Subnautica

 PC
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1406 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,191 out of 1406
  2. Mixed: 133 out of 1406
  3. Negative: 82 out of 1406

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  1. silvershine24
    Dec 3, 2020
    9
    One of the first games that I had finished in a long time. The open world is very nice, along with the game play mechanics. I would recommend this game to anyone who doesn't have a major fear of water.
  2. lurning
    Jun 21, 2022
    9
    positive: very atmospheric graphics and music / much to discover / lot's of hours of gameplay
    negative: for me personally the terrifying elements when you dive deeper are a bit of a turn-off but I can relate to people liking it
  3. MarsTheNutter
    Feb 23, 2021
    9
    survival games a genre that's filled with games that say there early access games that can give you some fun but not 1000 hours worth of fun Subotica is a masterpiece a one of a kind giving interesting concepts. this is also a story telling beauty not threw character a telling character b what is happening its shown threw the plant life the abandoned areas the alien fauna. the creaturessurvival games a genre that's filled with games that say there early access games that can give you some fun but not 1000 hours worth of fun Subotica is a masterpiece a one of a kind giving interesting concepts. this is also a story telling beauty not threw character a telling character b what is happening its shown threw the plant life the abandoned areas the alien fauna. the creatures can be cute or frightening, big or small, long or short. the plant life the sea the islands they are so divers and fun to explore that by it self it would have convicted me this game was a good game but mix the creatures, alien fauna, the biomes and more makes it a masterpiece of its genre I think everyone should try this game out to see what a good survival game should be and how amazing Subotica is. I hope more games like this will come out instead of the boring regular early access games I'm looking at you "The Forest"… Expand
  4. BennyDahBoi
    Feb 3, 2021
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. ------ SPOILERS ------
    tl;dr:
    Beautiful game, incredible, gripping story - I strongly recommend it!

    You watch a small cutscene laying the plot for the story, it drops you straight into action, you wake up in a burning escape pod, death is imminent but you struggle free from the seat and extinguish the fires. You open the hatch and observe the seemingly infinite horizons of water, next to the giant spacecraft which has seeming disturbed this environment's rest.

    You dive into the blue abyss to discover the friendly shoals and the schools of fish brushing past you. It looks beautiful.

    PROS:

    In turns of the game's graphical elements, it really sticks out in a great way, mostly due to lighting effects. I am honestly intrigued as to what it would look like with RTX Ray-Tracing because I'm sure it would look very similar to this. The deeper you go, the darker it gets, when "night falls" the red rays of the nearby planet light up the night sky.

    The game relies largely on exploration, this puts the player out of their comfort zone and even sometimes introduces some horror aspects which are executed amazingly, I was on the edge of the seat for some of the deeper zones. This may not be for everyone but it worked for me even when I didn't know horror was involved, I personally loved the "heat of the moment" action.

    In terms of gameplay, the controls worked very well with them being preconfigured well without me needing to change much, but when I needed to, the menu of which to manage them was very easy to use.

    Creating and building a base underwater allows players to also let their creativity shine, whilst it also balances rewards with risks and requirements, such as reinforced walls to make sure integrity is up, so your base doesn't flood under pressure, as well as the need for power to keep the lights on.

    Another thing this game absolutely nails is vehicles, Subnauitica, in total, offers 4. They remain balanced and yet they still come with risks and rewards, with things like vehicle health. These vehicles can be upgraded with craft able upgrades if you so wish to spend valuable resources on them.

    The game's story is one of the highlights for me, leaving you in awe in some places, with you scratching your head in others, the game's lore can be very interesting at times, not delving too deep to the point where you overthink things but still allowing you to let your imagination and theories run wild as you progress in the game.

    CONS:

    Bugs - I experienced a bug which got me stuck in a wall thanks to the prawn suit in a stage late in the game, in turn I had to learn console commands and I actually had to god into noclip mode to save my game before I fell into the void.

