Subnautica puts a few too many ingredients into the mechanics blender imo, or maybe I’m just not a big fan of survival games. Thankfully you can turn the surivival mechanics off and the game is much more fun and no less complete without them.

Despite the gameplay feeling like a derivative buffet calculated to please everyone (the generic maleness of the protagonist, which serves no narrative purpose, likewise feels like pandering to an imagined audience), Subnautica ends up being really good, thanks to its world just being so damn cool. The alien ocean of Subnautica feels more real to me, more alive and vibrant, than almost any other gaming environment, and the atmosphere strikes a perfect seesaw balance between horror and wonder. This is not only one of the best exploration games out there but maybe the game that comes closest to capturing the spirit of classic science fiction, with its mixture of reverence and terror regarding nature and the unknown. Even the story is good, which I wasn’t expecting at all!