Subnautica

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 290 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 217 out of 290
  2. Mixed: 42 out of 290
  3. Negative: 31 out of 290
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  1. Huefthoch
    Jul 11, 2023
    8
    Played the full release in 2023
    Very enjoyable survival game with a surprising good story. The Biomes are gorgeous and very diverse, the soundtrack is awesome. The Gameplay on PS4 is a bit clunky but functional and most of the times quiet intuitive. The game is quiet good at communicating at where to go next, with as little information as possible. But let me be clear that this is a fan    Played the full release in 2023
    Very enjoyable survival game with a surprising good story. The Biomes are gorgeous and very diverse, the soundtrack is awesome. The Gameplay on PS4 is a bit clunky but functional and most of the times quiet intuitive. The game is quiet good at communicating at where to go next, with as little information as possible. But let me be clear that this is a fan wiki Game. It is possible to play completely blind but you will find yourself swimming around aimlessly like a wale that was just hit by sonar. Luckily the community is awesome.
    Becoming submersed in the world is easy until the textures clip in and you destroy your seamoth on a reefback that you couldn't sea because it hadn't loaded until you drove into it.
    The Gameplay loop is the classical survival loop where you gather resources that upgrade your equipment that lets you go to greater Depths where you find more resources. This game limits the amount of resources to build something to a reasonable amount. You can build a mini base with a power source a bed, a storage unit and two windows with 1 inventory full of resources. Yes this game has a very good base building mechanic.
    That leaves the story. The game has a very direct but interesting story that tells you exactly enough to keep you hooked but not so much that you notice any plot holes.
    But the real star of this game is the world and the creatures that live in it.    … Expand
  2. PacoBN23
    May 30, 2023
    9
    Subnautica es un juego de supervivencia bastante competente dentro del género. El sistema de crafteo es bastante bueno, no se hace demasiado pesado el farmear materiales y la sensación de progresión es muy satisfactoria.
    El diseño del mapa y de todos sus biomas es buenísimo, encontrándonos diferentes animales en cada uno. Por si fuera poco, la historia es sobresaliente dándote la    Subnautica es un juego de supervivencia bastante competente dentro del género. El sistema de crafteo es bastante bueno, no se hace demasiado pesado el farmear materiales y la sensación de progresión es muy satisfactoria.
    El diseño del mapa y de todos sus biomas es buenísimo, encontrándonos diferentes animales en cada uno. Por si fuera poco, la historia es sobresaliente dándote la sensación continua de querer avanzar y avanzar.
    Por último, lo más brillante del juego es su inmersión, haciendo que estés en constante tensión cuando escuchas a un Leviatán, creándote una talasofobia de cuidado.    … Expand
  3. WadieGamer
    Aug 4, 2022
    9
    Subnautica is so far one of the best ocean games I've ever enjoyed, I felt like I have been into a sea adventure.
    The environment of the game is so diverse and beautiful, the amount of biomes, sea creatures, plants, and buildings that you can construct just like Minecraft, all these details combined together made an absolute masterpiece, however the least appealing part of the game is the    Subnautica is so far one of the best ocean games I've ever enjoyed, I felt like I have been into a sea adventure.
    The environment of the game is so diverse and beautiful, the amount of biomes, sea creatures, plants, and buildings that you can construct just like Minecraft, all these details combined together made an absolute masterpiece, however the least appealing part of the game is the amount of bugs I encountered.
    Although the bugs the game has something to rebalance itself, it's the storyline, a perfectly well-written story.    … Expand
  4. aaronnmp96
    Feb 3, 2023
    6
    The game is very good, although it is a bit tedious at times, and ends up being repetitive, the survival mode is good.
  5. Merkinho
    Jan 3, 2023
    9
    Noch nie hat mich ein Game so sehr gepackt wie dieses! Jeden Tag habe ich es gezockt, um die tiefen Gebiete zu erkunden und weitere Elemente der Story zu entdecken. Das Gefühl der Einsamkeit wird hier nicht nur sehe gut rübergebracht, sondern auch mit dem Gefühl der Angst, die ich so noch nie bei einem Spiel empfunden habe, kombiniert. Die verschiedenen Biome, ,,Fische" und die AtmosphäreNoch nie hat mich ein Game so sehr gepackt wie dieses! Jeden Tag habe ich es gezockt, um die tiefen Gebiete zu erkunden und weitere Elemente der Story zu entdecken. Das Gefühl der Einsamkeit wird hier nicht nur sehe gut rübergebracht, sondern auch mit dem Gefühl der Angst, die ich so noch nie bei einem Spiel empfunden habe, kombiniert. Die verschiedenen Biome, ,,Fische" und die Atmosphäre machen dieses Spiel so einzigartig und gut. Die Bugs und das Fehlen von Autosaves haben mich dabei leider sehr gestört.… Expand
  6. Smiler78
    Dec 20, 2022
    8
    Subnautica is a interesting undersea survival game. I really enjoyed playing this one. It's gorgeous floating round in the reefs and jellyfish caves. There is a fair amount to do. U really get the feel of being stranded in the middle of the ocean. I would recommend this game
  7. sEBq78
    Nov 8, 2022
    5
    Beginning of the game is at score 8 but more u progress you realize there is nothing more than just gathering resources and crafting, crafting and .. crafting... after few hours it gets sooo boring...
  8. Raziel72
    Aug 7, 2022
    10
    Восхитительный мир! Прекрасные локации, биомы, флора, фауна и предметы будущего! Очень необычная игра, которая покажет тебе красоту подводного мира! Здесь ты будешь бояться глубины, но потихоньку преодолеешь этот страх, благодаря апгрейдам техники и пониманию фауныВосхитительный мир! Прекрасные локации, биомы, флора, фауна и предметы будущего! Очень необычная игра, которая покажет тебе красоту подводного мира! Здесь ты будешь бояться глубины, но потихоньку преодолеешь этот страх, благодаря апгрейдам техники и пониманию фауны
  9. Moonglowatcher
    Jul 23, 2022
    7
    The game is absolutely amazing in every point, the only thing that ruined my game experience was the several crashes more than 15 times on my PS4 pro with an SSD hard drive.
  10. Migu7
    Dec 27, 2021
    10
    El mejor juego de supervivencia que he jugado, con una historia sorprendente que se va revelando según exploramos. Totalmente inolvidable!
  11. inopinatus
    Dec 2, 2021
    8
    One of the best underwater games ever made and one of the best survival games ever made. A masterpiece of world-building, storytelling, game progression, and balance.