    Lack of multiplayer features - when I picked this game up I expected multiplayer features but it lacked it which was a real bummer for me and my friends. However, due to the game's wonderful community, developers have been working on multiplayer options for Subnautica, thank god!

    Conclusion:

    In conclusion I feel that the pros outweigh the cons massively, so I have to recommend picking this game up. The price for it is an absolute STEAL.    … Expand
  5. yertre
    Feb 9, 2021
    9
    A great game with a wonderful soundtrack and atmosphere.

    Subnautica is a survival game, and probably the second best one I've played (after Rain World). The game is best experienced blind, so I won't spoil much. Suffice to say that the game has some incredible moments, and should be experienced by anyone who appreciates great atmosphere and storytelling. The game is terrifying at    A great game with a wonderful soundtrack and atmosphere.

    Subnautica is a survival game, and probably the second best one I've played (after Rain World). The game is best experienced blind, so I won't spoil much. Suffice to say that the game has some incredible moments, and should be experienced by anyone who appreciates great atmosphere and storytelling.

    The game is terrifying at times. It's not the typical type of fear in horror games, it's more the feeling that you could be caught anytime and killed any second, while giving you the feeling that you escaped by the skin of your teeth. It's really something that must be experienced, and it's one of many great sensations the game gives you.

    The game has some niggles, the biggest of which is the game's barriers in certain spots which can glitch out and trap you forever. It's not a huge issue, but worth mentioning. The game also has some performance hiccups, especially if you go very deep, but it's hardly a deal breaker.

    If you have ever enjoyed a survival game in your life, play Subnautica. If you enjoy horror games or games with scary atmospheres, play Subnautica. This game is far from perfect, but it's a very special and unique experience, one I wish I could have again. One of the best games of the decade.    … Expand
  6. masnoni
    Mar 6, 2021
    9
    Best open-world game I've played in a long time. Even after 100 hours in game it's still frightening. Story is actually pretty good and engaging. Love it
  7. Neonter
    May 12, 2021
    9
    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. :-)
  8. DrCrimsonRidge
    Sep 17, 2021
    9
    Subnautica is a great take on the survival genre with a great mixture of horror as well.
  9. Andrei234
    Apr 18, 2022
    9
    this is the best survival game i have ever played. it is very fun and replayable. i completed the game 5 times by now and i could complete it the 6th time. the only bad thing about it are the weird bugs that appear at random but they arent a big deal. overall a must buy
  10. GalaxyGlyder
    Oct 4, 2021
    9
    This game is one of the iconic steam games in my opinion. Atmosphere in Sub Nautica is incredible and terrifying. This game has major technical issues however that ruined my first playthrough of this game. Another issue is the lack of direction in this game. I would recommend using a guide if you want to play this game.
  11. jolychik
    Oct 22, 2021
    9
    Дизайн и красота картинки (играть с кино режимом) - 10
    Саунддизайн и музыка - 10
    Атмосфера - 10 Сюжет для выживалки - 10(лучше не видел пока что, аж до мурашек местами, но большая часть в записках(КПК)) Техническое состояние - 7-8 Геймплей и то насколько мне нравилось путешествовать по миру не считая стандартного для выживалок заёбного крафта - 9 В один момент тебя заебёт ресурсы    Дизайн и красота картинки (играть с кино режимом) - 10
    Саунддизайн и музыка - 10
    Атмосфера - 10
    Сюжет для выживалки - 10(лучше не видел пока что, аж до мурашек местами, но большая часть в записках(КПК))
    Техническое состояние - 7-8
    Геймплей и то насколько мне нравилось путешествовать по миру не считая стандартного для выживалок заёбного крафта - 9

    В один момент тебя заебёт ресурсы для жизни добывать и для крафта посторонних не относящихся к сюжету шмоток
    Так что кста советую сразу скачать трейнер для этого, но я его ток через часов 18-20 использовать начал
    Пару раз у меня техника в текстурки упала и я не смог её вытащить, с этим тоже трейнер помог
    Прошёл игру за 32 часа (после завершения дальше выживать низя)

