This review contains spoilers
I cannot believe this game came out in 2014... That seems foreign.
As someone who actually has Thalassophobia, I can only describe it as being terrified and vulnerable from all angles. On land, you really only ever perceive threats that are directly in front of you. Sure maybe a bird will come by and poop on your head, but that chance is slim to none.
In water, you're surrounded by all angles. Even worse, you can't even see that far below you. I get the creeps just thinking about looking directly down or straight ahead in water and not being able to see what's coming. I have a hard time watching anything underwater, and will often cover my eyes when any scenes are happening in media, be it scary or not.
Once I got to the later game locations, I wasn't scared as much. I could see the floor and ceiling. The only things that could come at me were from directly ahead. It was above... outside of the safety of caves... that I was truly vulnerable from all angles. The ONLY other place I felt more vulnerable and terrified was in the ravine to get to the lost river ( where absolute darkness lies, I basically covered my eyes and had my friend guide me. Such terror I have never experienced ).
I can't say what drew me to this game. I think It started with curiosity, then grew to me actually playing, but handing the controller over to a buddy whenever I got too scared. That didn't work out too well when my buddy got too scared to play after unknowingly going to the back of the Aurora, climbing onto it, and seeing the tail end of... something (you can guess what it was).
Miraculously, I never encountered that thing when I swam back as fast as I could to my pod,, and was hooked from that moment on.
Of all things, during a holiday vacation I stayed in and played a TON of this game. One of the friends I was on vacation with had played the game, and knew of my fears. What then took place was a 4-some day grind of Subnautica, with him guiding me and avoiding the terrifying places at all costs. Call it cheap, but I doubt I would have finished the game if not. The fear would likely overbear me.
By being a coward, I only ( by accident ) stumbled upon a couple reaper leviathans and let me tell you. I shit my pants every time. I never lost a seamoth to them, but just seeing them made me pause the game and walk away. I’m telling you, I don’t know why I continued!
I ended up only exploring probably 25% of the map, and I didn’t dare go for the platinum. I stayed as close to the main mission as possible and avoided exploring to save my final pairs of trousers from being spoiled.
Thats right. I never set foot in the dunes, Grand Reef, Mountains, Koosh Zone, Northern Blood Kelp Zone, or Void. Unless it was absolutely necessary for the main story. I told you, I couldn’t do it!
And yet, even though I barely explored anything, I still frequently think about playing this game again; maybe multiplayer with friends, maybe a true solo playthrough. It is a masterclass and a unique gem of the 2010’s era of gaming.
Story: 6 / 10
I did not play this game for the story, and that’s OK. It excels in so many other places. That being said, It is great for a survival game. They could have easily passed it off as “oh no the ship crashed! You have to get off the island!” and leave it at that, but they didn’t. The slow reveal of why the Aurora crashed, and the story ending on the emotional high note of releasing the Sea Emperor’s children into the ocean to heal the Kharaa, was fantastically done. Aside from that, the various stories of the other escape pods left you with a feeling of absolute desperation and loneliness and does a fantastic job at enforcing the hopeless setting; You are completely alone. No-one is coming.
Stumbling onto the island and seeing the orbital gun for the first time I’ll never forget. “What. The. Hell.” I said to myself. Even more so, seeing the poor Sunbeam get demolished by it was mind-blowing. The mystery of the precursors kept me going throughout the game.
Finally, the background story of the Degassi was a nice touch, and I remember the shock I felt when I found the first base in the Jellyshroom Caves. Learning about the origins, then supposed demise, of these three characters, enforced that feeling of hopelessness mentioned above.
Characters: 2 / 10
I’m not hating on the characters with this score, but they simply don’t compare to my other game review’s characters. We only get to “know” about three characters, each with the Degassi base. They’re nothing crazy and we only ever hear them in voice memos, which were voiced well.
The protagonist is silent, and runs off with no motive other than to get off the island. I like this decision by the devs, pushing that same loneliness onto the player.
Otherwise, I suppose you could consider the island as a character, which will be explored in the “world segment”.
You could also argue about the precursors, but they are more so an ancient society that is only seen, never heard.
Finally (and I agree with this one), you can say that Alterra is a character. And they are in my mind. They play the satire “Evil Corporation” in the background, providing a great comic relief every now and then. And who can forget, upon beating the game, the corporation informs you that you are trillions of credits in debt for all the resources you used on 4546B. A great, light hearted comment to end the game!