    The visuals are often stunningly rich and beautiful textured and lit. Also fantastic audio - both the soundtrack, and the environmental sounds, made for the best sonic experience of any game I have ever played and this    One of the best underwater games ever made and one of the best survival games ever made. A masterpiece of world-building, storytelling, game progression, and balance.

    The visuals are often stunningly rich and beautiful textured and lit. Also fantastic audio - both the soundtrack, and the environmental sounds, made for the best sonic experience of any game I have ever played and this made a big difference to the emotional impact and sense of being alone in hostile waters. Use a home theatre system if you possibly can and crank up the subwoofer.

    It would be a 10/10 but read on.

    Subnautica on PS4 is let down by immersion-breaking graphical glitches (clipping, framerate, and pop-in are all problematic). And there are couple of horribly game-breaking bugs. Those issues might be okay on PC where workarounds can be found, but not on console where there's no workaround or remedy. Don't even bother playing on Hardcore mode, and backup your saves once an hour. The PS4 release needed a lot more polish so 8/10 is the best I can do.    … Expand
  12. Thommo
    Nov 27, 2021
    8
    Great game with amazing atmosphere at times. The collecting of materials to build gets really addictive.
  13. Anti-ReviewBomb
    Nov 15, 2021
    9
    A true hidden gem of a game. Came out of nowhere and landed itself in my Top10 of this console generation. If it had co-op I'd have given it a 10. So good.
  14. Salador2606
    Nov 1, 2021
    1
    С огромным удовольствием прошли вместе с ребёнком эту игру на ПК. Но когда решили перепройти её на консоли, то столкнулись с огромным колличеством багов. Это просто кошмар. Не завидую я тем, кто заплатил за это деньги.