    P. S.
    А, и ещё там есть топ фишка как по мне, капсула времени, тип ты в конце игры оставляешь фотку, текст и какие то препасы(не много) в ней, и один игрок когда нибудь в случайном месте карты на поверхности найдёт её (я 2шт нашёл, сразу не выкупил что шмотки из неё, подумал баг и выкинул их) )    … Expand
  12. t3rminator_
    Dec 24, 2021
    9
    This game is a legend. I am kindda sad because the below zero doesnt link with their og game. The game would be perfect if they would add a image with the planet where the main character landed. i can t wait for the next subnautica.
  13. Jollyolfun
    Nov 18, 2022
    9
    i have thalassophobia and had to take many many many breaks to breath while in this game
  14. Xtremeartman
    May 14, 2022
    9
    Great survival adventure game with a special secret. Subnautica takes the players fear as a deterrent to keep them from going forwards as the player advances in the game, the scenery, creativity and atmosphere in this game is exquisite, the graphics are great and the OST is very well constructed to fit the theme. My review would have been a ten but every once in a blue moon there is aGreat survival adventure game with a special secret. Subnautica takes the players fear as a deterrent to keep them from going forwards as the player advances in the game, the scenery, creativity and atmosphere in this game is exquisite, the graphics are great and the OST is very well constructed to fit the theme. My review would have been a ten but every once in a blue moon there is a glitch which can affect immersion or ruin the flow of gameplay and a few textures are low res but these are small details which are easily ignored. Would recommend this game to anyone… Expand
  15. Luis_yoshihiro
    Jun 23, 2022
    9
    It's a very good game, but it's very poorly optimized. I played it on my PC and XBOX, on both, when I set up my base and look at it, the game hits 22 fps on PC and 15 fps on series x. Also, the game has a lot of loading popups. And I think the story could be easier to understand, not necessarily needing to read and look for the PDA's
  16. AmySorawo
    Sep 3, 2022
    9
    A game made by an indie studio,

    With it bugs and issues its still an amazing game and an achievement by such a small studio. Thank you Unknown Worlds for making this game, you're amazing.
  17. RodriMar
    Sep 14, 2022
    9
    After 125 hours played in this open-world game, i have discovered something new every time, this game its perfect for people who is looking for a non scary game but yes for a game that gives you goosebumps. The music is perfect, and the story its interesting but not necessary. One of the most underrated games, almost in the last 10 years.
  18. pulsification
    Nov 25, 2022
    9
    Incredibly immersive. Hypnotizing soundtrack, interesting story, love this game. The review needs to contain at least 75 characters for some reason.
  19. slimeman321
    May 15, 2023
    9
    a really good game that has a good story and a lot of things to explore and creepy, weird and interesting creatures.
  20. Potet69
    Jun 1, 2023
    9
    Best survival game out there right now.‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎
  21. HydrophobikFish
    Jun 9, 2023
    9
    Incredible open world undersea game. Really sells the undersea environments with many believable yet alien animals and environments. Ambience is stunning, the game is overall gorgeous, and its only big flaw is some technical issues around pop-in
  22. MrMelis
    Jul 16, 2023
    9
    Subnautica is one of the best examples of what makes videogames fun. Its mainly immersion. Unlike modern videogames Subnautica doesn't assist the player throughout the play-through. No tutorial, no handholding, no cutscenes, no map, no real indication of what you have to do, nothing. Only the freedom to decide what you want to do yourself. This base already fades away the sense that youSubnautica is one of the best examples of what makes videogames fun. Its mainly immersion. Unlike modern videogames Subnautica doesn't assist the player throughout the play-through. No tutorial, no handholding, no cutscenes, no map, no real indication of what you have to do, nothing. Only the freedom to decide what you want to do yourself. This base already fades away the sense that you are playing a videogame. On top of this, your character never talks, which really makes you feel like you are that character. Not that you control a character with its own conscience. After playing for a while, you start to realize that you really have to figure out everything yourself. And because the underwater world and its mystery is so captivating, you can easily put up with long hours of exploration to seek out every place and piece of information there is to find. To top it all off Subnautica is incredibly scary. I can say with certainty that Subnautica is going to introduce you to multiple fears you didn't know you had. They play right into those fears by adding fog, big wrecks, big bodies of water, darkness, disturbing looking biomes and worst of all alien sea monsters. Not to forget the incredible sound design by Simon Chylinski which builds up the tension from 0 to 100 real quick. After a certain point, Subnautica becomes a battle between your curiosity and your fear of the unknown. Overcoming that fear time after time was a great experience. There is honestly so much more to say about this game, but you really just have to experience it yourself.… Expand
  23. Malak7
    Jul 21, 2023
    9
    One of the best games I played recently.

