User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1406 Ratings

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  1. Jan 26, 2018
    10
    Best open-world I have played in about a year. And best indie title for almost a decade! Great atmosphere, great graphics, attention to detail. Amazing what this little studio did with a small budget, compared to "the big guys". They made a competitive shooter called "Natural Selection 2" as well - be sure to check it out if you like fast-paced FPS action. :-)
  2. Jan 25, 2018
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Subnautica takes mechanics from the survival genre and incorporates them into the core gameplay of an adventure game. While this does work well in the early game, it quickly becomes a chore when the story opens up, with the player being perpetually inconvenienced with the trifling tasks of collecting food, water, and resources after they've long stopped caring. A story which creates questions, provokes thought, and presents outrageous implications is ultimately anticlimactic, with the metaphorical key which could explain everything just being idly thrown away as if it were nothing. Despite this, an exotic world to investigate, combined with a pleasant graphical style, offers an enjoyable, if somewhat rudimentary, experience in exploration.

    The story begins with the player crash-landing on a planet almost completely covered in water. Immediately, they’re tasked with trying to survive as well as attempting to find other crash-landed crewmembers. This is the best part of the game. There's a sense of urgency, plot questions actually get answered, and becoming acquainted with the foreign environment is exciting. The survival mechanics work here, as they slowly draw the player out of the starting area's safety and present a clear path of progression. Unfortunately, the game quickly shows its lame side, as every single crewmember calling for help dies immediately before the player arrives. Eventually, the player discovers that they are infected with a deadly alien bacterium, which they need to cure.

    The player soon find that aliens have built several underwater bases on the planet which (conveniently) happen to be a facility for researching a cure to the alien bacterium. From here, the gameplay becomes an utter chore, as the player is endlessly tasked with finding or creating another differently-coloured keycard to enter the next alien base, essentially making the gameplay analogous to 1993's Doom, except for the lack of shooting alien abominations.

    The player continues to find new alien bases, with each one delivering another bit of story exposition which usually creates more questions than it answers. All the while, they'll constantly be harassed by incredibly annoying enemies called "warpers", which teleport the player around (potentially into certain death) and which can't be killed. The player, however, can be killed, and the end result is that they respawn at home or in their submarine and have to go back to where they were, meaning that death is simply a complete waste of time.

    Eventually, the player finds the final base and meets an ancient, sentient sea monster who communicates by speaking to the player telepathically. This sea monster could potentially explain everything the player wants to know: who are the aliens, where are they from, what were they doing with artifacts from Earth, why was the native fauna experiencing such accelerated evolutionary patterns, and etcetera. Instead, the monster tasks you with a fetch quest to power a button, which, when pressed, inexplicably kills them. Ensue another fetch quest where the player builds an escape ship, which, after using it to leave the planet, prompts a kicker that shows that the monster is apparently still in existence, telepathically revealing that it's "together" with the player somehow. Return to title screen.

    Ultimately, the exploration is fun, but everything else is a drag. One has to deal with meaningless and tedious deaths as well as the constant annoyance of the “warper” enemies to do it, but the exotic landscapes, pleasant visuals, and sense of scale make the experience of exploration a positive one regardless. The survival mechanics, however, need to be reapproached. They should be harmonious with the adventure gameplay, creating an interactive system rather than being an excuse to impede progress. In regards to the story, questions need to be answered, and unexplained events should not be left on the table. Without closure, the story becomes superficial, and it leaves the player feeling burned.
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  3. Nov 27, 2019
    9
    Equal parts beautiful and dangerous, Subnautica is an amazing deep-sea diving exploration simulation, set on an alien planet with solid mechanics, tons of freedom, and an interesting narrative. The world is brimming with interesting lifeforms you've never seen before. The story moments are few and far between, but are always memorable. Definitely worth the plunge.
  4. Mar 10, 2020
    9
    Good game it’s fun for the first play through it can get boring though. Has fun story and good graphics and open world.
  5. Nov 27, 2020
    10
    Best survival game I've ever played. Amazingly immersive and atmospheric.
    It will always be in my heart.
  6. Mar 2, 2018
    9
    A very strong contender for "THE BEST GAME I'VE EVER PLAYED." This is coming from someone who started out playing Atari Pong in the 70s (and has been diving around the world since the 80s). Graphics, game play, plot, progression, sound, music all combine in an intensely satisfying and addictive experience. Completing the game (135 hours, I like to take my time) was very rewarding and leftA very strong contender for "THE BEST GAME I'VE EVER PLAYED." This is coming from someone who started out playing Atari Pong in the 70s (and has been diving around the world since the 80s). Graphics, game play, plot, progression, sound, music all combine in an intensely satisfying and addictive experience. Completing the game (135 hours, I like to take my time) was very rewarding and left me craving more. disclaimer: I didn't experience any major bugs nor do I know anything about the company's HR policies. Expand
  7. Oct 10, 2018
    9
    Subnautica is a big open world survival game. This version of a survival game is quite different to normal survival games as it is set on an alien water planet called 4546B. It is only fully released on pc but the unreleased version can still be bought on Xbox and PlayStation. It is made by a small gaming developer company called Unknown Worlds. It is a well-loved game by the people whoSubnautica is a big open world survival game. This version of a survival game is quite different to normal survival games as it is set on an alien water planet called 4546B. It is only fully released on pc but the unreleased version can still be bought on Xbox and PlayStation. It is made by a small gaming developer company called Unknown Worlds. It is a well-loved game by the people who played it before and after release.
    The story starts with you in a big spaceship called the Aurora. You crash on an alien planet due to the ship being shot by an unknown alien blast. You get into life pod 5 and eject from the ship onto the ocean’s surface. During planet fall you become unconscious and wake up hours later after you have landed. As you get out of the life pod you find yourself in the middle of the ocean with the crashed ship in sight. Your goal is to find food and water while managing your oxygen, similar to other survival games. You will be able to find blueprints to items and vehicles that help you dive deeper into the water while still not drowning. Eventually the crashed ships energy core becomes unstable and the ship blows up. This makes a massive hole in the ship in which you can enter from. Inside the ship you can find out what happened to the other life pods and how the ship got shot down and where from. As you go towards the location you will find an alien base with a gun on it from an unknown race. You also find out that the ship crashed on a 2km by 2 km area which outside of hold the biggest and most deadly creature out of all of Subnautica, but you’ll have to find out what that is. Clues from the base will lead you deeper and deeper into the ocean to more alien bases. As you progress in the game you find out that you are infected by an unknown disease that is only on the planet that you crashed on. More clues lead you to find out what happened to the alien race and what they were trying to do about the disease. As you explore the ocean you find human made bases from the crew from a ship called the Degassi that went missing near the planet 10 years prior to the Aurora crashing. At each point on the map where you find information to progress the story there is usually a deadly leviathan class creature trying to kill you which get more deadly the further down you go. Eventually you find clues that could cure the disease and continue to look for a way to get off of the planet.
    Subnautica is a game that uses terror within the gameplay. It doesn’t feel like normal horror games where if you are found then you are most likely to be caught but gives you the imminent feeling that you could be caught and killed at any second while giving you the feeling that you only got away by the skin of your teeth. Creatures are able to grab your submarines and even take you out of it which immediately gives the player a sense of vulnerability. It has a good immersion factor to it which is only broken by the normal survival game basis or grinding for materials and food.
    It has good graphics which can be modified easily if your computer can’t handle it and doesn’t ever lag too much. However, the game does have a problem of glitches within the world’s barriers. It is made by a small team of 50 people so it can be hard to find and fix all of the glitches. Because of this the player can find places in which they can morph through some walls within bases but it can easily be fixed by another glitch in the wall or sometimes having to restart the game or dying and respawning.
    All of this for the price of £20.00 on steam.
    In conclusion the game is fun but only for the few days that the story goes on for. After the story ends there isn’t really anything much to do. Either way the normal gameplay before the end of the story is still good so I would say that it is worth buying.
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  8. Feb 16, 2018
    10
    One of the most incredible games I have played in a very long time and I have been playing games for more than 30 years.
    The sense of being alone and out of your element is very real and often very unnerving.
    You can go from being very relaxed whilst gathering resources to oh crap... I need to get back to my base, night is coming. I cannot even fathom running the game on Filmic mode
    One of the most incredible games I have played in a very long time and I have been playing games for more than 30 years.
    The sense of being alone and out of your element is very real and often very unnerving.
    You can go from being very relaxed whilst gathering resources to oh crap... I need to get back to my base, night is coming.
    I cannot even fathom running the game on Filmic mode during the night time.
    Game developers need to pay close attention to what is possible on a release game and use this as a baseline.
    This is a game that needs to be on every single gamers bucket list.
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  9. Mar 24, 2019
    9
    I'm not normally a huge fan of typical survival games.

    Subnautica is not a typical survival game. It's a masterpiece. Visuals and Sound - The developers have crafted a living breathing eco system beneath the waves that just feels authentic beyond anything I've ever experienced in a game world before, it excels in what it sets out to achieve, from the way lighting and depth level
    I'm not normally a huge fan of typical survival games.