    With great pleasure we went through this game on PC together with the child (they gave a score of 10). But when we decided to re-run it on the console, we encountered a    С огромным удовольствием прошли вместе с ребёнком эту игру на ПК. Но когда решили перепройти её на консоли, то столкнулись с огромным колличеством багов. Это просто кошмар. Не завидую я тем, кто заплатил за это деньги.

    With great pleasure we went through this game on PC together with the child (they gave a score of 10). But when we decided to re-run it on the console, we encountered a huge number of bugs. This is just a nightmare. I do not envy those who paid money for this.    … Expand
  15. inmh
    Oct 19, 2021
    8
    Solid survival game. They really did a great job creating unique and different biomes to keep you interested. And boy, do those Reaper Leviathans keep you on your toes.

    I had only two complaints: One, the load times could get a bit lengthy (upwards of four minutes, a few times). This is notable because second, the Prawn Suit that you can construct in-game has a very bad habit of    Solid survival game. They really did a great job creating unique and different biomes to keep you interested. And boy, do those Reaper Leviathans keep you on your toes.

    I had only two complaints:

    One, the load times could get a bit lengthy (upwards of four minutes, a few times). This is notable because second, the Prawn Suit that you can construct in-game has a very bad habit of getting stuck in the Alien Facilities you enter. In my case, the only way I could unstick them was by rebooting the game and loading my last save. I became intimately familiar with the loading screen for a while there.

    In the grand scheme of things, though, these were relatively minor complaints. I still highly recommend the game.    … Expand
  16. lamothe
    Jul 17, 2021
    10
    It is the first survival game I have played and it did not dissapoint. After this game I believe the bar will be set really high for the next one to beat it.
    The atmosphere is fantastic and I was always amazed at how far I was able to push the game's performance. Everything is seamlessly connected without any loading screens. Indeed there are some pop ins but nothing gamebreaking. The    It is the first survival game I have played and it did not dissapoint. After this game I believe the bar will be set really high for the next one to beat it.
    The atmosphere is fantastic and I was always amazed at how far I was able to push the game's performance. Everything is seamlessly connected without any loading screens. Indeed there are some pop ins but nothing gamebreaking. The story is excellent and lastly at the end, you feel you leave your own mark on this incredible alien world. I can't wait to star playing below zero.    … Expand
  17. CheetoPhingers
    Jun 28, 2021
    9
    A masterpiece! Had to deduct a point just for some amount of glitchiness. It's an amazing experience that nobody should miss out on.
  18. gordazo0
    Jun 27, 2021
    9
    Subnautica, an awesome indie game about ocean exploration and surviving in a world isolated by a quarentine by a superior race, that is trying to find out a cure for a disease. It presents an unexplored world and quite graphically polished. The number of creatures and the story that we are following through the strange radio messages of other shipwrecks on the planet, will lead us to aSubnautica, an awesome indie game about ocean exploration and surviving in a world isolated by a quarentine by a superior race, that is trying to find out a cure for a disease. It presents an unexplored world and quite graphically polished. The number of creatures and the story that we are following through the strange radio messages of other shipwrecks on the planet, will lead us to a much greater challenge: discover the secrets of this fantastic planet, who passed before and its predators.

    But it is not the typical game of swimming and getting material, what makes it different and so pleasant is the wide range of fantastic creatures that we can find, other shipwrecks, also the great music makes the game an unforgettable experience.

    We started in a life-saving capsule and with almost no resources, and our mission was to create a habitat, survive and face predators while discovering the great aurora and the history that surrounds the planet.

