a disadvantage. But that's in-line with the strong-positive, you will feel a definite surge of tension in combat.

Just keep in mind, when you read the boards, youtube, etc.. & people talk about Cyclops, Seamoth, etc... or even the laser-cutter (which I just discovered the final 3rd blueprint for,, yes 20 hrs in...), they make it sound like you'll be doing that in a few hours, same day you start, w/o any YouTube videos. Nope, you'll be spending a lot of time swimming around the same areas over & over again, looking for unknown blueprints, gathering materials, etc.... I still haven't completed my beacon blueprint at 20+ hrs in & beacons are pretty essential in Subnautica to find anything reliably. If you like that RNG style approach, you will probably love it. Even if you don't, I say give it try, just be prepared for either watching YouTube videos or taking your good sweet time, this is not a game you'll be completing quickly. My guess is a true from-scratch, no/low help play-through is 100+ hrs, easy.

Edit (@32+ hrs): visiting the Aurora is key to getting a boost, as key blueprints (Prawn suit), upgrades, etc... are to be found there. To visit the Aurora, you need at an absolute minimum:
Full Radiation Suit (helmet, torso, gloves)
Repair Tool
Laser-Cutter Tool
Propulsion Cannon
Note: this is absolute minimum, it's recommended to bring a couple of fire extinguishers and med kits & always carry your survival knife. I'll also add that beacons are needed virtually asap in the game, though irrelevant for Aurora. The Seamoth is essential imo as it removes O2 depletion mostly, though unnecessary for Aurora (you can swim it). Gravtraps & creature decoys are good distractions. I still think the bar is too high to reduce the drudgery but visiting the Aurora helps, along with the above items (beacons, Seamoth, gravtrap, creature decoy). With those, you can actually make progress w/o constantly dying & you can keep going in the night as Seamoth has good lights.

good, pretty, spooky, cinematic, musical.

this is a good game, play it if you have the time

game is very mysterious and eerie you"ll never know what comes next

Not much to say, one of the best games I've ever played in terms of atmosphere and the feeling you get while playing it.

Good game, Good Graphics kinda grindy tho

Playing Subnautica fr the first time: "I've played so many horror games, nothing scares me anymore"
Reaper Leviathans: "Allow us to introduce ourselves"

survival and graphics are amazing totally worth it

this game is such an amazing expirience, its easily in my top 5 favorite games of all time, if you are thinking about buying the game I would highly recommend doing so

I will never look at water the same ever again

Played this game for around 60+ hours. Finished it 2-3 times.
This game is definitely top10 in my game list.
Graphic and Story 10/10
There is some scary leviathan out there but after a while they become your buddy's haha.

RECOMMENDED TO PLAY THIS FOR EVERYONE. I WOULD LOVE TO PLAY IT AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME WITHOUT ANY MEMORIES.

One of the best open world games in my opinion!!! The fact that this game takes place under water really gives another perspective. I may have had a few hard attacks during the scary bits :))

Awesome game. Loved the game play, and then the story was the icing on the cake.

If you love adventure and suspense this game would be for you, even if you don't like those topics you should try it. Epic graphics and thrills. Only bad part is that you have to install mods to play with friends and they are kind of glitchy. 9.5/10

10/10 just the right amount of water

There is too much stuff in this game for me to think about so my review will be listing pros and cons, but I'm positive I am going to miss a ton of pro's.
Pros:
1. This game is pretty unique, Nothing is quite like it.
2. The audio was constantly putting me in a state of terror until I got used to it.
3. Most of the biomes are greatly diverse, and that's impressive considering how many there are.
4. The lore map melds together nicely and ties up loose ends and most questions.
5. The biodiversity in most biomes is pretty outstanding. Plenty of unique flora and fauna to capture your attention.
6. The amount of debt you go into finally catches up with you at the end and it is hilarious.
7. good amount of playtime. Definitely worth the money.

Cons:
1. AI...
I heard so many bad things about Leviathans, but in my experience, they don't even attack you. I never even once felt like I was in danger of losing my cyclopes even while being attack by two at once. Flicking the shield generator on before it bites makes it so it doesn't even damage you on the off chance its AI decides to attack. I have literally followed Leviathans with my seaglide for minutes without them attacking me. I have run cyclopes at max speed with the lights on, INTO a sea dragon, and he kinda just ignores me, sometimes he spits fire in the opposite direction I am facing, but rarely. The only predators in this game with good attacking AI are the Crabsquids, Lava lizards, and on occasion, Crabsnakes.
This game pretty much forces you into the path of Leviathans, which is good for facing your fears, but there isn't really much to fear... except for the one adult ghosty who decided it was time to actually be a ghost and start noclipping through the terrain at will.

2. Glitchy textures/Render distance:
I never noticed this when i played the game the first time, but the second time around... God it almost got me to uninstall it.
Terrains in the distance are either completely empty, or blocks. It's like the game won't load everything in the last 50-100 meters of your visible render distance. A lot of people have this issue, but not everyone.

3. Give me the ability to place garden items in any arrangement of 2x2, and not constrict me if there is 4 open slots but they aren't in the same 2x2 grid.Id like to place a big bush in the center of the 4x8 garden, but due to the way placing things in garden beds works, it needs 4 open slots in the same 2x2 area. not 4 open slots total. I cannot accurately describe this without talking forever but the devs know what I mean.

