Subnautica

Subnauticais a 2018action-adventurehorrorsurvival gamedeveloped and published byUnknown Worlds Entertainment.The player controls Ryley Robinson, a survivor of a spaceship crash on an alien oceanic planet, which they are free to explore. The main objectives are to find essential resources, survive the localfloraandfauna,and find a way to escape the planet.

Subnautica
Developer(s)	Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Director(s)	Charlie Cleveland
Producer(s)	Hugh Jeremy
Designer(s)	Charlie Cleveland
Programmer(s)	Charlie Cleveland Steven An Max McGuire Jonas Bötel
Artist(s)	Cory Strader Brian Cummings Scott MacDonald
Writer(s)	Tom Jubert
Composer(s)	Simon Chylinski
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	macOS Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One Nintendo Switch PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S
Release	macOS, Windows January 23, 2018 PS4, Xbox One December 4, 2018 NS, PS5, Series X/S May 14, 2021
Genre(s)	Action-adventure,survival
Mode(s)	Single-player

Subnauticawas released inearly accessforWindowsin December 2014,macOSin June 2015, andXbox Onein May 2016. The game was released out of early access in January 2018 for macOS and Windows, with versions forPlayStation 4andXbox Onein December 2018. The physical console versions were published byGearbox Publishing.TheNintendo Switch,PlayStation 5,andXbox Series X/Sversions were released in May 2021. It received generally positive reviews from critics and sold over 5 million units by January 2020. A spin-off,Subnautica: Below Zero,which was originally meant to bedownloadable contentfor the base game, was released in May 2021. A direct sequel,Subnautica 2,is planned to release in early access sometime in 2025.

Gameplay

InSubnautica,players can commandsubmersiblesto explore the game's ocean planet.

Subnauticais asurvivalaction-adventure gameset in anopen worldenvironment and played from afirst-person perspective.The player controls the lone survivor of the crashed spacecraft known asThe Aurora,Ryley Robinson, as he is stranded on a remoteocean planetknown as 4546B.

The main objective is to explore the ocean and survive its dangers, while completing tasks to advance the plot. Players can collect resources and blueprints, construct tools, build bases andsubmersibles,and interact with the planet's wildlife. Some of the most extreme dangers to the player include but not limited to: Crabsquids, Warpers, Mesmers, Bonesharks, Ampeels, Stalkers, Crashfish, and Leviathan-class lifeforms like the Reaper, Sea Dragon and Ghost Leviathans.

The majority of the game is set underwater, with two explorable islands, and a simulated day-and-night cycle that affects visibility, along with an eclipse that happens on a frequent occasion. Upon beginning a new game, players are given an option between four difficulty modes:

• In survival mode, the player manages their depleting health, hunger, thirst and oxygen. If the player dies, theyrespawn,but certain items are removed from their inventory.
• In freedom mode, gameplay is near-identical to that of survival mode, but without hunger and thirst.
• In hardcore mode, gameplay includespermanent death.If the player dies, they do not respawn, and their save file is instead permanently deleted. Additionally, the player does not receive warnings of low oxygen levels as they would in other modes.
• In creative mode, all depleting characteristics, such as health and thirst, are removed. All blueprints are unlocked, allowing players to craft without the need for resources. Additionally, the player starts with a stasis rifle, a Seaglide, a mobile vehicle bay, and a propulsion cannon. All items, base structures, and vehicles do not require an energy source to operate, and vehicles are immune to crush depth.

The game supports VR headsets, such as theHTC Viveand theOculus Rift,with the additional input of a keyboard and mouse or game controller.

Plot

While searching for minerals, the spaceshipDegasicrashes on the ocean world 4546B. Three of its crew survive, living for an unspecified amount of time on the planet. 10 years later, the spaceshipAuroracrash-lands on 4546B. Ryley Robinson escapes onto the planet with a lifepod. He attempts to contact other survivors, but discovers he is the only one left. He is contacted by trading shipSunbeam,responding to theAurora's SOS. When theSunbeamattempts to rescue Ryley, it is shot down by an alien construct.

Ryley investigates the construct and learns that an alien race, the Architects, have placed the planet under quarantine. They constructed a Quarantine Enforcement Platform, shooting down any ships attempting to enter or leave the planet. Ryley attempts to disable the gun but learns he is infected with the Kharaa Bacterium, preventing him from doing so. Alien creatures known as Warpers begin to hunt him. Onboard theAurora's wreck, he uses the ship's transponder to receive blueprints for an escape rocket. He begins experiencing hallucinations of a mysterious creature.

Ryley ventures deeper into 4546B. He discovers an alien research facility where the Warpers, actually quarantine enforcement units, were built. He learns that 1000 years ago, the Architects brought Kharaa to 4546B to look for a cure. Venturing deeper to find a possible vaccine, he discovers the Sea Emperor, a massive creature, who has beentelepathicallycommunicating with Ryley through the hallucinations. The last of its kind, the Architects attempted to harness Enzyme 42 from it for use as a cure, but the Sea Emperor was too old and feeble. They attempted to force its offspring to hatch, but they died soon after. The Architects mysteriously vanished, and the Sea Emperor has been trapped in an aquarium since.