    I was very impressed by this indie masterpiece, although there always some not good things, some fps drops are presented, the initial loading screen takes a long time and we can find some quite exaggerated bugs, but all this is countered by the wonderful atmosphere of the game, biomes, creatures, music, vehicles, possibility to farm a large number of plants, etc.

    In these 50 hours that I have invested in the game, I have discovered how fantastic it is, tricks and history. 9/10 I definitely recommend playing this indie masterpiece made by Unkown Worlds Entertainment. Congratulations on the fantastic game you have made. Must play.    … Expand
  19. Stratslinger315
    Jun 25, 2021
    0
    Boring, tedious and glitchy. Suck-Nautica is more like it. Enjoy using a knife and goofy cannon as there are no weapons in the game. Enjoy your submarine if you can due to all the maintenance with batteries and bs like fires. It‘s a game that should be or could be really fun but just isn’t at all.
  20. clanky9
    Jun 14, 2021
    6
    Sorry but i cant give this game more than 6/10 i must admit that this game visually looks great but there are a lot of bugs in this game on ps4 version. I only played it because it was free.
  21. fillipegb
    Jun 6, 2021
    9
    It's a one of the best survival game that i played. The game environment is fantastic with beautiful biomes and graphics. The game has a good history and the gameplay is balanced. For PS4, the game has some issues related to graphic optimization but that doesn't hinder the gameplay.
  22. Julinitot
    Jun 6, 2021
    8
    One of the best survival / base crafting game.

    The game is pretty easy, but you will have to invest time in reading the document you find to understand the lore otherwise you'll find yourself with no clue about what to do next. You are on your own and you will have to think logically and be thorough in your exploration to progress through the story. Ending is good and rewarding which is    One of the best survival / base crafting game.

    The game is pretty easy, but you will have to invest time in reading the document you find to understand the lore otherwise you'll find yourself with no clue about what to do next. You are on your own and you will have to think logically and be thorough in your exploration to progress through the story. Ending is good and rewarding which is very rare for this kind of game.

    Graphics & Music are good and immersive. The gameplay is based on exploration and gets new everytime you build a new vehicle.

    Combat is almost inexistant and should be avoided because it is not fun and fleeing is always a better option. AI is very poor and blind.

    Technically the game suffers on basic ps4 to a point I had never seen before in my life: 3 min to load the last save, pop up delay almost game breaking because the plant or ore you're looking for does not appear while you're asphyxiating and last but not least, the game crashes every hour or so (save often or be bitter).

    In conclusion, i'm really looking forward for the next iteration...but not on ps4.    … Expand
  23. gd01skorpius
    Jun 2, 2021
    4
    TL;DR: This game IS worth getting but if you can, get it on PC. It's a shame the PS4 version is so much worse. I've left a glowing review for the PC version but I simply cannot recommend paying more than a very small amount of money on the PS4 version (it was free when I got it, and it showed enough promise to make me want to pay for the PC version). The issues: The game takes far to longTL;DR: This game IS worth getting but if you can, get it on PC. It's a shame the PS4 version is so much worse. I've left a glowing review for the PC version but I simply cannot recommend paying more than a very small amount of money on the PS4 version (it was free when I got it, and it showed enough promise to make me want to pay for the PC version). The issues: The game takes far to long to load and, worse, way way way too long to save. The saving issue is painful because world content will not stream in (i.e.: appear) until saving is complete. I have waiting between 1 to 2 minutes to save my progress, and you need to save because the game blue screens SO MUCH. This IS a GREAT game, which only makes it all the more frustrating because of these highly intrusive issues. Should you get this game on PS4? If you can get it for free or only a few bucks then definitely try it out, but if you have the choice, get it on PC where none of these issue exist.… Expand
  24. torq314
    Jun 2, 2021
    10
    This one is among the best games I've played in my life and I play for 35 years. It's just immersive. For anyone loving free open-world adventures, where it's the player to decide what to do and where to go - it's probably a life-time adventure.

    What makes it so unique is the constant sense of "unknown". Sure, Witcher or Skyrim are great too, it's a similar vibe of freedom but wherever    This one is among the best games I've played in my life and I play for 35 years. It's just immersive. For anyone loving free open-world adventures, where it's the player to decide what to do and where to go - it's probably a life-time adventure.