    Subnautica is not a typical survival game. It's a masterpiece.

    Visuals and Sound -
    The developers have crafted a living breathing eco system beneath the waves that just feels authentic beyond anything I've ever experienced in a game world before, it excels in what it sets out to achieve, from the way lighting and depth level transform the appearance of the world around you, to the way the soundtrack becomes quite unpleasant as you approach the edges of the map, a subtle way to mark out the game area that is not otherwise mapped. Everything is animated beautifully and everything makes a satisfying sound. It is one of the most immersive game worlds I have ever explored, the only thing that came close was Alien Isolations Sevastapol station (also awesome).

    Gameplay-
    The game play loop in this game is addictive, a constant flow of character improvement and story progression, every big step feels like a hugely satisfying achievement, throughout the lengthy playtime I have always had something to aim for, a goal to achieve and a reason to keep playing...just a little bit longer.

    I cannot recommend this game enough, if you're reading this you need the game, easily in my top 10 games of the past 35 years, this shows a loving attention to detail that would only come from a passionate team, in a world of looter shooter megacorp rinse and repeats this game is a stand out and deserves to be supported.

    If I had to find a con for this game, it would be that the on foot sections of the game are not to the same standard as the meat and potatoes underwater elements. a minor gripe.
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  10. Apr 24, 2018
    7
    In Summary: It's a rewarding first person game, but it isn't an 'A'.

    The Good: 1) Great exploration and survival play in a novel ocean world environment. 2) Pretty color palette and lighting effects. 3) Crafting and base building adds to this game significantly. 4) The product has an entrepreneurial feel. The Bad: 1) All that technology and no ability to create a map? This gets
    In Summary: It's a rewarding first person game, but it isn't an 'A'.

    The Good:
    1) Great exploration and survival play in a novel ocean world environment.
    2) Pretty color palette and lighting effects.
    3) Crafting and base building adds to this game significantly.
    4) The product has an entrepreneurial feel.

    The Bad:
    1) All that technology and no ability to create a map? This gets really annoying.
    2) Most aliens weren't very alien ... just variations on common earth species, and not well thought out. Barracudas, sharks, kelp. Aquatic mushrooms? Not great.
    3) The ecology/biology of the map was not compelling at all. Reefs and kelp beds don't form in this way. An hour long talk with an oceanographer would have yielded a much superior biome layout..
    4) Radiation does not work like this.
    5) Crash fish? A basic understanding of biology would have helped here.
    6) It can turn into a grind after a while...more work than fun.

    The Ugly:
    1) Lacks spear guns ... not even a trident. This is a political statement that they are welcome to make in their own product, but it does impair the experience. They do have torpedoes though ... I find this strange.
    2) Fired a staff member for making his conservative opinions known. As I understand it, this was on his private time and account. I'll spare you the soap box, and just state that these types of incidents are very worrisome and I cannot support any organization that threatens freedom of expression. (That said, to respect the reader I left this point out of my rating considerations, and relied on the previous points to assign a value)
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  11. Feb 8, 2018
    9
    Lovely indie game. We need more of these. Glitches and bugs are forgivable.
    Sweet great graphics, great sound. Sad story about sound designer, who got fired complete rightfuly. Kudos to devs, getting rid of so toxic hateful person. Please let there be less of such people around. Its really sad.
  12. Apr 24, 2018
    8
    It's a good open-world game. Has a good story, but still not the best. Definitely deserves the money you give. So many bugs. So many.
  13. Jun 8, 2018
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Made an account just to review this game. Was never a hardcore fan of survival games, but this game is LEGIT. Let's break it down, simple stuff first:

    Sounds: Good. Nice sense of depth as you travel. A large variety of sounds that signify where you are and what's near you. The music is simple, but good, too. Instills a sense of mystery and alien-ness, as you travel from biome to biome.

    Visuals: Again, good. The world is full of diverse biomes for you to explore. You'll easily know you're in a different area when the flora, fauna, and the water's hue changes.

    Gameplay: Amazing. Don't be fooled by the very chill and laid-back starting area of the game. It's all colorful and pretty when you're starting out with cute little fishies all around, but as you progress you'll realize that the game will eventually force you to go further and further from your home base...and things get INTENSE. More on that later. For now - the gameplay loop. It's simple at first - fish for food and water, swim around for basic materials and craft your basic survival gear. Then you'll start building your one-man sub. Now you can really travel FAR AWAY. That's when things really pick up. And that's where things get straight up TERRIFYING.

    SURPRISE HORROR FACTOR: GOD-TIER HORROR. Like I said. Subnautica is chill and cute for like 2 hours, then you realize that to progress through the game you have to go away from your safe little home. And the further away you are from home, the deeper it gets - the DARKER it gets. Then you start hearing awful wailing noises in the distance. it never seems to stop. Then eventually, while you're surrounded by the pitch-black sea, you carelessly room to close to the ghastly wailing. BOOM. A Reaper. Instant heart attack. Instant Alt+F4 and change of underwear. This is when you realize that this isn't at all a cute game. Subnautica is a survival game, and by God, do you have your work cut out for you when titanic demons like the Reaper and the Ghost haunt the deep sea (don't Google them so you don't know what they look like - it's a surprise ;) ).

    A large chunk of the game is you forcing yourself to go NEAR the REAPERS and GHOSTS to get the items you need and progress the story. Play this game with no lights, turn up the volume, and use HiFi headphones and you have yourself a STRESSFUL HORROR GAME. This suffering is the mid-game of Subnautica. After all your crying and screaming and dying, then you hit the late-game.

    You'll know you've hit late game when you've got your giant sea vehicles and advanced equipment, and suddenly the game turns into a semi-horror, semi-action game. You now have the tools to kind of fight back against the Leviathans, if you so wish. You don't have to, but for me, this greatly increased my playtime of Subnautica. You take your giant sub, load it up with arsenal and your one-man deep-sea suit, and take it to the depths to fight the Reapers. Suddenly it's Mass Effect 3 under water. Just when you thought the game couldn't get better.

    Also the base building. Eventually you'll master the vast ocean. It'll be your home. And you'll have multiple bases all across the map. Then you sit back on your all-glass observatory and just watch the ocean wash around your base. You've done it. Base building in this game will make you OBSESSIVE. It'll create a desire in you to make everything efficient and perfect. You'll dream up the perfect lab and workstation where you build your gear and study the flora and fauna. Then you'll want to make a living room and bedroom even if you technically don't really need it.

    This game is a wild roller coaster ride and I'm happy to have played it. I hope the devs made STUPID amounts of money on this game so that they can make more like it.

    If you like survival games, PLAY THIS. If you like horror, PLAY THIS. If you like sci-fi, PLAY. THIS.

    Story: For a survival game, this has a pretty decent story. Lots of mystery involved, and it'll really keep you wanting to know more. If you're into sci-fi stories, you're in for a treat.

    Now some cons: 1) Draw distance is an issue, even on my high-end machine. Bushes and smaller items will visibly popup in the distance. Can be distracting, but YOU'LL BE TO BUSY WORRYING ABOUT REAPERS ANYWAY. 2) Lack of common-sense weapons. Like I mentioned, you WILL have weapons, but without spoiling anything...yeah, there are some weapons you'd think a diver should have...yet you won't. Trust me. It's a con. 3) Given that this is an indie game, don't expect AAA graphics. This ain't Witcher 3. But still, the graphics are good enough that you can absolutely lose yourself in the world.

    9/10. If they continue to patch this throughout the year, easily 10/10. PLAY IT.
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  14. Aug 2, 2018
    9
    The beautiful yet so scary ocean in Subnautica, filled with unknown creatures in all kind of shapes.
    An great adventure awaits you in the ocean of planet 4546B.
    I have to be honest here, i really loved this game from the beginning until the end! The music is amazing and the story is almost perfect. You really feel like a small human in this ocean, even when you're equipped with the
    The beautiful yet so scary ocean in Subnautica, filled with unknown creatures in all kind of shapes.
    An great adventure awaits you in the ocean of planet 4546B.

    I have to be honest here, i really loved this game from the beginning until the end!
    The music is amazing and the story is almost perfect.
    You really feel like a small human in this ocean, even when you're equipped with the best gear you still are the ant in this story.