4. A few biomes are missing interesting traits:
The grand reef should be more grand.
The dunes, mountains, crash zone, and sparse reef should have less in common. I wish the Crag field had more lore behind it and didn't feel like some filler biome to make the grand reef smaller.
The Seatreaders path feels like it could be way cooler than it is, I was kind of underwhelmed by the lack of things to explore along it.

By my own standards, the best survival and crafting game out there.
So immersive, beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

best singleplayer under water survival games i recommend to all my friends

A very good game. I personally recommend.

Best game that has ever taught me to never swim ever again!

10/10 would dive again.

Amazingly fun and scary open world, survival game. I will always come back to this game. 11/10

Instead of overcoming your fears, you will just become more scared of them.

Great game but please add co-op

Would recommend to my cuddlefish

I keep trying with this game. My prawn suit keeps getting frozen and unusable in open places where there is nothing to block it or cause this. I just can't try anymore with this game. It's just too frustrating.

An incredible value at twice the price. I'm a jaded gamer and playing Subnautica was an overwhelmingly positive experience.

Amazing Game Hard but worth the death

Very fun game. Make sure you treasure your first play-through!

I genuinely can't put this into words. Actually the best game. Loved it for years. This game is glorious. I've been in this opinion for about 3 or 4 years, and don't plan on changing it.

the graphics are realistic and there is hours of gameplay

Immersive plot, exciting and fishy
Makes me miss scuba diving (:

it's good, you know that by now

The game has a very fun concept and story but I cannot express how horrible the lag is. I'm pretty sure I have a decent computer- I can run games on high quality that my friends can barely play on low quality. Despite this, I can't even run this game on the lowest settings without getting the worst lag I've ever experienced. The game is basically unplayable for me :(

hey its supersquid at a friends house this game is the best game ever if you havent played this imma show up to ur house

This is the game that tricked me into thinking I enjoyed punch-rocks style base building games. It is fantastic in every way. The different biomes were all beautiful and varied, with resources unique to each section that gives you reason to return to each of them and continue exploring. The base building aspect is a little blocky, with some difficulty in making the modules line up in 3D, but were satisfying to build none the less, with plenty of options for both utility and purely aesthetic creative expression. The place I feel this game really shines over the competition however is in its pacing. I felt like new biomes were opened exactly when the previous biome got boring, technology to simplify activities were introduced exactly when it started feeling like grinding, the amount of resources needed to improve the base to make each new room feel like an accomplishment rather than a chore. It is just such a beautifully paced story, every act took exactly as long as it should have, not an hour more or an hour less.

Overall great wet game and experience

Extraordinary game. Beautiful visuals, highly engaging and immersive environment, and enthralling gameplay. The survival elements are well-designed and very enjoyable

I have a fear of the deep sea but this game still managed to make it fun .

great game with fantastic devs who have made an amazing experience.

Beware the ghost leviathan is coming for your base

Dive deep and explore an alien ocean that truly makes you feel like part of the ecosystem. After your ship crash lands on this aquatic world you'll find your going to need to go further into the water then you'll want to every time you venture out for resources. With unique creature designs that are equally strange and dangerous you will discover new biomes, lost equipment that will aid you on your journey, and the messages from other survivors that couldn't keep there heads above water. Submerge yourself in the game with some of the best audio I've ever experienced in any game as monsters that glide through the inky nothingness cry out and make there unseen presence known. don't forget to scan each life form you come across and learn about the world. I played this for a my twitch and found myself enjoying even the long looting sections just from the atmosphere alone. 9/10 would swim again.

I loved the ocean until this game

One of the best survival games out there.

i wasn't afraid of fish before playing this

well...there's a HUGE amount of things i could tell you but first the gamemodes. Survival is how the game was meant to be played, hunger thirst and most of all health and y'know oxygen and stuff. Freedom: like survival but no hunger or thirst. creative: for players who like to explore and build freely no story or hunger & thirst requirements and no oxygen and your builds will have inf power and structure and the SEAMOTH. PRAWN SUIT. and CYCLOPS are invulnerable meaning inf power and health. and of course what kind of game (other than a survival game) would this be without a HardCore mode! this mode give only 1 life (meaning if you die your save gets wiped pretty much) and no oxygen alerts so make sure to grab some air and keep tabs on your oxygen! next topic: gear. simple gear in this game are: scanner, flippers, a flashlight and a radiation suit! advanced gear are: lasercutter, seaglide witch is a small handheld version of SEAMOTH. and gravity cannon or was it ...nevermind anyway theres a huge amount more of gear but we have to move on now. Vehicles: are SEAMOTH, PRAWN SUIT, AND CYCLOPS. the advanced vehicle is: NEPTUNE ESCAPE ROCKET. and now for CREATURES!
from most scary to least scary (one's that i've seen)
1:I CANT REMEMBER ITS NAME BUT ITS HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE.
2:Sea Dragon Leviathan, length: about the size of a entire school or even BIGGER.
3:Ghost Leviathan, length: just about the size of the dragon leviathan.
4:i don't know what to call it, length about ... one school bus...?
5: True Apex Predator, size of the reaper leviathan.
now for the lowest depth i've ever gone (in any gamemode) just over 3000 so uhhhh yeah pretty deep eh?
well thats all i can tell you

I did not played the game.
Instead Subnautica played my urge to explore
and made me a servant of my own curiosity
diving me deeper into a game than ever before.

I haven't played a good survival game in a long long time. It is such a beautiful game to play and best played without being spoiled

This is a fantastic immersive experience.

