Probably the best non-horror horror games I've played. The way it captures the visceral terror of swimming out into the sea and not seeing the bottom of the ocean, not seeing anything at all, but hearing strange and alien sounds in the distance, coming from things you can't see but know could kill you? Pure adrenaline joy.

That terror loses most of its impact upon a replay, however I find that the atmosphere and world and just the feel of the gameplay instead just replace the terror with fun? Like, it's a beautiful world, you're swimming around it, there's a satisfying loop of exploration and crafting and survival, and you can even get creative with the base building stuff.

Even if you're not into those bits, playing it even once is definitely worth it just to be scared shitless a couple of times.

This is one of those games that could and probably will end up becoming a nostalgic favorite for a lot of people. I think it will easily become that for me.

Definitely give it a go. And if you're playing it for the first time, I'd recommend reading as many of the "codex" entries as you can, because most of the story plays out in text and audio logs. It's a very subtle presence and the game's events can feel a bit nonsensical if you don't bother to read the updates in the PDA and some other scan data. And yes, this is a survivial crafting game with an actual story and an actual ending. I think that really makes the experience feel focused and complete where a lot of other craft-em-ups can end up becoming stale if you just keep playing them. Subnautica doesn't outstay its welcome, and if you go back, you do it because you want to, not because you feel like you have to.