    Exploring, Crafting, Surviving, and don't forget to enjoy the view!
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  15. Jan 25, 2018
    9
    Easily the best survival game I have ever played; there's just nothing else like it. I've always been fascinated by the sea and submarines and habitats and all that good stuff, so it's not surprising when I say that Subnautica lets me experience my dream. Explore, build, survive; that is what Subnautica is about. As you progress through the game, you will venture deeper and deeper intoEasily the best survival game I have ever played; there's just nothing else like it. I've always been fascinated by the sea and submarines and habitats and all that good stuff, so it's not surprising when I say that Subnautica lets me experience my dream. Explore, build, survive; that is what Subnautica is about. As you progress through the game, you will venture deeper and deeper into this alien world, discovering secrets.... and giant creatures. Seriously, just play this game. Only problems are occasional annoying bugs (like getting forced into a wall I can't escape, resulting in me drowning and losing stuff) and frame drops, as well as pop-in, but that can be chalked up to my semi-potato. Either way, Subnautica is a fantastic experience unlike any other. Expand
  16. Jan 31, 2018
    8
    Very well done survival Game. Great gear, crafting, basebuilding and a true sense of discovery. The story is very hard to reach though, I found myself lost for 20+ hours not knowing what to do, due to radio messages stopping and no real sense of progression. Had to solve this via wiki Coordinates several times. The concept of discovering and scanning tech and thus upgrading yourVery well done survival Game. Great gear, crafting, basebuilding and a true sense of discovery. The story is very hard to reach though, I found myself lost for 20+ hours not knowing what to do, due to radio messages stopping and no real sense of progression. Had to solve this via wiki Coordinates several times. The concept of discovering and scanning tech and thus upgrading your capabilities is great until you find yourself missing crucial gear to advance and can't find the sometimes very scattered and extremely hard to find pieces. Feels like searching for needles in a haystack since you are literally combing the ocean floor for anything you missed. Again - the game could make use of much more direction the way it does in the beginning with radio messages. Graphically it's a great game, looks nice on max settings, the water and sunset, the little water drops, everything looks good. The draw distance however is pretty lackluster and as of finishing the game there were massive texture and terrain pop ins. I still enjoyed it greatly despite it flaws, however without patience and wiki consultance I don't think I'd ever been able to finish this game. Expand
  17. Mar 10, 2018
    9
    I spent so much time in this game. Every little advancement felt like an accomplishment. Then when it finally ends, you can breath again. It's so much fun. It would have been a perfect 10 but there are some glitches and bugs that made me have to revert to my last save, which got pretty annoying. This game is a must for anyone who loves survival-horror games.
  18. Feb 13, 2018
    9
    I have only about 26 hours into my first play through but, so far, I'm very impressed! The lighting is spot on! I'm a recreational scuba diver and I've been in several different lighting and visibility conditions (from near zero visibilty to twilight with 100 feet of vis) so I've got to say the devs did an amazing job capturing the underwater environment. The marine life in this gameI have only about 26 hours into my first play through but, so far, I'm very impressed! The lighting is spot on! I'm a recreational scuba diver and I've been in several different lighting and visibility conditions (from near zero visibilty to twilight with 100 feet of vis) so I've got to say the devs did an amazing job capturing the underwater environment. The marine life in this game ranges from very similar to Earth life to strikingly, horrifingly alien! Voice acting and the story (thus far) is very well done. I'm in awe that the devs made such a great quality product being that Unknown Worlds Entertainment is a small indie studio. A few minor bugs but I would highly recommend this game! Expand
  19. Apr 30, 2018
    9
    I honestly wanted this on my ps4,because I have just a weird reason:because a Tv has a bigger screen then a PC
    But it doesn't matter here,it is still amazing on my pretty mediocre pc !!!!!!!!
    The graphics are amazing,and the environment aswell,you really feal threatened if a big sea monster comes at you,it really is amazing The survival elements are top notch ,and an example for other
    I honestly wanted this on my ps4,because I have just a weird reason:because a Tv has a bigger screen then a PC
    But it doesn't matter here,it is still amazing on my pretty mediocre pc !!!!!!!!
    The graphics are amazing,and the environment aswell,you really feal threatened if a big sea monster comes at you,it really is amazing
    The survival elements are top notch ,and an example for other survival games( yes i am talking to you ark survival evolved)
    There is also a story ,but isn't world shocking,it is just good
    I only noticed a few bugs ,that are pretty small and not game breaking
    The best survival game in years
    Do yourself a big favour and buy it
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  20. Feb 6, 2018
    9
    I believe that this game is a very good game. It's story is deep and attention grabbing but it does not force you to get involved in the story except for a couple of times. Also, the ending of the story is quite heart breaking. It is a survival horror game without trying. It does, however hove slow chunk loading. But other than that, it is a extremely good game.
  21. Apr 1, 2018
    8
    good game but you will run out of things to do fairly fast and there are a lot of bugs.
  22. Apr 17, 2018
    9
    Once you get into the game, it intrigues you, makes you want to explore, introduces you into an unknown world filled to the brim with flora and fauna. After a couple of hours of playing though, it gets a bit repetitive, specifically the constant need for food and water, but the developers implemented a mode without such annoyances, which i think is one thing they did right. I did enjoyOnce you get into the game, it intrigues you, makes you want to explore, introduces you into an unknown world filled to the brim with flora and fauna. After a couple of hours of playing though, it gets a bit repetitive, specifically the constant need for food and water, but the developers implemented a mode without such annoyances, which i think is one thing they did right. I did enjoy every bit of this game though, from building bases how i see fit, to exploring cave systems to find materials. The game's implementation of fragments was a bit weird, with them being placed in random places, or when there's a door that you have to open with the laser cutter, then find laser cutter fragments behind said door. Overall though i enjoyed the game, from beginning to end. Expand
  23. Nov 29, 2018
    10
    This game is probably my all-time favorite, because, while it does have some bugs and a lot of minor inconveniences, it hasn't impacted my experience enough for me too really feel it when getting immersed into the game. And you really do get immersed, with the beautiful environment, incredible audio-design and music, and of course the creative and believable creatures on planet 4546B.
    For
    This game is probably my all-time favorite, because, while it does have some bugs and a lot of minor inconveniences, it hasn't impacted my experience enough for me too really feel it when getting immersed into the game. And you really do get immersed, with the beautiful environment, incredible audio-design and music, and of course the creative and believable creatures on planet 4546B.
    For a small studio like Unknown Worlds to create this is an astonishing feat, and I'd recommend this game to everyone.
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  24. Feb 8, 2019
    8
    A wonderful mix a beautiful and terrifying.

    A truly unique exploration experience.
  25. May 10, 2019
    9
    Прекрасная игра,особенно для тех,кому нравится вода и всё,что с ней связано. Интересный сюжет(который, кстати отсутствовал с раннего доступа 2014-го и до обновления в середине 2017-го, как и возможность пройти игру соответственно). Много режимов подойдут как и для тех, кто просто хочет насладиться механиками игры,так и для хардкорных геймеров. Не слишком лёгкая,но и не совсем сложная. ИграПрекрасная игра,особенно для тех,кому нравится вода и всё,что с ней связано. Интересный сюжет(который, кстати отсутствовал с раннего доступа 2014-го и до обновления в середине 2017-го, как и возможность пройти игру соответственно). Много режимов подойдут как и для тех, кто просто хочет насладиться механиками игры,так и для хардкорных геймеров. Не слишком лёгкая,но и не совсем сложная. Игра даже лояльна по отношению к тем, кто игру скачал с торрентов(предлагает ввести ключ для получения игры в библиотеке Steam). Но минус один балл за плохую оптимизацию(даже на мощных машинах нередки просадки FPS и фризы). Всем советую Expand
  26. Oct 6, 2020
    5
    It has nice graphics, but I got bored about halfway through the game. Every mission seems to be the same - you get a mayday signal, run to the lifepod, but are too late and everyone is dead. The crafting got very tedious after a while and the story is pretty basic. I feel this game is overrated.
  27. Mar 23, 2021
    8
    Subnautica is splendid isolation, warts and all

    I never had much patience for the open world crafting simulators before. Narrative games are my jam, and most of that genre, have little story. But at some point I stumbled over a trailer for Subnautica, and it stuck with me. That endless, light-flooded ocean was just so… beautiful. So after years of hesitation, I took the plunge.
    Subnautica is splendid isolation, warts and all

    I never had much patience for the open world crafting simulators before. Narrative games are my jam, and most of that genre, have little story. But at some point I stumbled over a trailer for Subnautica, and it stuck with me. That endless, light-flooded ocean was just so… beautiful.
    So after years of hesitation, I took the plunge.

    Subnautica casts you in the role of the sole survivor of a spaceship crash occurring on a water world. Your task is to manage your oxygen, hunger and thirst meters, and make use of your star trek tech level replicator, digital blueprints and abandoned resources you find all over the handcrafted map to build yourself a rocket and fly home.

    The primary gameplay loop is you scrounging for things in ever more extreme environments. Food, resources, tech tree advances, all have to be picked up by hand, and fed into the replicator. There is a metroidvania like structure to it, because parts of the hand-crafted map are simply not accessible to you until you craft certain items or vehicles (oh yes, you don’t stay swimmer forever).

    Occasionally you might build a base, a process that is almost painless (the game engine sometimes is a bit picky about placements) and can be quite engrossing. I usually don’t get into this kind of thing, but I couldn’t resist plopping down a three story underwater dream house with a sun-flooded bedroom just because I could. It’s also useful to have small outposts at a few key locations in the game, and it gives a great feeling of accomplishment to slowly fill the map with little summer houses here and there.

    The secondary gameplay loop is all about exploring the map. Certain things you need to find are telegraphed, but at some point the game just takes the training wheels off and expects you to go adventuring on your own.

    On a third level of play, you have an actual plot, a rarity in this genre. It’s a little thin on the ground, more a seasoning and less the backbone of the game, but the writing is decent and even shows a sparkling wit now and then.