Amazing game must play tuns of hours of fun

Captures the magic of the best survival games with a twisted wit, inimitable art style, and a story that keeps pushing the player to a satisfying conclusion.

Really enjoyed the game. Definitely recommend. I dont have any real complaints. The only thing was that it kind of bothered me that the upgraded batteries are discovered near the end of the game. Another thing is that I felt that it could have been extended longer. But either way i had fun and will look forward to downloading and playing the second game.

Quite simply, this is my favorite game of all time, and, I truly believe, one of the best games ever made. It's absolutely gorgeous in every way - visually, aurally, narratively. It's got everything - exploration, survival crafting, base building, mysteries to solve, clues to unravel, stories to hear with such depth and heart. It's calm and chill, it's capitivating, it's horrific, it's terrifying. It's simple, and complex. It's easy, and it's challenging, and it's maddening. You will struggle, you will survive, you will thrive. It will make your heart beat with fear, with warmth, with pride. You will feel every emotion under the sun on planet 4546b. I love this game more than words could ever say.

And it has a sequel.

You will not regret this purchase. Nor joining the fandom for camraderie, commiseration, and assistance. The love of fellow fans and the devs is perhaps one of the most precious resources the game provides.

first of all I'm a thalassophile, in the early game my leg feel tingly the whole time and I don't even have the guts to go to 300m depth when playing this at night .. until now it still does feel a little bit tingly, but man how this game ignite your curiousity is unbelievable, I used to ran away everytime I met a leviathan but now I try to kill them everytime I saw them, and now I like to just hanging around at 500m depth with nothing you can see but darkness. so in conclusion pretty good,, worth every penny.

An absolute must play. I'll start by saying I only have one fear and it's dark water. This game is mostly dark water so I've spent most of this game quite literally with my ar*e tensed. I had to take breaks to let my cheeks recover. This has not happened in any other game I've played except the final boss on the old MegaDrive classic Echo the Dolphin.

So, right off the bat we're getting huuuuge value! A unique experience. Add to that the game is stunning, the biomes are absolutely fantastic and have so much character, the story even unfolds nicely. I've been a fan of exploration games since I was young, and as I've got older I've become desensitised to all the "same old", so when this game popped on my screen, my eyes opened wide and my jaw dropped... I was very happy.

I encountered so few bugs, the only real one was the "needs to wash pants frequently" feature ;) Building your own water bases is nice as well, plenty of resources to get from plenty of biomes to build your dream. The power system is not great but it's a minor part. The survival system is simple enough and meeting the needs is quite interesting too. Combat is not that interesting but I think it's bang on for this game. The creatures range from cute and tasty to horrors with abilities.

You should absolutely try this game if you like survival/exploration/base building/crapping your pants, it's worth full price without a doubt and I'd consider any sale an absolute bargain 10/10.

This game is really fun and it also has vr. :)

Subnautica is one of those games that you wish you could play again for the first time. The exploration is fantastic, the story is brisk and lean, and the game strikes an excellent balance between guiding you to the next task while still leaving plenty of room for autonomy. Dive in - you will be glad you did.

best game ever! such a cool story.

It's perfect
Packed to the brim with soft horror and immense fear. The water looks amazing, but the reaper, LOVE IT. Have one as my pet.
Recommended!

Easily one of the best games I have ever played. 10/10 game

fish tickled my balls very cool

good game play to and a lot of lore

Yes! If you like exploration and crafting, you'll love this game!

This game has gorgeous graphics, beautiful story and most importantly lots of things to do. I recommend this game if ur thinking about getting this game.

Me going to work as a Marine Biologist

very very good game because music is great and story is great

Absolutely good in every way

i love this game its so big and the story is great.

This is the first game I ever bought on Steam. Subnautica is one of the best survival games I have ever played, the wonder and terror I felt while playing this game was unparalleled.

Play this game blind. It's an amazing experience.

Great game. Best survival builder game that I've played so far. Good story line combined with the fear of the unknown when diving into the deepest part of the map.

I highly recommend this game. 10/10

scary enough youll forget its technically not a horror game

Made many worlds and lost them all. dont play this game it deletes your world after one time playing. saving does not work

buy this... now...... if you dont i will find you and force you to play the game and im threatening you with a good time because this game is a good time. if you dont like the survival aspect of games dont get this but if you have no idea of whats in the game then good because all the more better. the game is essentially a horror game in certain areas and the voice acting is great. the game can and will give you thallasaphobia with just the ambience alone with no knowledge of what could be in the waters. over all its a fun game so you should get it but beware of certain bugs that dont happen to commonly its mostly just fish being buggy but its fun

I get vietnam flashback when I see the oceans now

ABsolutely amazing, Im no where near finished with this game but it is one of the best things ever

hoyl shit i wanterf to die im scared of drowning

This game is fantastic for me:
* It has a nice sci-fi story
* It's very stylish, both underwater and interior
* It has an intense atmosphere, sometimes beautiful, sometimes terrifying
* It's challenging enough to do its mechanics work
* Sandbox & Crafting works well all together
* Ambient background music is decent
I made it through ~ half of the game, and I can't wait to play more

Easily one of the greatest games and experiences of all gaming kind and will forever be one of mine and many others favourite survival game or even favourite game of all time. I am excited for the updates to come but will warn people about the many bugs this game has. Even with that said it is an incredible game and should be tried by all even if you don't prefer survival games the elements of horror and immersion should and will grab any player by the bollocks and show them it is a game everyone will know and eventually love.