    What makes it so unique is the constant sense of "unknown". Sure, Witcher or Skyrim are great too, it's a similar vibe of freedom but wherever you go, there are other people there. In subnautica, you can't really expect anything and it's a constant I-didn't-expected-that feeling.

    The only minor complaint is a slow start that could potentially repell some players from the exploration - you first need to gather resources, build a base and vehicles and only then the player can plan their trips around the vast world that awaits to be visited.

    I really like the story, it's not that obvious at the beginning but later in the game the plot plays an important role. Clever, as it's then not just exploring around without a point but rather, you explore to unravel the story behind the game.

    Brilliant, great. Definitely recommend.    … Expand
  25. SplitMind
    May 30, 2021
    5
    Am I playing the same game as all these rave reviews? I can't even give the game a proper review because it's such a stunted experience. The game drops you literally in the middle of the ocean with minimal guidance and signposting, and of course your ship is broken and you are under-equipped.

    However, none of the above is even the real problem. What I couldn't get past was the constant    Am I playing the same game as all these rave reviews? I can't even give the game a proper review because it's such a stunted experience. The game drops you literally in the middle of the ocean with minimal guidance and signposting, and of course your ship is broken and you are under-equipped.

    However, none of the above is even the real problem. What I couldn't get past was the constant meandering around the ocean scavenging for ingredients like looking for a needle in a haystack. This is extremely repetitive and extremely tedious. Every now and then I thought I was getting somewhere, such as when I crafted the scanner and the flashlight, but all these added were another tedious element to the gameplay.

    I played the game in free mode because having to babysit my character's hunger and thirst sounded ridiculous, but even in free mode having to constantly dive in and out of water for oxygen became incredibly irritating quickly. The creative mode that removes all survival mechanics also disables the story so it's a pointless mode I never even tried.

    I noticed many people mentioning performance problems, which I fortunately encountered very few of. The framerate definitely suffered and I saw some fish getting stuck in the environment, but nothing game-breaking. Having said that, reports of losing save files make me glad to give this up after just a few hours.

    This is yet another game that had amazing potential and I really looked forward to it, but was quite disappointed. It's just inane, tedious and repetitive. Fortunately I got it free during the pandemic so I'm not going to complain about losing too much. Avoid.    … Expand
  26. mplaaguilera
    May 25, 2021
    10
    A truly unique experience, i enjoyed it a lot despite all the bugs and poor performance issues
  27. botox
    May 20, 2021
    10
    One of the best survival games I've ever played, discovered by mere accident, as it was free to download as part of Sony's 'Stay at home' initiative.

    Story is incredibly immersive, developing and full of twists. As it develops, more and more things start to make sense. And in order to develop it -- you have to put in more time/resources, get better equipment, get to the deepest and    One of the best survival games I've ever played, discovered by mere accident, as it was free to download as part of Sony's 'Stay at home' initiative.

    Story is incredibly immersive, developing and full of twists. As it develops, more and more things start to make sense. And in order to develop it -- you have to put in more time/resources, get better equipment, get to the deepest and scariest biomes and find out by yourself.

    Unlike it's sequel (more of an expansion pack) Below Zero, this game doesn't take you by your hand. Tutorial consists of few sentences and an arrow. Everything else you have to figure out by yourself. And this is what hooked me on to this game even further. I had to Google everything out, do the research as I play. Watch tutorials for each big step in order to make it. And thats why I've had 7+ days of pure game time fun.    … Expand
  28. JasonR98
    May 14, 2021
    7
    Loved this game but despite it being out for a few years now the bugs and glitches are awful, they happen very frequent and they vary from areas not spawning in, not being able to move, the game freezing and crashing and more. The developers really have no excuse for this there’s no reason as to why they can’t fix this but instead they focus on more getting more money by bringing out aLoved this game but despite it being out for a few years now the bugs and glitches are awful, they happen very frequent and they vary from areas not spawning in, not being able to move, the game freezing and crashing and more. The developers really have no excuse for this there’s no reason as to why they can’t fix this but instead they focus on more getting more money by bringing out a sequel, The loading times are awful as well.… Expand
  29. Zdygard
    May 13, 2021
    10
    Easy 10 for price akone. It's subnautica in steroids, better graphics snimations sounds textured levels amazing story ends just much.