    All these modes of play are helped immensely by how pretty this game is and how excellent and immersive the traversal mechanics are. I have never seen a more convincing and entrancing simulation of diving and underwater exploration. The lighting is great, the flora and fauna are strange and fascinating, and getting around in it is a joy, whether you are swimming, driving a submarine or stomping around in a giant robot suit.

    It also bears mentioning that for me at least, the game had a very satisfying ending. That’s not nothing these days.

    Not everything works as well, though: Some fauna are supposed to be dangerous, but overtime their threat diminishes. The ocean surface looks terrible when seen from a distance, which, coincidentally, isn’t possible all that much. A few locations look a little goofy or sparse, which leaves a few scratches on the immersion.

    And then there are the poor optimization and the bugs: Texture Pop In was a pretty consistent and pretty annoying problem in some regions of the map. On occasion, the game suddenly thought I was on dry land when I was actually swimming in the ocean. Once, that actually left me stranded in a place I could only get out of with the help of the developer console. This didn’t destroy my enjoyment of the game, but it wrung a few sighs of exasperation from me.

    The production values are mostly very high: I already mentioned the strong art direction, but it bears repeating: the world the player moves through is a beautiful work of art. The soundscape is appropriately sparse and very immersive. There is even voiced dialogue on occasion, and the voice work... It’s fine. Nothing special, but it does the job.

    All in all it’s just a joy to exist, survive, scavenge and build in this world. Having a concrete goal to work towards is great, but that’s not the main attraction of this game. Having this gorgeous little world all to yourself is.

    TLDR: The ultimate Robinson Crusoe experience, despite minor and more than minor blemishes. If this sounds good to you, I recommend you play this game.
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  28. Jan 24, 2018
    10
    SubNautica realy takes the cake and shows whats posible in the Survival, Adventure and Exploration genres.
    And stand heads and shoulders above all others in the catagories as a benchmark of what to aim for when developing a survival game.
    Rich story, fantastic sound design, and great art direction.
    It looks and fells like a $60 title, and yet its only 20 bugs.
    A must buy in my book!
  29. Apr 9, 2018
    8
    Really amazing survival. Probably one of the few really worth playing thanks to an immersive world, mechanics and story. Really makes you enjoy the thought of exploring, surving extreme conditions, and the importance of building everything, loving your base and the tools and vehicles you build. Still, in many technical aspects this game shows some limit: not excellent graphic optimizationReally amazing survival. Probably one of the few really worth playing thanks to an immersive world, mechanics and story. Really makes you enjoy the thought of exploring, surving extreme conditions, and the importance of building everything, loving your base and the tools and vehicles you build. Still, in many technical aspects this game shows some limit: not excellent graphic optimization (very low draw distance, objects compenetration everywhere, some bug in game graphic configuration9 and really slow loading times. I don't think a sequel will show something more, it's almost unique, but this team has great potential and creativity. Keep up! Expand
  30. Jan 24, 2018
    9
    Played it about 260 hours while it was still in early access. It a wonderful looking game with great gameplay. It has multiple modes like survival, creative (where one can craft bases without having to hunt for resources). Is it perfect, no its not but its darn close. I can really recommend this to everyone. Also the fact that you in principle can't kill anything (aside from fishes forPlayed it about 260 hours while it was still in early access. It a wonderful looking game with great gameplay. It has multiple modes like survival, creative (where one can craft bases without having to hunt for resources). Is it perfect, no its not but its darn close. I can really recommend this to everyone. Also the fact that you in principle can't kill anything (aside from fishes for food) is well refreshing. Expand
  31. Feb 26, 2018
    10
    I never liked survival games, however, Subnautica changed my mind. This is a WONDERFUL game. The story is excellent as well as the graphics, the sounds, the gameplay, EVERYTHING. It worths every single penny. If you are a person who wants to enjoy something different, beautiful and original BUY THIS GAME.
  32. Feb 20, 2018
    8
    A refreshing take on the survival genre. So long 4546B and thanks for all the fish!
  33. Feb 6, 2018
    9
    The game is visually stunning, the audio is so great and immersive, it makes you feel that a huge, terrifying creature is trying to kill you, and makes it feel real. it has surprisingly little grinding in it (if you know what to do) and is generally a great survival horror game. it gets a 9 just because it is a little buggy at some areas (it is way better than it was in 2015, but still, itThe game is visually stunning, the audio is so great and immersive, it makes you feel that a huge, terrifying creature is trying to kill you, and makes it feel real. it has surprisingly little grinding in it (if you know what to do) and is generally a great survival horror game. it gets a 9 just because it is a little buggy at some areas (it is way better than it was in 2015, but still, it is a finished product, so points get deducted for every mistake). Expand
  34. Jan 24, 2018
    9
    Deep and beautiful, one of the best Early access come to a final version where the terms of survival increased, if you want some good kind of singleplayer survival, PLAY THIS.
  35. Feb 2, 2018
    9
    One of the best survival games at the moment. The world is beautiful, the survival aspect is well integrated, the atmosphere is incredible and the UI/controls is/are also very intuitive..even the story is cool and building is a lot of fun. For 20 bucks, this is a no brainer!
  36. Jan 29, 2018
    10
    One of the Best Games i have ever played in my life.In VR a dream o other World
  37. Feb 7, 2018
    10
    An excellent new survival game with a really nice feature, being mostly underwater. The graphics are beautiful, the voice acting is stellar, and the different biomes are bursting with creativity. I am still fining new things which aren't ceasing to amaze me. If you want a solid resource managing/base building survival game, with some extra flare and story, this is probably the game for you.
  38. Jan 26, 2018
    10
    Subnautica is an amazing concept, which is well thought out for the most part. I would recommend it above any other survival game on the market, simply due to its environment design and incredible ambience.
  39. Jan 25, 2018
    10
    If you own an Oculus Rift you MUST get this game! The immersion level of VR just adds a whole new level to the gameplay. This game alone is worth buying the Rift for.
  40. Jan 24, 2018
    10
    This game receives my full recommendation. It's has had a very good early access and the final version release version is almost bug free.

    Graphics: This game has stunning visuals. Each biome is and looks completely different and beautiful. Sound: The sound is great, creepy at times (especially when there are big predators around) and the music is spot on. Gameplay: There are
    This game receives my full recommendation. It's has had a very good early access and the final version release version is almost bug free.

    Graphics: This game has stunning visuals. Each biome is and looks completely different and beautiful.
    Sound: The sound is great, creepy at times (especially when there are big predators around) and the music is spot on.
    Gameplay: There are different game modes, but the main one is survival. For a survival game it hits the spot just right. Great exploring, finding materials and blueprints. Not too grindy.
    Base building: Great custumization options for base building.
    Vehicles: The vehicles you can get in this game are amazing. Each is different and has it's specific use.
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  41. Feb 25, 2019
    3
    REAL MIXED BAG HERE

    It is attention grabbing and intriguing... for the first 2 hours I'd say about when you're building your first habitat is when the boredom sets in, then when you're trying to advance (Especially the cyclops) the boredom starts to slide into frustration and impatience. The scavenging, while fun at first, quickly begins to devolve into a tedious, headache inducing
    REAL MIXED BAG HERE

    It is attention grabbing and intriguing... for the first 2 hours
    I'd say about when you're building your first habitat is when the boredom sets in, then when you're trying to advance (Especially the cyclops) the boredom starts to slide into frustration and impatience. The scavenging, while fun at first, quickly begins to devolve into a tedious, headache inducing scavenger hunt. While the game is very visually appealing, towards mid game that luster too begins to fall away as you have to make constant, long... long trips back to wherever you set down your main base as the resources required begin to get farther and rarer. Even just on freedom mode I was a full 24 hours in and I was barely halfway through, which brings me to my next point...

    CHEATING

    This game drives you to cheat, I have NEVER in my life played a game that wants you to cheat this much. Unless you are a veteran and know exactly what to do, you constantly are needing materials you either can't get too or just plain don't know the location of. I've heard that this game doesn't hold your hand, but in all reality it puts a blindfold on you, spins you around three times and tells you to go get 4 Kyanite.
    My breaking point was when I got to the point where I needed a prawn suit. It needs aerogel and ruby among other things. The ruby was easy enough, the gel sacks for the aerogel were what got me. I had never seen them before and after spending two full hours just looking for these tiny deep sea sacks I gave in and started cheating. and cheated, and cheated.
    I couldn't STOP cheating when I figured out I could. what used to take me hours now took simple seconds, I could actually start to move forward in the story again, speaking of...

    THE STORY AND MY STUPID PROBLEM

    I have no complaints about the story, it's polished, well thought out and snarky at times, my problem with it was that I got STUCK.
    It had probably been 6 hours by now, I had a small base, a seamoth, discovered both islands, got to the one with the three degasi bases. I combed it up and down and dismissed the degasi crew as a cool subplot, nothing more nothing less
    I was very wrong...
    hours after I had combed over the island I was becoming increasingly desperate for something productive to do, the story had run cold, all I was doing at this point was running around for supplies to expand my base.
    I got sick of it, started looking it up.
    Turns out that I had missed a single abandoned PDA on the degasi island... one sitting on the side of a random trail... one that in my three expeditions I had not seen once because it was hidden in the grass. The exact one that gave me my next story marker. The level of fury I had at that current moment was unprecedented. I had been playing all day and a small portion of the night simply to get as far as I can only to get hung up on this one tiny detail. Wasted hours and hours trying to find this one crucial pda where I was given no hints or indication that I needed to do so in the first place.

