Subnautica is a pretty amazing survival game built into some of the foundations of System Shock's immersive sim mechanics. It has a hauntingly beautiful world filled with plenty of biomes along with the creatures and flora that inhibit it. The story unfolds in the Metroid Prime/System Shock logbook system and the game lets you play at your own pace, never needing to rush. You can build your base, tend your garden, upgrade your equipment, and brace yourself to go deep in the very hostile ocean world.
There are some annoyances with how it handles the survival mechanics though. Finding resources to craft your equipment can get a little too grindy, and I also feel that the thirst meter drains far too quickly, giving me the notion that no one dies of thirst far quicker than the player character. Granted, the game does give you options on how to balance it out if you are able to find the blueprints for it.
It had a pretty drawn out end game as well. Without giving too much away, you are required to build something that requires a lot of resources and backtracking, some of which I think was pretty dumb with how it was handled. Throughout the game I chose to not build the Cyclops submarine because I felt I was getting through the game just fine without it, and I felt it was too big for many of the passageways and caves I came across.
However, It turns out the sub is a necessity for the endgame, because it has its own fabricator that crafts one of the ingredients needed to build the final part to get you home.
Despite this, the annoyances aren't enough to bring down such an amazing world to experience and explore. Sometimes I wish I could forget some of the areas in the game just to experience the dread and anxiety of coming across them again. The uncertainty of whether or not you should push further and then succeeding in doing so is super satisfying.
It took me awhile to finish this game, and it's kind of bittersweet that I did. There aren't many games of this genre that capture the feelings I've experienced playing this game. I'm sad that I won't be able to experience them again now that I know what to expect playing this in the future.
There are some annoyances with how it handles the survival mechanics though. Finding resources to craft your equipment can get a little too grindy, and I also feel that the thirst meter drains far too quickly, giving me the notion that no one dies of thirst far quicker than the player character. Granted, the game does give you options on how to balance it out if you are able to find the blueprints for it.
It had a pretty drawn out end game as well. Without giving too much away, you are required to build something that requires a lot of resources and backtracking, some of which I think was pretty dumb with how it was handled. Throughout the game I chose to not build the Cyclops submarine because I felt I was getting through the game just fine without it, and I felt it was too big for many of the passageways and caves I came across.
However, It turns out the sub is a necessity for the endgame, because it has its own fabricator that crafts one of the ingredients needed to build the final part to get you home.
Despite this, the annoyances aren't enough to bring down such an amazing world to experience and explore. Sometimes I wish I could forget some of the areas in the game just to experience the dread and anxiety of coming across them again. The uncertainty of whether or not you should push further and then succeeding in doing so is super satisfying.
It took me awhile to finish this game, and it's kind of bittersweet that I did. There aren't many games of this genre that capture the feelings I've experienced playing this game. I'm sad that I won't be able to experience them again now that I know what to expect playing this in the future.