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Subnautica Game Review

Subnautica is a 2018 open world survival adventure video game developed and published by Unknown Worlds Entertainment for PC and other platforms. It is a terrific exploration game.

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“And what’s the point of surviving here

if we have to kill everything that makes it so wonderful?“

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You play in first person as Ryley Robinson, the sole survivor of the Aurora. He is stranded on an ocean planet named 4545B. The main goal is to survive while exploring the ocean for creatures and other objects, constructing tools and bases and advancing the main narrative that goes along with the player’s free to roam open world adventures.

There are different modes that you can play in. Freedom and Creative mode are the best ones as they offer you an easier, more relaxed experience while Hardcore and Survival modes are very difficult and even exhausting. I made a mistake to play in Survival mode, which made the experience very frustrating.

It is very realistic to need oxygen, food, water and health, but when those objectives override your main goal to explore and progress the storyline, the game became needlessly detailed and difficult. There is a lot of thrill to be found at first while being on the edge of death and at the last minute coming to the surface for air or eating or drinking something to replenish health and stamina, but after a while these actions become exhausting more than anything else.

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Surprisingly for a survival exploration game, one of the biggest strengths of Subnautica is actually the plot. It ranks among the finest science fiction narratives not just in gaming, but in all of media in the last decade or so. Yes, it is that great. The characterization of the protagonist left a lot to be desired, but it was a very creepy experience following him as he continued his quest to find others, and yet they all continued to perish until he was the only survivor on the entire planet.

The creators cleverly incorporated the plot into the open world gameplay without ever intruding on it. The results are immensely clever. For example, you get a signal mid-game that you need to come to one island to await the arrival of rescue ships. But nothing goes according to plan and you are left watching in horror at what is going on without any option to change that. This particular sequence was the most brilliant part of the overall narrative.

Eventually, the story becomes much more complex with the introduction of the alien race known as the Precursors. They did not survive, but they left behind a bunch of artifacts that you can explore. The entire story about this alien race, what happened to them, their role in the planet’s ecosystem and the other creatures was all fascinating to follow and it’s just perfect for the movie treatment that I hope the material will receive one day.

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When it comes to Subnautica’s gameplay, its biggest strength is the element of horror. It’s an exploration game first and foremost, but in the survival elements the game achieves astonishing effects. In fact, this was a rare thing that genuinely scared me, and much more so than the vast majority of horror movies. The chilling highlight is the Leviathan itself. This shark-like creature is so terrifying that my heart stopped every single time I stumbled upon one. First, you hear his horrible growl and once you get to see him in flash, you are frozen in fear. Most of those circumstances end in your death, thus it’s important to evade these creatures at all costs.

As a huge biology enthusiast, the aspect of utmost importance and intrigue to me was of course the exploration and research of the fauna and flora of the planet. While some of the descriptions weren’t accurate to the real science of biology, most actually were and it was wonderful how they created this whole world and populated it with well-researched creatures.

The gas-like creature that attacks you with gas was fascinating while another highlight was the creature that hides in an exploding flower of sorts. There is so much fascinating biology going on here and the NPC animals actually going about their own lives, attacking each other and hunting while you move past them was incredible to witness.

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Also, witnessing the octopus-like creature capable of warping from one place to another and holding great intelligence was spectacular and quite eerie. Many of these creatures are so scary, but some like fish are more benign. The plants are also interesting and the many different ecosystems present led to a lot of fresh diversity.

You can dive in this game, but the weak oxygen tank limits your progress significantly, so you are much better off building a submarine. This is where the construction simulation part of the game comes in. Yes, there is a whole aspect to Subnautica that is all about finding the blueprints, finding all the necessary crafting materials and then crafting either some important items or building an entire base for yourself. Building the base can be rather difficult at first, but quickly you get used to it and it becomes a highly rewarding experience. You can refurnish it as you wish while the aquarium section made the base beautiful and very intriguing.

But the submarine is where I encountered an issue. It is initially fascinating and just so powerful to enter into one and traverse the bigger depths that you otherwise would never see, but the submarine is difficult to control and way too easy to crash, making it frustrating when you entirely destroy it and you have to go and build it from the ground up all over again. Finding the blueprints is at first adventurous and fun, but it gets frustrating when you are missing just one part of a blueprint and you cannot find it anywhere. The game was in desperate need of some sort of map.

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Subnautica is at its best in the exploration elements. Simply submerging yourself underwater and listening to the subdued sound effects made for a truly enchanting experience. As a huge fan of snorkeling myself, the game so faithfully recreated that magical effect of diving and returning above water and how exhilarating it can be to find a new area and an entirely new animal or plant.

While the game is almost too realistic in its dangerous elements, the existence of different modes made it more palatable for a variety of different players who are in it for many different reasons, the game managing to meet those expectations for the majority of time impressively so. The world itself is a bit too small in kilometers, but underwater there are so many not only different biomes, but also different depths that themselves bring something totally unique to the table, thus making the game enjoyable to play for tens of hours.

Graphically speaking, Subnautica doesn’t rank among the most polished of games and some parts of it, especially the terrestrial sections seemed too dated in design and very rough around the edges. But this is mostly an underwater game and thankfully everything under the water looks incredible, especially strong having in mind that this is an indie project. The creatures are detailed and wholly unique in each species, the water itself is gorgeous and colorful while the day-night cycle led to many stunning moments during the night with all the bioluminescent creatures. The tech also looks excellent and the game is truly a visually dazzling delight around coral reefs and caves in particular.

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The score is one of the highlights of Subnautica along with the sound. As I’ve mentioned already, the sound is highly evocative and incredibly creepy at times. The water splashes, the creatures’ growls and so many other sounds are present here and they all led to this highly immersive gaming experience. The score is a mixture of utterly creepy and intense, perfectly accompanying the more thrilling moments, and the beautifully ambient and otherworldly, which went well in line with the game’s extraterrestrial underwater setting.