    THE GAME ENGINE

    I think my feelings can be summed up as a single statement here "This game engine makes Fallout: New Vegas look strong"
    I was constantly clipping into things, at one point I beached my seamoth to explore only to find just the very tip of it sticking out of the sand when I got back, so I had to use my seaglide to ram the beach, clip into it, climb in my seamoth and then drive out (Which damaged it very badly)
    At one point I was exploring the Aurora, picked something up and ended up clipping into the wall. That almost permanently
    reversed the water and air, so every time I was inside a structure it acted as if I was outside and vice versa

    THE ATMOSPHERE

    I already touched on how towards mid game you have to make long long trips through ocean with very little to look at, and while that improves slightly towards end game it certainly isn't helped by the lack of music
    The music is amazing, there just isn't enough of it.
    At points I would find myself staring at dark mute blue for tens of minutes, nothing to look at, nothing to hear except the whir of my seamoth and even that starts to drone after a while.
    you could say that this makes it more realistic, but the truth is it just gets so *boring*, this only works to make the scavenging even more boring. Towards the end of the middle I found myself getting so bored that I just muted the game and used my own sci fi music. But I couldn't make it fit the tone like an in game soundtrack.

    CONCLUSION

    This is a good game. But it needs so much more work to be enjoyed to its fullest extent. Fix the pacing of scavenging, fix the paper thin solid layers and add more music. As well as the fact that spending hours trying to find a single type of resource and then having to run stupid long distances over and over again to get more of it isn't fun. But the game uses the scavenging as a crutch to prop up a game with no other substance or mechanics.
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  42. Jan 24, 2018
    10
    This is the best survival-crafting game I've ever played. The game doesn't set out to be a horror game, but it is absolutely horrifying at times, especially at night. The environment and atmosphere are just top notch in the genre.
  43. Sep 13, 2018
    10
    This is the best game I have played in a long time. It is mysterious, satisfyingly challenging and rewarding. Great music, great visuals, great storyline. Just when I think I've got it mastered, there is another level and another to challenge. I highly recommend.
  44. Jan 1, 2019
    10
    This is the best game what I have ever seen. I spent 32 hours, and i was so happy.
  45. Jan 1, 2019
    10
    Maybe the best game that i have played. The graphics are just awesome and the monsters are breathtaking. The ONLY problem in the game is the optimization, just that. The story is awesome, i almost cried in the end. Really Worth the money with you like survival games.
  46. Dec 29, 2022
    1
    The first few hours are not bad. They are pretty interesting tbh, but they get extremely repetitive and boring fast.

    Game c***blocks you every 5 minutes and forces you to do chores over chores over chores until you'll be asking yourself why you aren't getting paid for the hours of literal work you've put into the game. Inventory full? Build more storage-space. Need Ressources for
    The first few hours are not bad. They are pretty interesting tbh, but they get extremely repetitive and boring fast.

    Game c***blocks you every 5 minutes and forces you to do chores over chores over chores until you'll be asking yourself why you aren't getting paid for the hours of literal work you've put into the game. Inventory full? Build more storage-space. Need Ressources for Storage space? Good luck finding them or bringing them along with your tiny inventory! Need specific ressources that require specific tools to mine them? You guessed it: Need to find these ressources first! And pray to Cthulhu you'll have enough inventory-space!

    Not only does the game never tell you where to find most of the needed crafting-materials (good luck guessing what vague locations your PDA was thinking about!), it spreads them out so you'll keep on backtracking, searching and cursing at your limited inventory-space.

    When you are finally able to build the big submarine (controls like **** or the prawn-suit [good luck sinking somewere in this thing and the jump-thrusters can't get you out!] (they cost an INSANE amount of rare materials and will require you to spend hours over hours looking for small and hidden ressources spread miles away), all they do is let you get "deeper". And even there the novelty wears of quickly.
    Because guess what you have to do at the bottom of the ocean again: Searching and searching and searching for rare materials, backtracking until your eyes bleed and repeat this until you fall asleep.

    It gets even more mundane since the deep gets less detailed, more weird AI-bugs keep popping up (wildlife swims in a stuttering manner or clips through your ship or your base) and ressource-requirements seem to skyrocket.

    This game seems to have the intention to punish you for progression. The further and deeper you go, the more you have to collect, backtrack, repair, replenish energy-cells and so on, and so on.

    Ah yes there is a "No ressources are required-mode", but this makes the "game" (rather work-enviroment) even more boring. The Novelty wears off very quickly, the building-mechanic is like pulling nails, with a "camera" way too close to the building-sectors and even noone to show off your impressive (still pretty limited) buildings, because its SP only.

    This mode shows you even more how empty and bland the game really is, with a paper-thin story and story-elements ridicoulosly hidden away or placed in weird unfair locations!
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  47. Dec 26, 2018
    7
    Subnautica is a good game. The exploration is fun under water. The under water world is well populated and the water effect is nice. The vegetation is perfect. The music is pretty good too. I had a lot of problems with the lack of a map. You see, you fabricated a device in the game that can render and detect the shape of the terrain, but yet you can keep any of this data for a map. It's aSubnautica is a good game. The exploration is fun under water. The under water world is well populated and the water effect is nice. The vegetation is perfect. The music is pretty good too. I had a lot of problems with the lack of a map. You see, you fabricated a device in the game that can render and detect the shape of the terrain, but yet you can keep any of this data for a map. It's a big logical hole for me. I felt the story didn't involved me that much at times and the task of keeping me alive was kind of boring. I did prefer to die then try to run fish for water or food. The lack of proper storing capacity becomes a problem and the solution they have wasn't very efficient. I give it a 72%. For an indie game it's impressive. Expand
  48. Feb 17, 2018
    8
    Fantastic game, I would give it a 9 if it wasn't for the draw distance issues. Lots of crafting, awesome base building system. Terrifying enemies. just a little glitchy
  49. Feb 26, 2018
    8
    Read this if you are thinking to buy the game. Subnautica was a massively hyped game for me after whatching countless hours on you tubers play it. What i got was a confusing, crashing and deliorus expierence. These are the bad points, constant crashing, annoying grinding of resources,constant lag and the game not loading in, and pointless quests that lead to knowhere untill late game.Read this if you are thinking to buy the game. Subnautica was a massively hyped game for me after whatching countless hours on you tubers play it. What i got was a confusing, crashing and deliorus expierence. These are the bad points, constant crashing, annoying grinding of resources,constant lag and the game not loading in, and pointless quests that lead to knowhere untill late game. However the game does have some decent attributes. A great atmosphere, you fell lost in a world surrounded by ocean in an almost cast away feel to it. The creature design is amazing, and that comes from expierencing what they are, if there friendly and what can they do. Building is satisfying but so etimes awkward, and when story rolls around eventually it is good but cant be told without looking at pdfs which can get annoying. Its a decent game but i personly would wait for a few patches, or dive right in but its up to you. Expand
  50. Jul 22, 2018
    8
    Probablemente el mejor al que he jugado en 2017.
    Juegazo 100% inmersivo, con muchos crafteos y una historia bastante chula. Para amantes de los survival espaciales será una gozada
  51. Nov 18, 2018
    9
    Exceptional.
    Beautifully made.
    Thoroughly immersive.

    Other games take notice. This is what a game should be like.

    This is the cherry on top of the cream that rose to the top.

    If you are into first person, story driven, beautifully crafted games, buy this. Check out some of the in-game footage and be amazed.
  52. Sep 17, 2019
    9
    To review it in just one word I would say AMAZING! Just buy it, play it and be happy!

    One of the best survival games on the market. It’s very unique thanks to its premise (being underwater), it has extremely cool devs that are always working on the game, there are hundreds of hours to spend in the game, the game looks gorgeous, building mechanics are cool as hell and the game can be
    To review it in just one word I would say AMAZING! Just buy it, play it and be happy!

    One of the best survival games on the market. It’s very unique thanks to its premise (being underwater), it has extremely cool devs that are always working on the game, there are hundreds of hours to spend in the game, the game looks gorgeous, building mechanics are cool as hell and the game can be both calming as well as horror like!

    Another cool thing is that it has multiple layers of what you can do. It’s not just survival but you can also build your own base and equip it as you see fit (bed, reactor, generator, lockers, observatory, radar room, dock and more) almost all the equipment serves some purpose and it’s not just decoration. For example, you can go to the land, cut some trees, plant them in your underwater garden and harvest food!