This is a fantastic survival game. The stress of deep water is intense. So much fun.

Epic game but I cant find the other part of the seaglide and I already have a seamoth and cyclops and blueprints for prawn and neptune rocket

I have severe thalassophobia and submechanophobia
I have had many panic attacks thanks to this game
It is now my favourite game, out of them all

It's a good survival game, has a bit of a fear factor the deeper you go. Love the story line, overall a good game ^^

Subnautica is an unbelievable world. Loved playing. You have to be in it for the long haul if you don't get help! I kinda never wanted to leave.

10/10 best game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought this was gonna be a nice, calm & educational, open world exploration like Abzu

My friend did not correct me

One of the best games Ive ever played. Soundtrack go hard too

Patiently waiting for 2.0 to be released so I can properly build Rapture.

it was fun the first time i played it bugged and i could not progress but this time it worked and it was really fun

prawn suit go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Best horror game I've ever played 10/10

This is an awesome game. Now is it time to add some new content to the game. Maybe add some new areas, new discoveries, etc.
I have played this game through many times. i am not discovering anything new.
Below Zero is an awesome game too. I have played below zero 7 times, and the last time I discovered a new location of some needed early ore.
Thanks for both games.

Had fun exploring and building.

Very nice, fun playing while stoned

This review is spoiler-free.

---{ Graphics }---
COMMENT: Subnautica's graphics hold up pretty well, even to today, though I have encountered framerate issues on the highest graphics after progressing through the game significantly, that forced me to lower the graphics settings.
☐ Better Than Reality
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Very Bad
☐ Horrible

---{ Modding }---
COMMENT: Subnautica has a good number of minor mods that tweak gameplay, or add small things, with a single 'major' mod that adds multiplayer support to Subnautica. I'd say Subnautica falls between 'Weak' and 'Decent' in modding.
☐ Incredible Modding Community; Has Total-Conversion Mods
☐ Strong Modding Community; Has Several Major Mods
☑ Decent Modding Community; Has Some Major Mods, Many Minor Mods
☑ Weak Modding Community; No Game-Extending Mods
☐ Practically/Literally Nonexistent Modding Community
☐ Developers Are Anti-Modding

---{ Gameplay }---
COMMENT: I find Subnautica's gameplay loop very fun. In Subnautica, very few resources regenerate, which forces you to keep going further out into the world and exploring new biomes to find the resources you need. Subnautica doesn't hold your hand much at all, though, and I've have to resort to checking the wiki several times to figure out where things important to progression are.
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Poor
☐ Bad

---{ Audio }---
COMMENT: Subnautica's SFX and music are both very good.
☐ Incredible
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Put My Ears In A Blender

---{ Audience }---
COMMENT: Subnautica is a game that can be enjoyed by almost everyone, though kids may have difficulty with the aimless nature of Subnautica's gameplay.
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☑ Elder

---{ PC Requirements }---
COMMENT: Subnautica can be played on most computers, though its best graphics settings may give even modern PCs issues if you find yourself getting big bases.
☐ If Your PC Runs, You Can Play It.
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Enthusiast
☐ Supercomputer

---{ Difficulty }---
COMMENT: Subnautica is one of the easier games I've played, though navigating through the map to places you want to be can be difficult earlier on, and there is one or two areas that I find unfair in terms of being able to be insta-killed, which I really don't like.
☐ Freebie
☑ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Needs Serious Critical Thinking
☐ Difficult
☐ I GIVE UP

---{ Grind }---
COMMENT: Subnautica's grind comes from resource-gathering, and potentially exploring. I don't like many kinds of grinding, but I find grinding for resources very fun. Since most resources don't regenerate, you need to keep exploring deeper into places to keep stocked-up on resources.
☐ No Grind Whatsoever
☐ Only For Leaderboard / Completionists
☐ Unnecessary For Progression
☑ Average
☐ High Amount
☐ Beyond Excessive

---{ Story }---
COMMENT: Subnautica's storytelling is done mostly through PDA entries, many of which have audio files to them, allowing you to read on the game's lore on your own time.
☐ No Story
☐ Basic Lore
☐ Decent
☐ Good
☑ Very Good
☐ Beyond Incredible

---{ Game Time }---
COMMENT: Given the fact the game can be aimless at times, playtime can really vary, especially if you're not very observant. Time can be cut down with access to the Subnautica wiki.
☐ Less Than 30 Minutes
☐ 30 Minutes - 2 Hours
☐ 2 Hours - 4 Hours
☑ 4 Hours - 10 Hours
☐ 10+ Hours
☐ 100+ Hours
☐ Practically Infinite

---{ Price }---
COMMENT: Well worth the price. If you have the money to spare, I suggest trying it out.
☐ It's Free!
☐ Very Worth Price
☑ Worth The Price
☐ Buy When On Sale
☐ Not Worth Any Price
☐ Do NOT Buy. You (and your wallet) WILL Regret It.