Combat: 1 / 10
Don’t get this score misconstrued. It is simply in relation to other games I’ve played. You are not supposed to kill, or fight, in this game. It is very strongly discouraged, and is one of the main themes. If you kill, you are messing with the ecosystem. I don’t even think leviathans disappear if you kill them; matter of fact, there is only a set amount of them in the game (to my knowledge); they won’t respawn. So hypothetically yes, you could kill every one of them, but that is an incredibly daunting task and not worth it. I love this choice! It again reinforces that feeling that you are screwed and can’t take anything on. The only “weapon” you get is a lovely little knife used for taking on small fishies and gathering materials. Again, great decision by the devs. I’m a fan.
Gameplay / Content: 9 / 10
The gameplay loop in Subnautica is fantastic. It goes like this:
Find something you want to craft -> go gather materials -> Craft and find new thing to build -> Venture further away from safety and deeper to get the materials you need to craft the new thing.
By slowly encouraging the user to go outside their comfort zone, the game is able to teach the basics at a great pace.
There is a very large amount of content in this game to my knowledge, but I don’t think I can speak on the side content too much as I only really did the main quest. I know there is plenty to explore for those who wish, and they are rewarded plentifully for their efforts!
I was absolutely satisfied with the length of the game. If any complaints, I think the final and middle acts (Lava and Lost River) went a bit too quickly and the Lava Zone was barren. Who knows, maybe that was on purpose.
Again, I loved the gameplay loop and the crafting system. The survival mechanics were cumbersome at first, but once you get to one of the islands and grab a plant, you pretty much have infinite food for the rest of the game. I’m a big fan of the base building mechanic, and made a couple bases in my time ( nothing crazy ).
Great work Subnautica!
World: 10 / 10
The world is completely immersive. You truly feel tiny in consideration to the rest of the creatures on the crater, which is an ecological zone on an otherwise dead planet. The biomes are incredibly diverse. The Aurora debris scattered around the map is always exciting to uncover, as new loot and schematics are always confirmed when you reach one.
The Degasi bases are mysterious and exciting to stumble upon. The Floating Islands are a welcome change and a blast to explore, giving yourself a mental break. Especially Gun island, as the cave system there is very intricate.
The crash zone is such a dangerous place, and it’s no accident that it’s the first place most players will go. The devs are EVIL for that one!
The pure terror of the environment and not being able to see in front of you or below you ( as mentioned earlier ) works as an absolute advantage. Spooky stuff.
The most terrifying area in the game in my opinion is the Blood Kelp Trench, surrounded in absolute darkness. I think my thoughts on this are summed up perfectly in Adam Millers video: “How Subnautica uses TERROR”.
The separation between early, mid, and late game are differentiated excellently by having the three zones: main map, Lost River, and Lava Zone. Better yet, it is nigh impossible to access these locations without the required upgrades, which come with time tied into the gameplay loop.
Of course, the base building mechanics help to make mini-homes all around the map.
Finally, the precursor bases ( early and end-game ) are such an alien contrast to the rest of the game, which I love.
With all this in consideration, this is one of the best worlds in a game I have had the pleasure of experiencing. To me, the physical immersion is far more important than the visuals, and Subnautica excels at it.
Traversal: 9 / 10
This is how you do traversal in a survival game! Slowly but steadily, increase your arsenal of vehicles. Have a limited capacity so you can never go too far from home base.
When playing subnautica, you will almost always progress in the format Seaglide -> Seamoth -> Prawn -> Cyclops -> Rocket. It was a great decision to limit the swimming only part of the game to the first hour or so, as it can get stale fast.
I am so glad that the cyclops is in the game, as it makes it so much more convenient (for those who choose) to use as a mobile base to maximize exploration. Being able to build inside of it is massive. I remember when I played on my Xbox, my frames would drop when entering because I had about 25 lockers in the basement level. The above levels were strictly fashionable!
Being able to bring a vehicle is also a giant advantage. I think, without the cyclops, this game wouldn’t be nearly as good. It would cause a lot more backtracking.
I briefly talked about it before as well, but the decision to limit depth levels until upgrading is fantastic and truly leaves a real sense of progression in the player’s mind.
All in all excellent traversal. Vehicles could not have been better implemented!
Problems:
Game should come with extra diapers so I’m not shitting myself every time I play.
Favorite Part:
Getting hooked after seeing that tail-end of a reaper leviathan on the back of the Aurora. This is the scariest video game I have ever played, and I’ve played a couple scaries!