    You can build and equip your badass giant submarine, there is an interesting story, love of cool and mesmerizing places to explore or you can just sit back and enjoy the environment and graphics because as I already said the games looks amazing!
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  53. May 5, 2020
    10
    Subnautica is one of my favourite " Ocean " based survival game. It has quite big atmospheric feels. Graphics are awesome and gameplay is simple and understandable. Story of the game is short and also simple. Subnautica's world is fascinating and dangerous at the same time. The way developers thought about the details very well. I've been playing Subnautica since Dec 4 2014 and i thinkSubnautica is one of my favourite " Ocean " based survival game. It has quite big atmospheric feels. Graphics are awesome and gameplay is simple and understandable. Story of the game is short and also simple. Subnautica's world is fascinating and dangerous at the same time. The way developers thought about the details very well. I've been playing Subnautica since Dec 4 2014 and i think it's still a great game since the early access. Expand
  54. May 11, 2020
    10
    possibly one of the beast games i have played in the last 3 years , a mix of heart pounding terror and gazing in awe at the beauty around you . i've played it through many times and had a blast , i could not recommend this enough
  55. Jul 9, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is a hidden gem, this is most likely one of my favorite games to date. The thought of not being able to see what lurks under that thick layer of foggy water, is by far one of the most terrifying feelings I have ever experienced. It is also beyond rewarding. Getting into that rocket that took you countless hours to craft and build, while then leaving the ocean planet below. Please buy and play this game. Expand
  56. Aug 30, 2020
    8
    The game is far "easyer" than one thinks at the start but the intensity of the unknown surroundings with creepy noises and scary creatures makes it feel like you have to be extremly carefull.
    After playing through the game once I don't think there is a lot of replay value because the intense feeling is just not there anyomre and the novelty is also gone.
  57. Jan 25, 2018
    10
    I've been playing games for 30+ years. This game took me by complete surprise! I've simply been playing non stop for 40+ hours and never had a dull moment! Game looks fantastic and feels well. The exploration and survival story feels engaging like nothing i've tried before. Best gaming experience i've had for years! Thx for a great game
  58. Jan 30, 2018
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's the best survival game I've played and it's an open world game, with a story, which I thought was very good and weird, so I recommend buying it. Expand
  59. Feb 17, 2018
    7
    Suffers from a very slow start and lacks decent in game-tutorials players can often find themselves lost and confused. However the payoff can be quite rewarding if the player is willing to plow through
  60. Feb 4, 2018
    10
    It's crack. I haven't played a game this addictive in a decade. Go in cold because the discovery is the experience. I want a sequel now. Like right now. Really, I need it.
  61. Jan 31, 2018
    10
    this is a great game first the graphics they don't matter to me but to others it does and it succeeds in that, gameplay:it is fantastic its has that oh i'm going to get out alive i just have to survive forever and escape. controls:eh i don't like it by start but you can change it to your what you like

    i recommend this game to people who like survival games and has an xbox or a capable
    this is a great game first the graphics they don't matter to me but to others it does and it succeeds in that, gameplay:it is fantastic its has that oh i'm going to get out alive i just have to survive forever and escape. controls:eh i don't like it by start but you can change it to your what you like

    i recommend this game to people who like survival games and has an xbox or a capable pc and if you don't like the type of game you could try it but if you don't want to waste 25$ on a game you wont play its sadly not for you.
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  62. Jan 30, 2018
    10
    Awesome. I get the impression, that indie devs are doing the job which made me love gaming in '80 in the first place.
    This game as a shining example - its not your standard run and gun/slash enemies. Its not another sports/racing/killing enemies game. Its a game of surviwal but it is also the most relaxing experience (the chance to swim through the vast beautifull full of life ocean
    Awesome. I get the impression, that indie devs are doing the job which made me love gaming in '80 in the first place.
    This game as a shining example - its not your standard run and gun/slash enemies. Its not another sports/racing/killing enemies game. Its a game of surviwal but it is also the most relaxing experience (the chance to swim through the vast beautifull full of life ocean enjoying the view which was until now reserved to the likes of discovery channel) and it can be also near horror experience when you play in hardcore mode and are chased by some crazy ass deep sea creature. Its a mindblowing game for sci-fi fans who gets to explore one of the most realisticly created alien world. And it even includes quite intriguing story - which really wasnt something i was expecting.
    All in all - games like that are like a breath of fresh air to the whole gaming industry and should get as much prasie as they deserve. Well its end of january and I think the GOTY is already here - don't read more, enjoy.
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  63. Feb 2, 2018
    9
    I played this game once when it was in an alpha stage, i believe (the aurora didnt even explode). It was already awesome then, and Im so glad to say that they've made it even more awesome.
    It's a game about EXPLORATION, more than anything else. It also throws in some light survival mechanics, and some light/medium crafting mechanics.
    Pros: - Feelings... this games makes you feel soooo
    I played this game once when it was in an alpha stage, i believe (the aurora didnt even explode). It was already awesome then, and Im so glad to say that they've made it even more awesome.
    It's a game about EXPLORATION, more than anything else. It also throws in some light survival mechanics, and some light/medium crafting mechanics.

    Pros:
    - Feelings... this games makes you feel soooo many good things. The atmosphere is just perfect. You feel lost, alone, and frightned while exploring the depths and caverns with interesting lifeforms. I crapped my pants when a weird shadow came out of nowhere in the dark below the Aurora and grabbed my little seamoth.. But also feel satisfied and fulfilled when you figure out sth important, or when you find sth unexpected or much needed to advance.
    - The controls and building mechanics are correct.
    - The graphics and general design of the creatures is also pretty good. Of course better graphics would be welcome, but it is fine as it is...
    - The sound effects are also very good! The distintive sound of every creature you'll end up memorizing (if you know what's good for you).
    - Survival mechanics are there, but are light.. wich I love. I dont want another game that pushes me to keep on looking for sth to survive, like Dont Starve, or Stranded... Such things stress quite a bit, and makes my exploration experience less enjoyable.

    Cons:
    - Even though it already packs quite a lot of content ... I want MOOORE. Just give me more of everything. More biomes, more species, more buildings, more wrecks, more tools, more story, more unexpected discoveries, more non-linear ways to play the game. I will never grow tired of having sth else to do. Dont give weapons though... dont ever let me feel overpowered.. give me depth in mechanics and more things to explore and unveil. I really hope they add up some DLCs to this fantastic game.
    - The music is alright, but sometimes seems a bit out of place.
    - If you're looking for a regular FPS experience, go somewhere else. This is no COD ok? This about exploration and discovery.
    - If you're looking for a heavy survival game, also go somewhere else. This is no Dont Starve or The Forest. Survival mechanics are there just to remind you that you are human.

    So ... by all means, PLAY THIS GAME. It's worth it, and it will make you feel like almost nothing else can.
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  64. Mar 4, 2018
    10
    Fantastic game in a beautiful open world setting and great concept design. But what I really like the most is the storyline that uncovers as you play and that you will need to piece it together yourself. I would have wished for a more generous epilogue to create more of a closure.
  65. Jan 31, 2018
    9
    Not bad. I played the old version and perhaps... bugs are not diminished. But the plot, though not very good but what he is still good... I mean... and although I will not spoil. The underwater world is BEAUTIFUL! It is beautiful and I liked the behavior of fish.
  66. Sep 19, 2018
    6
    I wanted to like this game as it looks great and should supposedly have an interesting story. Instead, it was really tedious and there was practically no hint about what to do and how to do things. The inventory is small, the depths are crushing and the recipes are few and far between. I read walkthroughs, looked at videos for inspiration yet none came. I found the steps so convoluted andI wanted to like this game as it looks great and should supposedly have an interesting story. Instead, it was really tedious and there was practically no hint about what to do and how to do things. The inventory is small, the depths are crushing and the recipes are few and far between. I read walkthroughs, looked at videos for inspiration yet none came. I found the steps so convoluted and the difficulty of underwater navigation that I simply gave up after 14 hours. Maybe this game is not for a casual, all-in-one go gamer like me. Expand
  67. Feb 10, 2018
    9
    This is an example of what a survival game should be. It is very good. You will never get bored like other survival games because there is always something to do in subnautica, the visuals are amazing. Sometimes it is very peacefull and pleasent but other times you are so scared of something you are not sure is even there. I highly recommend.
  68. Feb 7, 2018
    10
    Amazing blend of SciFI open world and survival horror. 10/10 The atmosphere was disturbing, yet intriguing, This game is like an abusive ex. it hurts you each time, but you keep coming back. (in a good way)
  69. Feb 7, 2018
    10
    Awesome game. Haven't seen a survival game this immersive in years. Separately, thanks for sticking to your values. Looking forward to your future games.
  70. Feb 5, 2018
    10
    Amazing game, beautiful graphics and is a great game in an over saturated market, with a great dev team. Only negative is a few graphical glitches, which aren't too bad on my computer.
  71. Jan 28, 2018
    10
    I downvoted all the negative reviews. This game is one of the best games I played and it deserves to be treated as a masterpiece. Compare this game to the AAA releases like Battlefront 2, Destiny 2, Mass Effect Andromeda and you'll know why.