---{ Bug Severity }---
COMMENT: Most bugs I've encountered are seriously immersion-breaking and often disruptive. I'd once gotten one of my sea-only vehicles stuck on land, not trying to get it stuck there, got literally slapped through terrain in another vehicle and, if I didn't react quickly enough, likely fall through the world and lose that vehicle, and the game one thought I was on land while underwater, which could have gotten me softlocked due to being unable to navigate the ocean while walking if one of my vehicles wasn't nearby for me to get inside.
☐ Bugs Enhance Gameplay
☐ No Significant Effect
☐ Minor Bugs
☑ Potentially Disruptive Bugs
☐ Seriously Disruptive Bugs
☐ Literally Unplayable

---{ Bug Frequency }---
COMMENT: Subnautica has relatively few (noticable) bugs, but those bugs can be quite annoying.
☐ Practically None
☑ Few
☐ Decent
☐ Many
☐ Unacceptable Amount
☐ Literally Unplayable

---{ ? / 10 }---
COMMENT: Subnautica is a very good game, with only its few but severe bugs, and sense of aimlessness pulls down the game a small amount, but that can be easily bypassed with access to a wiki.
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

I had the rare opportunity to play this game blind and was able to experience the slow burn horror that is having the game slowly go from a cool crafting game to a horror game the further out i went.
10/10 great game

This should probably be obvious, but I'm reiterating since I went against my better judgement: if you don't high levels of survival crafting for the sake of survival crafting, you will not enjoy this game.

I bought this game, against my initial impressions, because I had asked on reddit for a game recommendation and received multiple recommendations for Subnautica. Upon playing it, I see that it doesn't fit the criteria I had laid out in my post at all, and it seems that people are just blindly recommending to everyone regardless of preference because they really enjoyed it themselves.

This is a slow paced game with very little in the way of structured guidance. Progression in the game appears to be driven entirely by your ability to hunt down broken pieces of tech to scan them, hunt down scarce materials, and then craft new items. You occasionally receive radio messages directing you to specific locations with tech you need to advance, but it appears they only show up after pre-established intervals of in game play time. The survival demands are fairly persistent, and can often interfere with exploring a new location because with the time spent trying to find said new location, you're water and food needs must be met so you are forced to return home to cook food.

There is no in-game map, at least not in the first 8 hours that I've played so far. Thus it can be difficult to go back and rediscover your new location, leading to again a limited window to actually exploit it. This also means that it's easy to constantly re-visit the same locations by accident again and again, making it difficult to find rarer materials like silver because the nodes don't appear to respawn.

I found the game tedious and frustrating. I also found other "pure" survival crafting games like Don't Starve to be tedious and frustrating as well, so I attribute this to a dislike of the survival crafting genre.

its fun and i cant explain it more

The greatest water based survival game you will ever play! * Will trigger your thalassophbia ;) *

Why no one tell me it's a horror game before I buy it

I really want to finish this game but its so hard & my seamoth got stuck and i lost my upgrades and i dont know how to get them again T-T

Detecting multiple leviathan class lifeforms in the region. Are you certain whatever you're doing is worth it?
Pissed myself every time i see this cursed message

its fun and if you are new please read and listen the pda you pick up.

w game now stop asking me to review it

I absolutely love this game. There is just something so completely satisfying about surviving on an alien ocean planet and discovering new life. Every time I come back to play through, it almost feels like the first time all over again! I do occasionally run into bugs, but most are very minor. Highly recommend this game.

The leviathan ate my seamoth :(

gud, I dont need to go into the long spiel

This Game Is so beutiful, like holy crap. but when the leviathans take a dookie on my seamoth and cyclops i shat my pants there is still some in them i wont go away though so. I recomend "Thallasophobia Simulator To All Who Love Tramma.

idk its alight, i haven't played enough to give a full review

Fun game for exploration. Sometimes you don't realize how fast time passes when playing this game.

Its fun once you get past your fear of dying. :)

The perfect mix of open world and plot driven, with base building thrown in. Beautiful world.

amazing but it only needs one thing...

a cyclops dock bc i just have my cyclops just sitting there infront of my base and it looks sloppy and random

P.S. can the devs add multiplayer

Epic. Cant give much info due to story spoilers. Just try it.

One of the best survival games on the market!

Open world exploration with hidden puzzles and crafting.

Simply put, this is my favorite game of all time (and it always will be)

This game is Amazing! the atmosphere is amazing, the music is amazing. I love the alien wildlife, the coral reefs and all the bioluminescence.

One of the best survival games. Great scenery and sense of wonder and exploration.

Great Game with Great immersion also without playing in VR

I would give it a good review because I have played it to completion on a different platform but for some reason my seamoth keeps exploding in my cyclops when I run into absolutely nothing so yeah

This game has a surprisingly good balance of what you need to build/craft and how far you need/want to explore. I personally struggle with some of the underwater elements because this game has a lovely immersive experience and I have a water phobia. The story is also delightfully subtle and allows you to make up your own story as you go with questions you want to answer. Hope they continue to make content.

Probably one of thee best underwater survival experiences out there. If you like exploring and discovering open worlds. While being under water. While managing resources etc. This game is totally for you. If you enjoy swimming and or snorkeling. You'll love this game.

Don't watch any videos about it, just play the dang game it's life changing. It's a game you can really only experience in full the first time.

The first 20 hours was amazing then the bugs oh god the bugs, My Cyclops is in the alien gun station after i loaded. a reaper clipped me and my prawn suit into a mountain to my death and hadnt saved in 30 mins. was really fun but the bugs man

Warning highly addictive game, if you like open world and explore mixed with building and some scare tossed in then just give your life up now and settle in. Now after you played this game normal go try Mods, i liked the Vortex tool from Nexus it seems to be a huge deal. This game has Hundreds of mods there that just added so much more to this world.