As someone who actually has Thalassophobia, I can only describe it as being terrified and vulnerable from all angles. On land, you really only ever perceive threats that are directly in front of you. Sure maybe a bird will come by and poop on your head, but that chance is slim to none.
In water, you're surrounded by all angles. Even worse, you can't even see that far below you. I get the creeps just thinking about looking directly down or straight ahead in water and not being able to see what's coming. I have a hard time watching anything underwater, and will often cover my eyes when any scenes are happening in media, be it scary or not.
Once I got to the later game locations, I wasn't scared as much. I could see the floor and ceiling. The only things that could come at me were from directly ahead. It was above... outside of the safety of caves... that I was truly vulnerable from all angles. The ONLY other place I felt more vulnerable and terrified was in the ravine to get to the lost river ( where absolute darkness lies, I basically covered my eyes and had my friend guide me. Such terror I have never experienced ).
I can't say what drew me to this game. I think It started with curiosity, then grew to me actually playing, but handing the controller over to a buddy whenever I got too scared. That didn't work out too well when my buddy got too scared to play after unknowingly going to the back of the Aurora, climbing onto it, and seeing the tail end of... something (you can guess what it was).
Miraculously, I never encountered that thing when I swam back as fast as I could to my pod,, and was hooked from that moment on.
Of all things, during a holiday vacation I stayed in and played a TON of this game. One of the friends I was on vacation with had played the game, and knew of my fears. What then took place was a 4-some day grind of Subnautica, with him guiding me and avoiding the terrifying places at all costs. Call it cheap, but I doubt I would have finished the game if not. The fear would likely overbear me.
By being a coward, I only ( by accident ) stumbled upon a couple reaper leviathans and let me tell you. I shit my pants every time. I never lost a seamoth to them, but just seeing them made me pause the game and walk away. I’m telling you, I don’t know why I continued!
I ended up only exploring probably 25% of the map, and I didn’t dare go for the platinum. I stayed as close to the main mission as possible and avoided exploring to save my final pairs of trousers from being spoiled.
Thats right. I never set foot in the dunes, Grand Reef, Mountains, Koosh Zone, Northern Blood Kelp Zone, or Void. Unless it was absolutely necessary for the main story. I told you, I couldn’t do it!
And yet, even though I barely explored anything, I still frequently think about playing this game again; maybe multiplayer with friends, maybe a true solo playthrough. It is a masterclass and a unique gem of the 2010’s era of gaming.
Story: 6 / 10
I did not play this game for the story, and that’s OK. It excels in so many other places. That being said, It is great for a survival game. They could have easily passed it off as “oh no the ship crashed! You have to get off the island!” and leave it at that, but they didn’t. The slow reveal of why the Aurora crashed, and the story ending on the emotional high note of releasing the Sea Emperor’s children into the ocean to heal the Kharaa, was fantastically done. Aside from that, the various stories of the other escape pods left you with a feeling of absolute desperation and loneliness and does a fantastic job at enforcing the hopeless setting; You are completely alone. No-one is coming.
Stumbling onto the island and seeing the orbital gun for the first time I’ll never forget. “What. The. Hell.” I said to myself. Even more so, seeing the poor Sunbeam get demolished by it was mind-blowing. The mystery of the precursors kept me going throughout the game.
Finally, the background story of the Degassi was a nice touch, and I remember the shock I felt when I found the first base in the Jellyshroom Caves. Learning about the origins, then supposed demise, of these three characters, enforced that feeling of hopelessness mentioned above.
Characters: 2 / 10
I’m not hating on the characters with this score, but they simply don’t compare to my other game review’s characters. We only get to “know” about three characters, each with the Degassi base. They’re nothing crazy and we only ever hear them in voice memos, which were voiced well.
The protagonist is silent, and runs off with no motive other than to get off the island. I like this decision by the devs, pushing that same loneliness onto the player.
Otherwise, I suppose you could consider the island as a character, which will be explored in the “world segment”.
You could also argue about the precursors, but they are more so an ancient society that is only seen, never heard.
Finally (and I agree with this one), you can say that Alterra is a character. And they are in my mind. They play the satire “Evil Corporation” in the background, providing a great comic relief every now and then. And who can forget, upon beating the game, the corporation informs you that you are trillions of credits in debt for all the resources you used on 4546B. A great, light hearted comment to end the game!