    Just give support to these guys so we can play more games like Subnautiica. And to those who complain about emptiness and loneliness, you should
    I downvoted all the negative reviews. This game is one of the best games I played and it deserves to be treated as a masterpiece. Compare this game to the AAA releases like Battlefront 2, Destiny 2, Mass Effect Andromeda and you'll know why.

    Just give support to these guys so we can play more games like Subnautiica.

    And to those who complain about emptiness and loneliness, you should go deep and explore.
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  72. Apr 27, 2021
    4
    If you are like me, you will find this game boring, repetitive and childish, like the developers of it are...

    The wow factor goes away after 10 minutes, there is nothing special here, just some underwater things and crafting. Too much eating and drinking, i wish you had infinite oxygen to explore the underwater and added something else to prevent you from going deeper like pressure
    If you are like me, you will find this game boring, repetitive and childish, like the developers of it are...

    The wow factor goes away after 10 minutes, there is nothing special here, just some underwater things and crafting. Too much eating and drinking, i wish you had infinite oxygen to explore the underwater and added something else to prevent you from going deeper like pressure instead of stupid oxygen consumption... Its to irritating to constantly keep going up to take oxygen even tho you have a tank, it only lasts 20 seconds.... Im pretty sure they last a lot more than that - you can upgrade them but thats more farming...

    Gamplay-Repetitive, boring, uninspiring
    Sounds- Average sounds... nothing to say here
    Story- Escape from planet because you crashed on it, also there are special aliens that posses the force or something and there are underwater temples OOOOOO JEDI ALIENS
    Hotel? Trivago

    4/10 - Boring
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  73. 4y4
    Apr 7, 2021
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Disappointing. No map. Constant hunger and thirst (in real life you are not hungry 2 minutes after eating.). Repetitive, boring gameplay. Expand
  74. Feb 6, 2018
    10
    One of the best survival games I have ever played. Subnautica have got very good storytelling and story is awesome. Subnautica will amaze you on every corner of its map.
  75. Aug 28, 2018
    10
    I love this game, and I don't say it lightly. It might be among my top 5 gaming experiences of all time. I love the sea, and I love sea creatures, I love exploration, and I love "progression systems", and this game puts it all together. This game is mainly about exploration and crafting, with a bit of a survival component. The underwater setting is very unique and appealing. I've spentI love this game, and I don't say it lightly. It might be among my top 5 gaming experiences of all time. I love the sea, and I love sea creatures, I love exploration, and I love "progression systems", and this game puts it all together. This game is mainly about exploration and crafting, with a bit of a survival component. The underwater setting is very unique and appealing. I've spent around 12 hours playing and fully enjoyed every hour.

    People complain about bugs, but I didn't encounter one single bug (it's about 6 months since release so I guess they patched it). I have been thinking about the negatives of the game, and nothing came to mind. Except just one thing: the popping of the terrain is a bit too much. They should optimize it.
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  76. Aug 15, 2018
    10
    My score is 9+, but still closer to 10, than 9. It would be easily 10/10 without a doubt, if it weren't for 3 things: unfortunately the game engine does not manage thousands of objects and player is forced to see constant pop-ups of objects and their LODs; the quality of certain textures is a joke; one critical bug that removes water from the world is not fixed since 2016 (player walks onMy score is 9+, but still closer to 10, than 9. It would be easily 10/10 without a doubt, if it weren't for 3 things: unfortunately the game engine does not manage thousands of objects and player is forced to see constant pop-ups of objects and their LODs; the quality of certain textures is a joke; one critical bug that removes water from the world is not fixed since 2016 (player walks on the bottom of the sea and one has to use console commands to repair the game). Aside from this it is a gem. Great narrative, an excellent survival game (think of Cast Away). The plot is really interesting, it somehow feels similar to Fallout series, as you have a story told by the environment as well as many logs&diaries. Expand
  77. Sep 2, 2018
    10
    Quite simply the best open world survival game out there. There's an immersive story, and you are in complete control all the way.
  78. Aug 19, 2018
    10
    A must play. Full stop. A breathtaking, meticulously crafted world with mechanics that make this a joy to explore. I do want to say much more than that as I do not want to give anything away. Dip your toe in. You will be delighted.
  79. Jul 7, 2018
    10
    Excellent game. Pleasantly surprised, wasn't expecting this level of completion, more engrossing than most games I've played in 2018.

    Atmosphere is amazing. Jumped out of my seat on more than one occasion. Extremely surprised this was a product from an Indie Dev.
  80. Jan 24, 2019
    10
    This is the Type of Game that o never never espect to play... and when i played.....wowwwwww no words enough to describe... One of the Best Games i´ve ever Played. Thanks Dev Team.
  81. Nov 16, 2018
    10
    Subnautica makes you feel chillingly alone in a world full of beautiful flora and fauna, and I wouldn't want it any other way. The sense of isolation pushes you to constantly seek out survivors, thus teasing out a surprisingly captivating storyline adorned with moments of both terror and elation. The base building and crafting components are (almost) as compelling as the beautiful, curatedSubnautica makes you feel chillingly alone in a world full of beautiful flora and fauna, and I wouldn't want it any other way. The sense of isolation pushes you to constantly seek out survivors, thus teasing out a surprisingly captivating storyline adorned with moments of both terror and elation. The base building and crafting components are (almost) as compelling as the beautiful, curated world you exist in., and each new discovery - be it a towering wreck on the ocean floor or the blueprints for a coffee machine - fills you with excitement and the hunger to find more. The only criticism is that, as with almost every indie game, there are holes in the fabric with regards to optimization and bugs. As game-breaking bugs are reportedly few and far between (and did not impact my playthrough), I don't feel this is substantive enough to take away from a perfect score. This game is a top 10 for me. Expand
  82. Jan 12, 2019
    10
    One of best survivals ever. (75 characters)..................................................................
  83. Feb 9, 2019
    10
    Frankly, I am scared of depths. Now imagine me playing this one. The best survival game I`ve ever played. Period.
    The mixture of exploration and uknown drove me insane, and I`ve never thought I`d want to build a base and literally live there with occasional trips for recources. Honestly, I don`t know a game where I`d feel so unsafe. Now add an intriguing story, ocassional fears of uknown
    Frankly, I am scared of depths. Now imagine me playing this one. The best survival game I`ve ever played. Period.
    The mixture of exploration and uknown drove me insane, and I`ve never thought I`d want to build a base and literally live there with occasional trips for recources. Honestly, I don`t know a game where I`d feel so unsafe. Now add an intriguing story, ocassional fears of uknown (or the fact your little Moth can be torn apart as a paper ship by some monsters that live there) and lenghthy searches for needed equipment. Plus don`t forget to drink and eat. Best experience!
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  84. Oct 21, 2019
    10
    Probably the best story driven openworld survival game out there. Exploring this world is just amazing
  85. Jan 26, 2018
    10
    Its a emotional ride with terror around every corner, not know whether you'll make it to see the next day or if you'll be eaten alive
  86. Feb 1, 2018
    2
    When you get into this game first time - you are overwhelmed with it's beauty and atmosphere. Everything looks awesome, and you are very motivated to play it.
    Then, it comes to gameplay.
    For the game this atmospheric gameplay is equaliy boring and choring. For the first, your character needs food and water for every like 3 minutes or so. Second, your inventory is extremely small
    When you get into this game first time - you are overwhelmed with it's beauty and atmosphere. Everything looks awesome, and you are very motivated to play it.
    Then, it comes to gameplay.
    For the game this atmospheric gameplay is equaliy boring and choring.
    For the first, your character needs food and water for every like 3 minutes or so.
    Second, your inventory is extremely small compared to all the things you need to drag down with you in order to survive.
    Third, and MOST BAD GAME DESIGN DECISION EVER MADE - all the tech you need in order to progress the story is locked behind finding "tech fragments" and scan them. They are scattered pretty much randomly all over the map. There are actually two ways to find them - on game's wiki or autistically going in circles on the sea floor and trying to find them for hours and hours (and tens of hours actually).
    Did i mention that this game does not have a simple map? I mean you have incredibly future tech - fabricator that can make things out of thin air, vehicle station that can make submarines out of thin air and such things. Even the sea glide thing can scan and draw 3d map for you. But you don't have a simple map that can memorize areas that you have already visited?
    Of course there are radio beacons, but you need to place tons and tons of them to get any proper navigation - and your hud becomes a mess with this amount of marks.

    People call this "exploration" - i call it "artificially inflated walkthrough time".

    So you can stuck on any moment of story without any clues and hints what to do next - just because you don't have needed blueprint and so game's radio event is not triggered.

