Subnautica

In terms of settings, gameplay dynamics and sheer fascination, Subnautica is the best single-player survival game out there. It's full of bright discoveries, a great sci-fi experience, and at the same time a cruel and unforgiving survival horror. James Cameron would absolutely love it.

Subnautica works brilliantly as a serene, lonely, contemplative adventure. It's one of those rare games I'd take to a desert island.

Unknown Worlds Entertainment has delivered everything they said they were going to plus so much more with more updates on the launch horizon and for these reasons they can easily be forgiven for taking this long. It was worth the wait.

It isn’t without performance hiccups, especially the deeper you go. But the breadth of content here and the open-world nature both in terms of playspace and just pure choice in how you go about it is something rarely seen in games.

Subnautica is a template for what open-world survival games should strive to be. It’s fantastical, fresh, and frightening from surface to seabed, with a story that kept on surprising me and a cast of sea monsters that quite literally haunted my dreams. Even with more than 50 hours sunk, I have yet to discover all of its secrets. It’s a testament to how enticing those secrets are that I’m willing to face my fears and plunge my submersible into the darkest corners of its unforgiving ocean again and again.

A great game that took five years to make. Subnautica is an open sandbox sci-fi fantasy that can inch it's way into horror as you explore the depths of the ocean world. Just be ready to farm!

The fascinating adventure of futuristic Robinson in a fresh, colorful undersea world works great with its game mechanisms. Subnautica can literally grasp and hold a player and fulfill nearly every diver's wet dream. The modern classic of the genre has born, so you will easily forgive few technical issues.

Subnautica is an atmospheric, wonderful survival game full of surprises. You never know what to expect every time you dive in the depths of the ocean.

Probably the best survival game we have tried to date. A game that respects the player, offers a spectacular world to explore and keeps giving new and unique experiences even after you have spent dozens of hours under the waves exploring the beautiful alien ocean.

An ambitious game that manages to pack in a beautiful open world, complex survival challenges, and lots of teeth. [Issue#270, p.59]

Subnautica proves that sandbox games don't actually need any kind of multiplayer to be successful.

For a game with as much crafting as Subnautica has, it needs to constantly steer the player towards materials they’ve not seen before. Excellently, Subnautica delivers here too.

Subnautica is a great survival game that is totally unique. Despite some small issues it captivates and ensures that the player has a need to explore its ocean.

An incredible journey onto the depths of the sea, Subnautica keeps surprising the player with its breadth of options and incredible gameplay. Highly recommended.

Subnautica's story, scares, and beautifully rendered underwater setting make it one of the most fascinating survival games around. You will always have to grind away to a certain extent to gather necessary resources, but the overall experience is both accessible and refined. Subnautica may not make you eager to get back to the beach this summer, but right now there is no better virtual way to experience the beauty, and the terror, of the deep blue sea.

The best survival game ever released, and an indie game that goes toe to toe with AAA titles out there.

Unknown Worlds has made the best survival game on earth... or in the ocean.

No matter which way you prefer to play, Subnautica is an incredibly engaging experience. It’s one of those games that you can play for 10 minute chunks, or lose four hours without noticing.

Subnautica is an exceptional game of exploration, crash-landing the player on an unknown planet with unfamiliar terrain, unexplored depths, and strange wildlife. While some smaller creatures will appear more afraid of you, it's the larger predators that will make your oxygen levels quickly drop with the increased heart rate. It's a game that captivates you as soon as you step out of the lifeboat with the gorgeous water effects and stunning environment.

So far Subnautica has been the outstanding title of 2018 for me. We're only a month in, but the time I've had with this game has been incredible, and I'm sure it will be a game I remember in December when the year is wrapping up. Even after completing it, I'm itching to go back and see what nooks and crannies I missed.

Subnautica achieves with good decisions to build a survival rich in nuances and possibilities, without ever losing any interest, staying true to its objective. A game that opens up little by little showing imagination and finesse. Rarely this genre in its late game has managed to engage so much without trusting in its multiplayer facet.

A smattering of technical issues keep Subnautica from true legendary status, but only just.

For those determined enough, though, this is a survival game like no other. [March 2018, p.80]

Subnautica is gorgeous and enthralling, offering rewarding progression and a fascinating world. The story is well told, and it offers a crafting system that is easily accessible even for players who aren’t familiar with survival games. With fantastical sea beasts, fun gadgets to build, and a sci-fi story that gets its hooks into you, Subnautica is as deep as its sprawling ocean.

Subnautica manages to valorize all those elements that in the survival titles that struggle to detach themselves from the sphere of "useful."

Subnautica is a beautiful adventure, addictive and charming, particularly if you play it in VR.

Subnautica shows an almost perfect mix of survival, exploration and building. The story is so beautifully woven into the game, without being forced on the player.

Subnautica offers an amazing undersea world. The performance of the game is not great, but the game is structured enough to make us forget.

Subnautica is one of the best survival games released in recent years, and one of the best indie games released in the beginning of 2018. With an interesting story, a variety of play modes that can tone down and completely remove survival elements and plenty of freedom in how to proceed, Subnautica is a game that can also be enjoyed by those who aren't particularly fond of the genre.

Subnautica is a fresh new scope on the survival genre. Unknown Worlds Entertainment has created an intense, extreme and rich in possibilities adventure. Subnautica knows what to tell to the player and knows how to do it despite the characteristics of the genre.

A beautiful alien sea, sophisticated game mechanics and a motivating story. Diving into Subnautica is worth doing.

Subnautica links progression to dive depth and it pays dividends. It also provides useful tools and varied submersibles that facilitate the steady exploration of wondrous biomes far below the waves.

Once you get used to the problems like the arduous generation of drinking water, the story start getting you in its grips while you literally dive deeper and deeper into the mystery.

Probably one of the best survival open world so far. A beautiful adventure with a true scenario and a very original game's mechanics. Diving into Subnautica ocean is a true pleasure and the only problem of the game is the lack of explanation in the scenario, which can be annoying because we sometimes go around in circles without finding a solution.

A survival game that isn’t out just to punish its players, but to entertain; with an impressive mix of exploration, crafting, and survival horror.

Subnautica harnesses feelings and fears we experience in reality and uses them to drive us to want to survive in this alien world and find our way back home. It is simply you versus the vast, unknown expanse of the ocean.

Vast underwater worlds of Subnautica are worth exploring, but don’t forget to bring a huge tank of liquefied patience with you.