    +Beautifull designs and original survival sandbox
    +Tension and fear of the unknown deep ocean
    +Good OST
    -Lack of NPC
    -Character with unknown personality
  24. Akadrud
    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
  25. dubesor
    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
  26. DavidJS
    Sep 9, 2023
    8
    Overall: 83/100

    Subnautica is a survival and exploration game focused on deep sea diving. Selling the feel of diving into an unknown area where you have a sense of anxiety, adrenalin, and excitement is what Subnautica does best, but there are also many other enjoyable aspects to the game. The game falls short in some graphical areas and some parts of the mid game are a bit slow/stale,    Overall: 83/100

    Subnautica is a survival and exploration game focused on deep sea diving. Selling the feel of diving into an unknown area where you have a sense of anxiety, adrenalin, and excitement is what Subnautica does best, but there are also many other enjoyable aspects to the game. The game falls short in some graphical areas and some parts of the mid game are a bit slow/stale, where the story progression slows down.

    Gameplay: 8/10
    Graphics: 7/10
    Music/Sound: 9/10
    Uniqueness: 9/10
    Monetization: 9/10

    Gameplay - The diving aspect is executed very well. You really feel like you're diving. Learning new recipes for items you can create, along with building your base, is also very fun. There is always something new you're looking forward to creating. While looking for those materials, you often find another blueprint. It keeps you engaged and always saying "I'll just do this before logging off...". The story is good, but not amazing. The only bad thing I can really say about the gameplay is that it gets a bit repetitive in the mid game, where there is a bit of a slow down in the story progression. I feel that the developers could have added a bit more here to keep the gameplay flowing.

    Graphics - Certain graphical aspects are really good! These I would rate 8 or 9 out of 10. The best of these are the water effects, and the biomes. The water looks great, especially when underneath and there are sunrays bursting through the water. It's brilliant and really sells the feeling that you are diving. The biomes are beautiful, and each feels very distinct. The colors are gorgeous, and the graphics of the different plants and fish you see in different biomes are lovely. Where the graphics are let down most is pop-ins. It's really immersion breaking and very frequent. Whenever you are travelling you will see it everywhere. There is no option to increase draw distance. There are a few other areas where the graphics could be better, such as the planet in the distance, which looks almost like a cardboard pop-in and at times doesn't even seem like it's in the distance.

    Music/Sound - Brilliant. It really sells the feeling that you are diving into an unknown area. Each biome has different music, matching the vibe of that biome. There are some biomes where the music really gets your adrenalin pumping. The sound effects are great too, even the little things such as guggling down some water. Excellent job by the sound team, and I think sound is a very underrated aspect of a game.

    Uniqueness - There is no other game like it. If you want to feel like a diver and want to explore and underwater world then pick this game up right now. It would get a 10, however it does re-use many survival game aspects, so I can't call it a completely unique game. If you have played many survival games, you will probably find the survival aspect boring. But the underwater exploration is just simply fantastic and you will not find it anywhere else.