Combat: 1 / 10
Don’t get this score misconstrued. It is simply in relation to other games I’ve played. You are not supposed to kill, or fight, in this game. It is very strongly discouraged, and is one of the main themes. If you kill, you are messing with the ecosystem. I don’t even think leviathans disappear if you kill them; matter of fact, there is only a set amount of them in the game (to my knowledge); they won’t respawn. So hypothetically yes, you could kill every one of them, but that is an incredibly daunting task and not worth it. I love this choice! It again reinforces that feeling that you are screwed and can’t take anything on. The only “weapon” you get is a lovely little knife used for taking on small fishies and gathering materials. Again, great decision by the devs. I’m a fan.
Gameplay / Content: 9 / 10
The gameplay loop in Subnautica is fantastic. It goes like this:
Find something you want to craft -> go gather materials -> Craft and find new thing to build -> Venture further away from safety and deeper to get the materials you need to craft the new thing.
By slowly encouraging the user to go outside their comfort zone, the game is able to teach the basics at a great pace.
There is a very large amount of content in this game to my knowledge, but I don’t think I can speak on the side content too much as I only really did the main quest. I know there is plenty to explore for those who wish, and they are rewarded plentifully for their efforts!
I was absolutely satisfied with the length of the game. If any complaints, I think the final and middle acts (Lava and Lost River) went a bit too quickly and the Lava Zone was barren. Who knows, maybe that was on purpose.
Again, I loved the gameplay loop and the crafting system. The survival mechanics were cumbersome at first, but once you get to one of the islands and grab a plant, you pretty much have infinite food for the rest of the game. I’m a big fan of the base building mechanic, and made a couple bases in my time ( nothing crazy ).
Great work Subnautica!
World: 10 / 10
The world is completely immersive. You truly feel tiny in consideration to the rest of the creatures on the crater, which is an ecological zone on an otherwise dead planet. The biomes are incredibly diverse. The Aurora debris scattered around the map is always exciting to uncover, as new loot and schematics are always confirmed when you reach one.
The Degasi bases are mysterious and exciting to stumble upon. The Floating Islands are a welcome change and a blast to explore, giving yourself a mental break. Especially Gun island, as the cave system there is very intricate.
The crash zone is such a dangerous place, and it’s no accident that it’s the first place most players will go. The devs are EVIL for that one!
The pure terror of the environment and not being able to see in front of you or below you ( as mentioned earlier ) works as an absolute advantage. Spooky stuff.
The most terrifying area in the game in my opinion is the Blood Kelp Trench, surrounded in absolute darkness. I think my thoughts on this are summed up perfectly in Adam Millers video: “How Subnautica uses TERROR”.
The separation between early, mid, and late game are differentiated excellently by having the three zones: main map, Lost River, and Lava Zone. Better yet, it is nigh impossible to access these locations without the required upgrades, which come with time tied into the gameplay loop.
Of course, the base building mechanics help to make mini-homes all around the map.
Finally, the precursor bases ( early and end-game ) are such an alien contrast to the rest of the game, which I love.
With all this in consideration, this is one of the best worlds in a game I have had the pleasure of experiencing. To me, the physical immersion is far more important than the visuals, and Subnautica excels at it.
Traversal: 9 / 10
This is how you do traversal in a survival game! Slowly but steadily, increase your arsenal of vehicles. Have a limited capacity so you can never go too far from home base.
When playing subnautica, you will almost always progress in the format Seaglide -> Seamoth -> Prawn -> Cyclops -> Rocket. It was a great decision to limit the swimming only part of the game to the first hour or so, as it can get stale fast.
I am so glad that the cyclops is in the game, as it makes it so much more convenient (for those who choose) to use as a mobile base to maximize exploration. Being able to build inside of it is massive. I remember when I played on my Xbox, my frames would drop when entering because I had about 25 lockers in the basement level. The above levels were strictly fashionable!
Being able to bring a vehicle is also a giant advantage. I think, without the cyclops, this game wouldn’t be nearly as good. It would cause a lot more backtracking.
I briefly talked about it before as well, but the decision to limit depth levels until upgrading is fantastic and truly leaves a real sense of progression in the player’s mind.
All in all excellent traversal. Vehicles could not have been better implemented!
Problems:
Game should come with extra diapers so I’m not shitting myself every time I play.
Favorite Part:
Getting hooked after seeing that tail-end of a reaper leviathan on the back of the Aurora. This is the scariest video game I have ever played, and I’ve played a couple scaries!