Much better than Below Zero. This game doesn't have the quality of life improvements of below zero, but it is still worth playing. The end game is a bit tiresome, but as a whole, this game is amazing. A silent protagonist fits Subnautica much better, also the soundtrack to this one is much better than Below Zero. Also I can actually understand the PDA in this game. This game is a case of a dev making a really good game one time, then failing to deliver more.

Finally a survival game that creates real danger without "bad guys"

Game is good if you're a casual player or you can speed run it. I had a save file worth 2 days of game play that got corrupted. I lost all bases, all beacons I laid out, and my cyclops. It turns out, this issue was never resolved despite multiple reports in the past. Play at your own risk.

A beautifully crafted survival game based on ocean exploration. The most amazing part is the uncertainty of what is 50 meters in front of you since you can't see clearly underwater. This creates a feeling of suspense that follows you everytime you explore a new area. One of the most fun and unique games I have ever played.

9/10

Mix of beautiful and absolutely horrifying if you have the fear of the ocean or submechanophobia. If you want to get seriously spooked, get your headphones and play this. You are either amazed by the beauty of it all or scared sh*itless because you heard some weird rumble. It all just feels so real. I mainly appreciate this masterpiece for the amazing atmosphere, alien life that could perfectly make sense, and the exploration aspect. Every time you discover a new biome, you are both scared and excited, and your talking suit sometimes teases you with some spooky information.

The sound design is just perfect. Underwater ambience, noises from afar, epic trance or ambient music that occasionally plays. The alien fish sounds are also very well crafted. As I mentioned, when you play this with your headphones, you are literally there.
Story is mysterious and fitting for the setting. You think it's gonna end soon – it actually just gets more interesting. You are trying to figure out mysteries of an unknown ocean, all alone.

Never was a fan of survival games, but this one is hard not to love. It is seriously an experience, not just a survival game.

Amazing totally worth it.
Do I need to say more?

Its a fun game. The play is actually mouse driven. All you need to do is click on a hatch or ladder & the player automatically enters or climbs it. Hunting fish in the open ocean is steered with the mouse & propelled by the keyboard. In survival mode you have to remember to keep yourself fed & hydrated. You have to monitor your oxygen or you can die very easily, especially in caves, particularly the deep caves 100 metres plus. Good & challenging. Enjoying it so far. :-)

This Game Is Amazing If You Want To Chill This Game is Perfect And I Prefer Wait For Sales Because In Sales You Can Get This Game IN about 4.55 Dollers Maybe

What a great survival/explorer/horror game. The world is gorgeous and terrifying. The crafting system is a little cumbersome, but other than that this is a real gem.

Finally I left (Game is done). I...I had a hard time leaving. To tell is to Spoil,.... So I say; go buy a copy. Subnautica is great.

Its pretty good game i have a lot of games and this is one of my favorite, because its open world and has medium graphics so, my computer wont blow up when i lunch it and is fun because it has a big map and submarines.

You should try it. 😁

Amazing OST. Amazing Developers and an amazing game. Definitely up there as one of my favourite games of all time. The visuals and graphics are beautiful, the gameplay is amazing, the ocean is scary and the inhabitants of it are even scarier. Amazing horror aspects packed with open world survival and exploration. The story is great.
The base building in this game is fun, the submersibles are really cool.
This game is a must try. 10/10

My advice: Enter the game completely blind, do not follow any guides or look for help and dive in completely blind.

Awesome, grindy, and terrifying.

There's nothing I can say about this game that hasn't been said before, but it's amazing. I bought it on sale. I would have happily bought it at full price if I'd known it was this good. If you've lost faith in the "Open World Survival Craft" genre, then this game will restore it. Exploring the world, discovering bits of the story, overcoming challenges, building, and unlocking new upgrades actually feels rewarding. The atmosphere somehow manages to be relaxing and creepy at the same time. I haven't put it down since I bought it and I don't see myself uninstalling it any time soon.

Oh, and you can craft an entire functional submarine, use it as a mobile base, and customize it to your heart's content, complete with kitty posters and plushies. Enough said.

I have thalassophobia, this was surely an experience.

God just decide on whether or not this game is a horror game already

Subnautica knows how to make you uncomfortable and it does so perfectly.

On my first night I played 3 hours before I had to go to bed. The second day was a free day for me and I ended up playing for 12 hours in one sitting. The last time I had played a single game for 12 hours straight was maybe two years ago!

I'm actually don't enjoy Survival games that much. Base building isn't really a selling point for me, however Subnautica feels more like a horror exploration game rather than a simple Survival game. Yes, you're gathering materials and crafting stuff, but it is all mostly being put to use to make better tools and equipment to let you dive deeper into the ocean's void and reach that distress signal at the ocean floor.
Yes you can make a fully fledged base that houses everything you could ever need, but you could also just make 2 rooms to house all the tools and storage you need. It will still be sufficient. So you're to decide whether you want to make a single two-room base, or make as many bases at you want in any biomes.

During exploration you'll first be scared while taking 90m dives in the hole in the ocean floor you found. You don't know what's down there in there, or if you'll even make it out of the cave itself.
As time goes on you'll find yourself making it to 150, 200, 300 and further depths, but the catch is that the fear part doesn't go away!

That's the thing about this game, you need to go deeper. The secrets of the world aren't just scattered across the surface for you to find. You need to head for the depths and that's where it gets scary. The deeper you go, the further you are from the surface. The world won't be the sunny shallows where all the cute fish are anymore, no. You are now instead in the depths. You're either in an underwater labyrinth of tunnels, far away from a straight swim to the surface, or you're in the middle of dark open waters where anything can come for you from any direction.