After activating ateleporterto enable the Sea Emperor's young to leave, the Sea Emperor gives Ryley the knowledge of how to make hatching enzymes. Using them, the Sea Emperor younglings hatch and secrete Enzyme 42, curing Ryley and the ocean as a whole. Finally at peace, the Sea Emperor wishes Ryley farewell and dies. A now-cured Ryley disables the Quarantine Enforcement Platform and escapes the planet in the rocket. As he is doing so, he receives one final telepathic message from the Sea Emperor.

In apost-credits scene,Ryley's PDA notifies him he will not be allowed to land until his debt of 1 trillion credits for the use of Alterra resources is paid off.

Development

Charlie Cleveland and Jonas Boetel presenting at theGame Developers Conference2019

Subnauticawas announced byUnknown Worlds Entertainmenton December 17, 2013,with Charlie Cleveland as the director and lead gameplay programmer, and Hugh Jeremy as the producer.The music is composed by Simon Chylinski.

Cleveland was heavily inspired byMinecraft,which he noted "transformed the game industry" and "threw away all traditional challenge oriented and progression oriented games". The release ofMinecraftoverlapped with Unknown Worlds releasingNatural Selection 2.Feeling exhausted, the team wanted to try something new and decided to make such a game.Other influences includedscuba diving,the filmography ofJames Cameron,and "just the feeling of exploring the deep, dark, alternately beautiful and terrible, ocean depths. Feeling like I’m an explorer, almost an astronaut, not knowing what I’ll find".Cleveland did not initially view it as asurvival gamebut as an exploration game.The team was also motivated by theSandy Hook school shootingto make a non-violent game without guns.

The development team opted to use theUnityengine rather than Spark, the engine used for the company's previous game,Natural Selection 2.Subnauticaproducer Hugh Jeremy justified this decision because of the different demands that the game places on the engine, and "because [the team] does not include people working on Spark, it's not appropriate forSubnauticato use Spark. By using Unity forSubnautica,Spark can continue to develop in certain directions, whileSubnauticadevelops in others. To use Spark forSubnauticawould be like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. "

The game lacks the traditional mission or quest structure usually found in video games. This was a deliberate choice; Cleveland stated "with intrinsic rewards, people are instead encouraged to just do the activities for their own merit, less people would be motivated to do it. But, if they did get over that learning period they would get to the point where they internalized that activity as pleasurable on its own and they would continue".Cleveland opted for this after reading an essay by Jamie Cheng who implemented similar philosophies into his gameDon't Starve.

Early access versions ofSubnauticawere released onSteam Early Accesson December 16, 2014and onXbox OnePreview on May 17, 2016.During this initial release the game featured no hunger or thirst mechanics. After receiving criticism, specifically from one player whose critique "struck home for me", the team opted to include such a system eventually discovering that it helped players orient themselves to the early parts of the game.The full version of the game was released on January 23, 2018, formacOSandWindowspersonal computers,and on December 4, 2018, forPlayStation 4and Xbox One consoles.TheNintendo Switch,PlayStation 5andXbox Series X/Sversions of the game and a spin-off, calledSubnautica: Below Zero,were released on May 14, 2021.Previously,Below Zerowas released in early access on January 30, 2019.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	(PC) 87/100 (PS4) 80/100 (XONE) 81/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
Destructoid	9.5/10
Game Informer	8.75/10
GameSpot	9/10
GamesRadar+
IGN	9.1/10
Nintendo Life	9/10
Nintendo World Report	8/10
PlayStation Official Magazine – UK	8/10
Official Xbox Magazine(UK)	8/10
PC Gamer(US)	89/100

Subnauticareceived positive pre-release reception. Ian Birnbaum ofPC GamerdescribedSubnauticaas an "underwaterMinecraft",remarking that" with an experienced developer at the helm and a limitless variety of the oceans to play with, it's going to take a lot forSubnauticato go badly wrong. As the toolbox gets deeper and the shape of the end-game gets set,Subnauticawill be a unique example of the ways survival can be tense, rewarding, and fun. "Marsh Davies ofRock, Paper, Shotgunpraised the rewarding nature of exploring the world ofSubnautica,but criticized the "arbitrariness" and lack of intuition in some of the in-game recipes.

At launch, the game received "generally positive reviews" on all platforms according toreview aggregatorMetacritic.

By January 2020, more than 5.23 million copies had been sold across all platforms, excluding free copies given as part of promotions.

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2018	Golden Joystick Awards	Best Visual Design	Nominated
		Best Audio Design	Nominated
		Breakthrough Award(Unknown Worlds)	Won
		PC Game of the Year	Won
		Ultimate Game of the Year	Nominated
	Gamers' Choice Awards	Fan Favorite Indie Game	Won
2019	22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Game Design	Nominated
	National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards	Game of the Year	Nominated
		Sound Effects	Nominated
	15th British Academy Games Awards	Original Property	Nominated

See also

• List of underwater science fiction works

External links

• Official website
• SubnauticaatMobyGames