| Subnautica | |
| Developer: | Unknown Worlds Entertainment |
| Publisher: | Unknown Worlds Entertainment |
| Director: | Charlie Cleveland |
| Producer: | Hugh Jeremy |
| Designer: | Charlie Cleveland |
| Composer: | Simon Chylinski |
| Engine: | Unity |
| Genre: | Action-adventure, survival |
| Modes: | Single-player |
Subnautica is a 2018 action-adventure survival game developed and published by Unknown 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 local flora and fauna, and find a way to escape the planet.
Subnautica was released in early access for Windows in December 2014, macOS in June 2015, and Xbox One in May 2016. The game was released out of early access in January 2018 for macOS and Windows, with versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in December 2018. The physical console versions were published by Gearbox Publishing. The Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S versions were released in May 2021. It received generally positive reviews from critics and sold over 5 million units by January 2020. A spin-off, , which was originally meant to be downloadable content for the base game, was released in May 2021. A direct sequel, Subnautica 2, is planned to release in early access sometime in 2025.
Subnautica is a survival action-adventure game set in an open world environment and played from a first-person perspective. The player controls the lone survivor of the crashed spacecraft known as The Aurora, Ryley Robinson, as he is stranded on a remote ocean planet known as 4546B in the Andromeda Galaxy.
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 and submersibles, 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.[1] [2] [3]
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:
The game supports VR headsets, such as the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, with the additional input of a keyboard and mouse or game controller.[4]
While searching for minerals, the spaceship Degasi crashes on the ocean world 4546B. Three of its crew survive. They eventually succumb to illness, and are killed when a Reaper Leviathan attacks their habitat. 10 years later, the spaceship Aurora crash-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 ship Sunbeam, responding to the Auroras SOS. When the Sunbeam attempts 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 the Auroras 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 been telepathically communicating 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 a teleporter to 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 a post-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.
Subnautica was announced by Unknown Worlds Entertainment on December 17, 2013,[1] with Charlie Cleveland as the director and lead gameplay programmer, and Hugh Jeremy as the producer.[5] The music is composed by Simon Chylinski.[6]
Cleveland was heavily inspired by Minecraft, which he noted "transformed the game industry" and "threw away all traditional challenge oriented and progression oriented games". The release of Minecraft overlapped with Unknown Worlds releasing Natural Selection 2. Feeling exhausted, the team wanted to try something new and decided to make such a game.[7] Other influences included scuba diving, the filmography of James 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".[8] Cleveland did not initially view it as a survival game but as an exploration game.[8]
The development team opted to use the Unity engine rather than Spark, the engine used for the company's previous game, Natural Selection 2. Subnautica producer 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 for Subnautica to use Spark. By using Unity for Subnautica, Spark can continue to develop in certain directions, while Subnautica develops in others. To use Spark for Subnautica would be like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole."[9]
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".[10] Cleveland opted for this after reading an essay by Jamie Cheng who implemented similar philosophies into his game Don't Starve.[10]
Early access versions of Subnautica were released on Steam Early Access on December 16, 2014[11] and on Xbox One Preview on May 17, 2016.[12] [13] [14] 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.[8] The full version of the game was released on January 23, 2018, for macOS and Windows personal computers,[15] [16] and on December 4, 2018, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles.[17] The Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of the game and a spin-off, called , were released on May 14, 2021.[18] [19] [20] [21] Previously, Below Zero was released in early access on January 30, 2019.[22] [23] [24]
Subnautica received positive pre-release reception. Ian Birnbaum of PC Gamer described Subnautica as an "underwater Minecraft", 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 for Subnautica to go badly wrong. As the toolbox gets deeper and the shape of the end-game gets set, Subnautica will be a unique example of the ways survival can be tense, rewarding, and fun."[2] Marsh Davies of Rock, Paper, Shotgun praised the rewarding nature of exploring the world of Subnautica, but criticized the "arbitrariness" and lack of intuition in some of the in-game recipes.[25]
At launch, the game received "generally positive reviews" on all platforms according to review aggregator Metacritic.
By January 2020, more than 5.23 million copies had been sold across all platforms, excluding free copies given as part of promotions.[26]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Golden Joystick Awards | Best Visual Design | [27] [28] [29] | |
| Best Audio Design | ||||
| Breakthrough Award (Unknown Worlds) | ||||
| PC Game of the Year | ||||
| Ultimate Game of the Year | ||||
| Gamers' Choice Awards | Fan Favorite Indie Game | [30] | ||
| 2019 | 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Game Design | [31] | |
| National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards | Game of the Year | [32] | ||
| Sound Effects | ||||
| 15th British Academy Games Awards | Original Property | [33] |