In this game, no matter how much you progress, you will still always feel scared. It's terrifying, but also addictive! You're scared $hitless at the depth you are, but you can't wait to improve your equipment so that you can go even further than what you just dared. To meet whatever else lies in the void.

The Graphics are beautiful. You'd think the cartoonish looks would take away from the experience, but they don't. It's still beautiful when it needs to be and terrifying when it needs to. It also has amazing and almost photo-realistic lighting in water which really captures that feeling of being in the ocean. So yeah, you know those underwater videos of people swimming in open waters where every direction they look, the water slowly fades to an opaque darkness where you have no idea what awaits in the shadows? You're gonna be seeing that here and you WILL be diving in it. If you didn't already have thalassophobia, you will after this game.

The setting of the game makes for a unique gameplay, but it doesn't end there. The designers didn't just think that the unique setting would make up for a good game, no. They knew they had to put in work and they did. They also knew how to design their greatest weapon: The atmosphere.

To be honest I can't stop talking about the amazing atmosphere this game creates. I can't compare it to anything else. Maybe Iron Lung but that only covers a fraction of what this game has to offer. All I can say is that it's immersive and terrifying. For people like myself who don't enjoy having a character who talks BS every minute, I'm glad to inform you that your character doesn't talk, which greatly helps immerse you in the game, although you will still hear his screams of agony when being eaten alive at 500m depth.

The Story is told through Logs found in wreckages and events happening in front of you. Some are Text Logs, others are Voice Logs. Voice acting is good, doesn't get cringy and doesn't try to be over dramatic when there is no reason to.

Your only "companion" is your PDA's onboard AI which does drop in to give you information from time to time, but not at all close to being an annoying voice in your head. Never. In fact, since it is just an AI, it talks like a machine rather than a human and at times the information it gives you is information you'd rather not know.
How? Let's give an example for real life: You're in a pitch black jungle and can't see anything. Well, you can probably go to sleep or wait out the night until morning, right? But what if I happen to hint at you that you are not alone? And in fact, you are being watched right now? How would that make you feel?

Truly the game's atmosphere is it's best feature and you will only beg for more while sitting in your soiled pants.

Alright, time to stop kissing @ss

What are the negatives? No game is perfect right?

Well if you didn't have thalassophobia, you do now. :))
Okay jokes aside, here are the issues you might face:

You don't just have all the blueprints to craft the tools you need. You need to search wreckages for fragments of said tool and scan enough of them to learn how to make it. It's a good feature, but it also means that some people might find a blueprint very soon while others search hours for it. Of course this can be fixed by making a Scanner Room which helps you find what you're looking for in that area, but I personally didn't bother to make it before I was 80% done with the game. I also didn't unlock two blueprints even after finishing the game. You can always check the Wiki to get what you want but this is what playing Vanilla will be like.

Time Capsules
Time Capsules are also a feature to look out for. When players finish the game, they can leave a Time Capsule behind with some items inside for other players (there are limitations on the item type though). The capsules will spawn in other player's world and can be opened. These CAN change your experience. For example, two of the crucial tools I needed, I happened to find just at the right time in a capsule. Truly a lucky find, especially since other players instead had to complete the blueprints to make it. So this made my experience way more fun compared to others who had to search for and craft those items. I also happened to find more capsules later on that contained what I already had, so you could say I found them late and didn't really get to be useful.

Story Locations:
Some story locations are not marked. They're either hinted at or all location data for them has been lost, so you need to do some exploring and find them yourself. As you know, exploring to find something can be a hit or miss at times. One player might find an area by accident on their first hour while others might spend hours trying to find it. Again, this could pose an issue for some people. At least there's always the Wiki!

Conclusion

Yes, I absolutely recommend this game. I'm not one who is easily impressed (you can check my other reviews and see for yourself) but this game is one of the few that I not only recommend but will regard as one of the best and unique experiences I had!

This game brings fresh new things for you to experience that you just can't find anywhere else. The amount of positive reviews given for this game are well-earned.

If you want to know how many hours of gameplay you're gonna get out of this, I can tell you how long it took me to finish it:
By building a major base and two small outposts, exploring most of the map (not every bit and cranny, remember how I didn't find some blueprints?) and using little help from Wiki here and there, and doing anything I found fun, it took me around 50 hours to finish the game. Of course you could use the Wiki or just be REALLY LUCKY and finish the game quicker, or even f*ck around more than I did and finish it even later! Whatever the case, for me, it was well worth the money.

this game is holding my family hostage

it is good game has good soundtrack

I hate to give this game a no, because its a great game.

Pros: great music, great exploration and crafting.

Cons: after you get towards teh end game expect yourself to be googling stuff regardless of if you want to or not. progression gets limited by obscure items scattered around the map, very small amounts of the materials you need in very rare areas. this would be fine if you wanted to spend a TON of time 400hrs + exploring and being blind, but the graphics engine is kinda bad and dosent justify that, maybe remake it in unreal 5 with ray tracing and as a dev you can justify the amount of exploration without allowing the player progression. right now there are many other games to be played and its dissapointing to spend this much time on a game aimlessly

Play this game ane experience true terror, also hatch a cuddlefish and name it glucose syrup, it is the best name

\this is one of the best games i have ever played.

