Subnautica: Dive to Freedom

Subnautica, a game by Unknown World Entertainment, is a first person survival adventure game where you play the role of Ryley Robinson as they try to figure out how to get off the planet Aurora after crash landing on an area only called the Crater.

The player wakes up in an escape pod after surviving the crash of the spacecraft orbiting the planet and is left with minimal gear and supplies and must quickly adapt and see to their immediate survival needs.

One of the first things one notices is that they are surrounded by water, with the disheartening view of the fallen spaceship in view.

The visuals are beautiful but it is disconcerting being surrounded and having the only safe space being a small sphere that isn't even working properly.

It doesn't take long to fiddle and figure out how to get the sphere up and running with some scavenging and breaking down of resources. From this you can see to your immediate basic needs of food and water.

It helps that the underwater world is vibrant with life and curiosities which is a pleasure to just explore and see what is around you. Over time your small patch of ocean will feel constricting and the curiosity of exploring the crashed ship draws you ever closer, but because of events that you experience firsthand with warnings when you swim nearby, the desire to get better equipment drives you to invest in tracking down and creating the gear that can allow you travel to this tempting destination.

This is your driving force compelling you to get better gear and equipment and a reason to explore as lying around in wrecks and crevices are blueprints and parts to scan. Blueprints are split into multiple parts and until you get a complete set you cannot build what it describes. Scanning parts help to print mostly simple and cosmetic items but is also helpful for gathering information about the world around you.The information you get from transmissions and notes also contribute in getting you into this loop and before long you are exploring as far as you can sustain yourself.

The game is not all about exploring and if you are not careful there is plenty of aggressive aquatic life in the sea, and the game is not shy of giving you a hint on where you should be not staying long, but what is interesting is if you are careful enough then combat need not be a requirement to complete the game and it makes a point to make your combat options as difficult as possible in relation to exploration and construction.

Speaking of construction it doesn't really take off, I find, until you find dry land, which in this world is a premium but of great comfort. It is on dry land that you find some of the fundamental parts of streamlining your survival. To really expand your construction needs, one needs to decide on power systems and draw and it is a neat little side project to invest into it with the right blueprints simplifying and making tasks a lot easier and efficient to do.

It is an engaging process developing your bases and gearing up to travel deeper and further into and around the game world. With every trip expanding your knowledge and when you really get started does one appreciate the true beauty that the game hides from view. As the player techs up so do the barriers for exploration and survival expand.

In addition to creating tools there is also a need to find and construct upgrades. The system is allows some customisation to what you want your equipment to do. It is a great system in practice as it forces you to think about and plan what you want your equipment to do and further drives the desire for progression along side your exploration and crafting.

Once you get comfortable and self-sufficient the story can kick into gear. The narrative ramps up hope but still quick to stub it out and makes you work for answers. The journey to finding these answers are compelling as it is in your best interests to try find out what to do to make progress.

The game gives you a destination, then expects you to figure out the means to get to it and the further you prod, the greater the appreciation for the world one develops. It is a fascinating journey going deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of trying to discover answers and it is difficult to describe the satisfaction to finally reach depths that would logically be too dangerous to explore normally in real life even knowing there are game play concessions to allow for a smoother experience.

The "end game" has one feeling equal parts wonder and fascination at what you find and when you have finally completed the prerequisite to leave the planet it is both a moment of awe, happiness and sadness.

At the moment you have the means to escape the game can make one stop and stare and appreciate their journey that through the misfortune you have made a positive impact to the world and the sadness that this incredible journey is at an end.

In those final moment the game makes you reflect on what you have done and with one last push to complete the cycle, you complete preparations and take off. The game ends and you are left with a feeling of being reminded of how the real world operates and in a way feel that what you left might not have been not that bad after all.

Subnautica is one of those games that might not seems like it will offer much but is a rare example of a survival game that has a start, middle and definitive end and it is wrapped an compelling story that is relatively simple but none the less powerful.

Images Source :

IGDB Subnautica

Video Source:

Subnautica Cinematic Trailer