    There is just so much more detail. It's what a 60 game costs even though it's worth 50 and so are those games. These people are the new CD project red. Releasing GOOD games that are original and cheap but great quality. And their sequel blew it out of the    Easy 10 for price akone. It's subnautica in steroids, better graphics snimations sounds textured levels amazing story ends just much.

    There is just so much more detail. It's what a 60 game costs even though it's worth 50 and so are those games. These people are the new CD project red. Releasing GOOD games that are original and cheap but great quality. And their sequel blew it out of the park. This is a mist buy. Best preorder for 26 ever had. But it at full price and support the dev because they are giving us a deal on premium is far bug free experience. They are like a unicorn in the industry. "You guys want cheap bomb ass games?" "Hell yeah!" "Well here ya go! Oh and they don't crash or need dlc! Maybe we will add in free stuff but it's definitely a complete game. You can preorder it for $27!".

    Dudes are legends in the gaming industry. We should buy their stock now After resident evil right making another solid 100 from me, thst and Disco Elysium have made spring gsming great. Next week sunless skies comes out console another must buy from me. Recently we have been spoiled with good games. Biomutant is good i preordered it ,shame shame i know. It could be a buggy crashing mess. Side note, check out steep you like snowboarding to chill electro music. Also try Stellaris if you like big sim space empire warfare. My last recommendation is Blasphemous it's my goty before next year's dokm enteral which was a blessing from the literal gods. Don't miss Lara Croft 30woth dlc dungeons it's dope. Finally ion fury if you like duke nukem    … Expand
  30. krayzie
    May 11, 2021
    9
    Absolutely phenomenal game. Been a while since a game got me hooked in as much as Subnautica.
    Exploring the different biomes and uncovering new blueprints/lore is incredibly satisfying.
    Story was top notch and engaging throughout as well. Would have been an easy 10/10 for me if not for the numerous bugs (one of which almost bricked my 70 hour playthrough). Fact that this game still    Absolutely phenomenal game. Been a while since a game got me hooked in as much as Subnautica.
    Exploring the different biomes and uncovering new blueprints/lore is incredibly satisfying.

    Story was top notch and engaging throughout as well. Would have been an easy 10/10 for me if not for the numerous bugs (one of which almost bricked my 70 hour playthrough). Fact that this game still gets a 9/10 despite the bugs shows its truly a one a kind and unforgettable experience.

    Upon finishing the game, I could not stop thinking about it for almost a week later.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

57
#57 Best PS4 Game of 2018
38
#38 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. CD-Action
    Mar 25, 2019
    80
    The PS4 edition of the brilliant survival game has some performance problems (framerate dropping, environment popping up really badly if you travel fast) and navigating in three dimensions is much less intuitive with a controller than with a mouse, which did cost me my life sometimes. These flaws do not disqualify the console port though, so if you can’t enjoy Subnautica on PC, consider giving it a shot on PS4, as there are very few such games nowadays. [02/2019, p.35]
  2. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jan 27, 2019
    80
    Few games are this consistently surprising, let alone this well designed. [Issue#158, p.88]
  3. GameCritics
    Jan 15, 2019
    65
    I have rarely seen a game go from being absolutely sublime to absolutely awful, but Subnautica manages to pull it off. The first 25-30 hours are a superb sci-fi survival experience that I would happily recommend to anyone, and I’ll cherish that time under the waves for years to come. But the endgame? It really does ruin a good thing. If the first chunk of the adventure were scored on its own, it would rate much higher. But as a complete experience? The issues are too large to ignore.
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