9/18/2023 0 Comments Subnautica review gamers with jobsThere’s a sense of grandeur to the desolation of the depths- life becoming less abundant as pressure increases and light reduces – and no sight is more welcoming after a long and dangerous expedition than the golden slivers of light filtering through as you ascend. You navigate by familiar rock formations, swim through twisting, kelp-filled canyons and explore the ocean floor by the light of bio-luminescent plants. The alien world has a diverse ecosystem, divided into several distinct biomes, and slowly exploring the strange flora and fauna is genuinely fascinating. When it’s not being terrifying – and often even when it is – Subnautica is beautiful. The tone can switch from placidity to panic in a split-second. There’s less and less light as you descend, and that has to be managed just as much as oxygen levels – do you keep your torch on to help you navigate, or is it better to keep it off most of the time, so as not to attract attention? What was that shadow just at the edge of vision? The game is filled with heart-stopping moments – hearing the roar of an apex predator, seeing your oxygen fall close to zero as you search for the exit in a disorienting maze of tunnels. Some of the bizarre creatures you meet in the depths are predators, often much larger than you. Subnautica is a science-fiction survival game with strong horror elements. Even in the late game, when you’re no longer descending in just a wetsuit, but in the (relative) safety of a sleek submarine, these pressures don’t go away attracting the attention of a predator or running out of power can quickly strip away all your security. The twin issues of depth and air supply give Subnautica a level of danger and tension that is not often found in similar games – as you dive deeper and deeper, exploring lightless caves and shattered wrecks, you need to keep one eye constantly on your remaining air supply, calculating how long you can stay down before emerging, how quickly you can reach the surface. The monsters aren’t coming for you you have to go to them. Unlike a lot of games with horror elements, Subnautica forces you to be a willing participant in the terror. You could stay near the surface, where it’s sunlit and safe, but more precious resources – required for more advanced construction and potential rescue – are only found at greater depths. As the game progresses, you are driven deeper, to colder waters with more dangerous denizens. What sets Subnautica apart from all of its competitors though, is that the hostile environment in question is an alien world that is almost entirely covered by water.Īt first, you explore shallow seas, diving from your damaged lifepod to gather food and research the simple alien herbivores around you. This is the core plot of every survival game, and it’s been done a thousand times before with varying levels of quality. ![]() Stranded alone in a hostile environment, you are forced to struggle for survival, learning about your new home and constructing more and more complex tools. ![]() Subnautica, therefore, is absolutely my kind of thing. Something about the bizarre half-lit world down there is endlessly fascinating to me. If a film/book/game is set underwater, regardless of other considerations (genre, quality, etc.), I am interested. I have, for unknown reasons, always been drawn to the deeps.
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