Good stuff, no fluff. Get to exploring!

Even in 2022 A very good game. The graphics are Very good even for today. I find it very difficult to progress tho, Sometimes you progress rapidly but at others it takes forever to find something. For example [spoilers Incoming] When you need to find the sea emperor in the lava zone I have been there for a bit of time but cant seem to find the sea emperor cage thing. But even when your not progressing the game its very fun to just get materials and at other times it can give me a heart attack.

I recommend it to anyone that loves the ocean but isnt scared of it. 8/10 game

I stayed away from this game for years because the store page looked dumb to me and not even CLOSE to a game I would play. I couldnt have been more wrong, this game is amazing. DONT YOUTUBE IT, DONT LOOK FOR SPOILERS TRUST ME JUST PLAY IT AND LOVE IT.

Super fun and super scary, learning how to survive and exploring the planet feels really awesome and rewarding. this is my favorite game atn. Highly recommend if you love open world/ exploration/ mystery/ horror games.

This game is what No Man's Sky felt like to me at the beginning, but didn't lose my interest whatsoever. I love exploration and survival games, and this game does it almost perfectly.

Mix in the horrifying aspect of going deep into an ocean inhabited by alien lifeforms, you have no idea what is lurking in the waters below you at almost all times.

I had a blast playing this game, the storyline is pretty interesting, and although there are a few unexplained plot holes, if you don't look into it that deeply, the story is awesome when you come full circle and figure out exactly what you are doing on this planet.

As of this review, I have just "beaten" the game, however, I intend to play much more, as I know I haven't explored everything that the planet has to offer.

Highly recommend.

The whole atmosphere of this game is so unreal. I would recommend this game to anyone who are looking to enjoy a brilliantly complex and immersive world.

Im under the water please help me im drowning lululu

Great Game for the Explorer-Types out there. Also very good to face your deepest talassophobic Demons and get (at least for a little bit) rid of them.

If you are looking for a very balanced survival game, with a lively environment, beautiful landscapes (or seascapes), rewarding progression, and plenty of exploration, then this is your game.
I've played quite a few open world survival crafters but his one easily felt the best. Everything I unlocked and built, had a very good purpose. Every item you can grab benefits you in one way or another. The Environment and Gameplay is immersive and feels authentic. The effects in the water make me believe I am in water. This was easily my favorite Survival game. Most other survival games are dull, unpleasant to look at, and pointless (if you are alive, you are winning... yay?) but this one completely throws that stereotype out the window. There is an objective, but none of the obnoxious quest markers, reminders, or self speech that beat you over the head with repetitive obtuse lines or sprites. It lets itself be focused yet unguided as much as you want. It was a VERY refreshing splash of cold water (of course, pun intended) as a reminder that Survival games dont have to be an endless grind of resource gathering and uneventful living. I would absolutely recommend this game to anyone who has ever enjoyed a lesser survival game and wanted more from it.
All of these positives being said, there were a couple of bugs still. I got stuck in a wall near the endgame which caused me to panic pretty substantially that I would have to restart my game but I slow walked out of it. My PRAWN clipped into the floor? of the special structures, making my PRAWN unable to walk. I got around it by using the grapple to pull myself around (ice skating style but without the use of my ice skates) to a new floor until I could walk again. Without my grapple though I would have been screwed. That was dumb, but not enough to deter me from pressing on. Those were some substantial bugs though so it will take it down to a 9/10

If you've ever wanted to acquire a crippling fear of even the slightest body of water, congratulations! Subnautica is the game for you!

One of the few games I wish I could erase my memory of and play again for the first time. The music, the sounds, the ambiance.. an amazing game I'd recommend to anyone

Best game i have ever played amazing experience and makes pure horror and dread fun i would totally suggest you try it out

Incredible game, from sounds to graphics, even the grass looks good. Some of the most detailed descriptions about each individual theory/entity are available easily to read upon either for the story or just to learn about said entity. Most fun I've had playing a game in literal years, easy top 5 games imo.

great story but the pop ins are abit more than i can handle but if you can overlook that this is a great singleplayer servival game

The game is as great as people say, graphics are on point, the storyline is well made and long, there is a lot to do, but the only thing is that i would like to know what im going into before i go into it (aka leviathan zones)

Know that feeling when you swim in the beach and you swam far away from the shore, then when you're swimming back you get this anxiety that something will grab you or bite you? Well this is the game based from that feeling. Great and beautiful game, as long as you stay above 100 meters.

I have played Subnautica once or twice on ps4 and enjoyed it but it definitely was not optimized properly for console, Tons of bugs and stuff on console, But I still loved playing it, Now I get to play it properly optimized and see it in the full ability and not have to worry about chunks of the floor disappearing and game crashing as much. Now off once more unto Alien Ocean Planet 4546B to uncover what secrets lie Deep within it's Ominous caverns.

So far, the game is great. It allows the player to do whatever they want in any amount of time with easy-to-follow prompts towards the actual story line. I have yet to finish it, but I've loved it thus far and the story telling has been extremely compelling. I dove into this mostly blind and only had to search for help once. (Not too surprising; I'm not especially good at games and didn't realise you had to scan electrical equipment.) The environment is also gorgeous and progression feels natural as opposed to needing to grind like in most games. Adore it.

interesting game, i will not spoil the lore, also after completing you can download mods for subnautica and subnautica: BZ on Nexus Mods, official website for many games such as subnautica