    I'm honestly tried to appreciate this game everyone's talking about - and after 20 hours i did uninstall, stuck in another "tech fragment" wall. So, yeah.
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  87. Jan 25, 2018
    10
    This game is amazing. Brilliantly done and well paced. Survival game done truly right.
  88. Jan 28, 2018
    5
    Many guides, articles, etc. make it seem like you can play this game and avoid predators. The truth is: you can't. Most areas that progress the stories are tightly patrolled by increasingly powerful predators and you can only distract them or fend them off temporarily. It's a bit like Amnesia under water. (I'm about 30 hours in but the high number of predators you can't really get rid ofMany guides, articles, etc. make it seem like you can play this game and avoid predators. The truth is: you can't. Most areas that progress the stories are tightly patrolled by increasingly powerful predators and you can only distract them or fend them off temporarily. It's a bit like Amnesia under water. (I'm about 30 hours in but the high number of predators you can't really get rid of has me so frustrated that I'll either start using cheats or quit)
    Annoying as this is, it also means that there is no way to explore probably more than half of the game in peace. Most fans of the game then argue "just use creative mode" - which of course robs you of the story, the step-by-step progression and the survival in terms of food and water.
    On top of it, the game was released in a ridiculously buggy state. Even the save system is very flawed - when you load up your last save, you will probably have a different item equipped and it doesn't save which lights are switched on or off.
    Every time I load a save, I hear some announcement about emergency power and shortly afterwards that power has been restored because... in fact, my ship/base does have more than enough power.
    Fish can still glitch through the hull of the base. And they occasionally twitch around in ways that look weird, aren't physically plausible and probably happen because of bugs as well.
    The scanner room seems glitched - the list of things to scan for changes seemingly randomly. Different people say different things about what affects it.
    And then there are a number of design flaws. For instance, building new base parts generally reduces the overall hull integrity of the base. But you can only see how it affects it when you actually build it. No numbers are shown beforehand, so it's going to be a surprise whether your base will start to leak. Inventory management works very well but the list of blueprints is really annoying to browse thanks to HUGE icons.
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  89. Nov 2, 2019
    10
    Other open world survival games need to learn from subnautica, because it is absolutely amazing. It is the best survival game I have played in the entire world, it even beats Minecraft in my mind. It has some sci fi in it, survival, open world, and even horror. Yes, horror. There is some very tense moments and even the occasional jump scare. it is a very gripping game full of survival andOther open world survival games need to learn from subnautica, because it is absolutely amazing. It is the best survival game I have played in the entire world, it even beats Minecraft in my mind. It has some sci fi in it, survival, open world, and even horror. Yes, horror. There is some very tense moments and even the occasional jump scare. it is a very gripping game full of survival and terror. Hands down one of the best games I have ever played. Expand
  90. Jan 28, 2018
    1
    It is a great game, but tbh I didn't enjoyed it. I don't know what it was. Played this for 10+ hours one day and was left with emptiness and loneliness. I just couldn't motivate myself to play it again. I couldn't motivate myself to go deeper to push the limits something that we do all the time in video games, but in this one... It feels like it is mirroring society: a big deep hole withIt is a great game, but tbh I didn't enjoyed it. I don't know what it was. Played this for 10+ hours one day and was left with emptiness and loneliness. I just couldn't motivate myself to play it again. I couldn't motivate myself to go deeper to push the limits something that we do all the time in video games, but in this one... It feels like it is mirroring society: a big deep hole with scary places, people/fish... A place where we come to to die. My memory is to real, that I am sitting here with tears in my eyes while writing this review. It just became to clear to me... Expand
  91. Feb 5, 2018
    0
    Initially I was really enjoying Subnautica, but I found myself quickly losing interest. And I know why. There have been millions of games like this before. This game doesn't differ itself from other survival games. This game is just another bland, mediocre, survival collect 'n build game in the 'explore the deep' theme. It fails to provide anything new or exciting. It's just slowInitially I was really enjoying Subnautica, but I found myself quickly losing interest. And I know why. There have been millions of games like this before. This game doesn't differ itself from other survival games. This game is just another bland, mediocre, survival collect 'n build game in the 'explore the deep' theme. It fails to provide anything new or exciting. It's just slow progression and chores. In regards to story, there's relatively little story, if you could consider it story. In short, not enough to motivate you.

    Subnautica is an example of how not to make a game.
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  92. Jan 27, 2018
    4
    This review is based on my first hour experience. I might try it again tomorow. If you see rating 4, its not bad, but I am not convinced at the moment.

    At the start your greeted with an exploding starship and a few seconds later u splash into the sea, where the game starts. Beside picking up a fire exstuisgher and killing the fire. The game doesnt explain anything. Alof of equipment
    This review is based on my first hour experience. I might try it again tomorow. If you see rating 4, its not bad, but I am not convinced at the moment.

    At the start your greeted with an exploding starship and a few seconds later u splash into the sea, where the game starts. Beside picking up a fire exstuisgher and killing the fire. The game doesnt explain anything.

    Alof of equipment is broken and you'll need some kind of repair tool. And food and water to live, all you need is in the sea.

    The game itself is beautifull, day and night cycles. The enviroment feels true and alive. I guess that survival and resource collection games are not my thing. I was looking for 1 kind of ingredient and couldnt find it, I grew somewhat frustrated and ended the game.

    I could open youtube and look it up, but whats the fun in that? So thats it, 4/10 based on my first houre. The game doesn't need to give everything away, but the explanation itself was kind of barebones. It might be part of what makes this game good for most others.
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  93. Jan 26, 2018
    8
    Игра - хороша! Мне она понравилась!
    Покупал я ее в раннем доступе в стиме - поиграл я в нее не так уж много, но зацепила она меня своим стилем! +Красивый подводный мир! Что не мало важно - постройка подводной базы - это самое лучшее на мой взгляд! Так-же саундтрек хорош, в играх я ценю хороший саундтрек!
    Игра - хороша! Мне она понравилась!
    Покупал я ее в раннем доступе в стиме - поиграл я в нее не так уж много, но зацепила она меня своим стилем! +Красивый подводный мир! Что не мало важно - постройка подводной базы - это самое лучшее на мой взгляд! Так-же саундтрек хорош, в играх я ценю хороший саундтрек!
  94. Feb 6, 2018
    1
    Simply not a very good game at all. Maybe get it on sale for a dollar or two, but a s a full-priced game it's pretty awful.
  95. Feb 8, 2018
    0
    Stuttering popping mess ruined otherwise solid game. And it will never be fixed. I guarantee it.
  96. Mar 8, 2018
    0
    Buggy and wouldn't even load. Messaging with the dev team was not of much help either.
  97. Mar 22, 2018
    10
    One of the best survival games that you can play .Amazing open world,great atmosphere,tones of creativity to the player.Maybe one of the best games out there .Some problems with pop up issues but ok i can live with that.Best buy for me with a fantastic steam price .
  98. Jan 4, 2019
    6
    Good :

    - story - exploration - the only game under sea - 200 h to play - rich enough for crafting Bad : - stutters with a powerful PC (RTX 2080 TI, 9900K, 64 GB RAM, Samsung 960 Evo 1 TB) - mid-resolution textures : graphically, the game is average - the beginning of the game is laborious : every resource must be collected, everything must be built. After building a base,
    Good :

    - story
    - exploration
    - the only game under sea
    - 200 h to play
    - rich enough for crafting

    Bad :

    - stutters with a powerful PC (RTX 2080 TI, 9900K, 64 GB RAM, Samsung 960 Evo 1 TB)
    - mid-resolution textures : graphically, the game is average
    - the beginning of the game is laborious : every resource must be collected, everything must be built. After building a base, the Cyclops and the Prawn, the game becomes more interesting.
    - Hunger and thirst management is really annoying
    - There is only one end whereas there should have been 3 ends, according to your deeds.
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  99. Jul 14, 2018
    10
    while it does have its bugs and other dev issues, it still is one of the more entertaining games to play. And for me, that's enough for a "would recommend" rating. 10/10 since its the best game in its genre (as far as what I've played).
  100. Aug 30, 2019
    4
    Bear in mind, I only played this game for about 1 hour. But, that wasn't an enjoyable hour. Here's what happened.

    The initial crash sequence...cool. I put out the fire, explored the capsule, and poked around in the ocean outside, collecting some samples. Now, I'm getting thirsty. How do I get water? Digging in the game's recipe book, it seems I need bleach. Where do I get
    Bear in mind, I only played this game for about 1 hour. But, that wasn't an enjoyable hour. Here's what happened.

    The initial crash sequence...cool. I put out the fire, explored the capsule, and poked around in the ocean outside, collecting some samples.

    Now, I'm getting thirsty. How do I get water? Digging in the game's recipe book, it seems I need bleach. Where do I get bleach? I need salt and coral. Where do I get salt and coral (the right kind)? You've got to look for it. I never did find salt. After a couple of deaths, I just didn't feel like it was worth my time.

    Maybe I give up too easy, but I really wasn't looking forward to rebuilding technology starting from the stone age. The game wasn't right for me. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad game.

    This game just dumps you in the ocean and tells you to swim. There's no tutorial. I'm just not interested in a game where the main challenge is trying to figure out how the game works.
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Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 39 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 39
  3. Negative: 0 out of 39
  1. Dec 7, 2018
    92
    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.
  2. CD-Action
    May 16, 2018
    95
    Subnautica is hands down the best survival game I have ever experienced. I completely lost track of time while playing it and for the first time in ages I rescheduled my appointments and neglected my responsibilities to spend more time with a game. If I could I would hand out free copies in the streets so as many people as possible can see how ridiculously good Subnautica is. [04/2018, p.62]
  3. May 10, 2018
    90
    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!