    Monetization - Excellent. You pay for the game once. You own the game forever. There are no macroscamsactions, lootboxes, or any of that garbage. It didn't get a 10 because to get a 10 you have to be incredibly good value, and the game is still in that £20-£30 bracket. While absolutely worth it, I have seen on occasion some simialr quality level games at under £10. And these are the ones that I would give a 10 to. The devs have also offered some DLC, but they have put effort into it, and it is standalone to Subnautica, so you don't need the DLC. Think of that as a different game! Overall, Subnautica is absolutely worth the money. Developers who don't try to scam their players should be rewarded. It is currently £25 which is good value.

    Overall, if you have an inclination to explore an underwater world and like the idea of diving, and improving your equipment to explore more and more areas, then seriously consider buying this game. This is what it excels at. The story and the graphics are good, but not exceptional. Survival game lovers might find the survival aspects a bit boring as they are pretty standard.    … Expand
  27. brofenix
    Aug 27, 2022
    8
    An amazing game :O This was a unique experience for me, I had never played a game like this! A great exploration & resource management game. And the survival elements were not annoying to me, and generated tension & necessary planning in the early & mid-game. The story was surprising!! I didn't expect it and had not read anything about it, thankfully. I was pleasantly surprised how far itAn amazing game :O This was a unique experience for me, I had never played a game like this! A great exploration & resource management game. And the survival elements were not annoying to me, and generated tension & necessary planning in the early & mid-game. The story was surprising!! I didn't expect it and had not read anything about it, thankfully. I was pleasantly surprised how far it went and how much I still had to discover after 50 hours and thinking the game may end soon. I highly recommend this game to anyone who can overcome their fear :) I was scared at the beginning to built my courage, and you can to! Good luck!!… Expand
  28. Manzor
    Jul 23, 2020
    8
    The game is a unique experience. It's beautiful, it's responsive, it's great. It has a few problems however. The biggest of them are the bugs. It has quite a lot of bugs, most of them are not too harmful but close to the end of the game you can have difficulties to keep playing. And the performance is pretty bad even in top gaming pcs. The real minimal requirements are higher thanThe game is a unique experience. It's beautiful, it's responsive, it's great. It has a few problems however. The biggest of them are the bugs. It has quite a lot of bugs, most of them are not too harmful but close to the end of the game you can have difficulties to keep playing. And the performance is pretty bad even in top gaming pcs. The real minimal requirements are higher than specified by the developer. It could be due to some bug or memory leak but there's something really wrong with the performance.

    However, the experience is so great when it works that it deserves the run.    … Expand
  29. ComandanteCobra
    Sep 11, 2023
    8
    It's my first survivial game and i Liked It, i tried it on gamepass for pc.
    Addictive, solitary, exploration game.
    Gater resources, build a base, discover and upgrade equipments, explore an unknown word, manage thirst and hunger, deal with wildlife and discover a secret (no time limit) It is unusual in his underwater setting. It's suffer for some repetitiveness and grinding in late    It's my first survivial game and i Liked It, i tried it on gamepass for pc.
    Addictive, solitary, exploration game.
    Gater resources, build a base, discover and upgrade equipments, explore an unknown word, manage thirst and hunger, deal with wildlife and discover a secret (no time limit)
    It is unusual in his underwater setting.
    It's suffer for some repetitiveness and grinding in late game...and some visual bugs.... but nothing too troublesome    … Expand
  30. parallax_84
    Jul 29, 2018
    8
    Best Indie game since Inside.Beautiful setting and It doesnt hold your hand for long and you have to figure out what to do next. The Story is good and when you reach the depths of the alien world you are in is when the game shines. Honestly i think it deserves a little more recognition, is a game with flaws (texture pop in, glitches etc) but this wont ruin the experience.
Page:

Awards & Rankings

10
#10 Best PC Game of 2018
8
#8 Most Discussed PC Game of 2018
20
#20 Most Shared PC Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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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. AusGamers
    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.
    Read full review
  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. GameGrin
    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!
    Read full review
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