I had last wrote about Subnautica in June, stating how its alien ocean environment fostered an atmosphere of wonder and discovery. Since then, the game has only gotten bigger and even expanded to a new platform,
Subnautica came to Mac over the summer, and with that new platform also came a plethora of new content. The underworld world has grown to include two new biomes: the Underwater Islands and Sparse Reef. The former consists of massive chunks of rock and soil supported on the backs of buoyant growths; be careful navigating the waterfall of sands as sharks and other predators lurk around these islands. The latter is an emptier place of rolling dunes and new flora to discover.
Your tech arsenal has expanded as well. Along with the Repulsion Cannon, you can now build larger more complex habitats. Bases can include structures such as a Seamouth dry dock, an observatory to enjoy the underwater vistas safely, new storage compartments, and bulkhead doors.
An upcoming update will allow players to customize the Seamouth submersible with different colors and upgrades like sensor torpedoes.
You can purchase Subnautica and follows its development here.
Title: Subnautica Developer: Unknown Worlds Entertainment Platforms: PC Price: $19.99 ---
I doubt anyone would disagree if you said the open world-crafting-survival genre has become over-saturated in recent years. From zombie-infested cities and frozen woodlands to apocalyptic wastelands and everything in between, we've built shelters, faced dangerous nights, and crafted gear across a plethora of locales and scenarios. Subnautica adds a new depth to the genre, quite literally, as you explore and survive in the sprawling depths of an alien ocean.
Subnautica's settings is easily its strongest element. There's a sense of wonder and mystery and beauty here that forest, cities, and other terrestrial places can't capture. Awakening in an escape pod after your larger spaceship crashes, you climb out and are welcomed with only an expanse of blue in all directions. The only way to survive is to plunge downwards into the aquatic landscape, catching sealife for food and gathering debris and materials to craft new gear and upgrades. What a world awaits you: kelp forests swaying in the current, bio-luminescent growths along the walls of dark deep caves, swarms of weird fish twisting through the water, coral tunnels and reefs, and more. But this beautiful environment is npt void of danger.
Bone sharks swim among the kelp, the aggressive leviathan waits near the smoking crash site, and other aggressive lifeforms thrive throughout Subnautica's biomes. Luckily, with the right materials, you'll be well equipped to descend deeper and brave unexplored areas. Air tanks allow to stay underwater for longer, fins let you swim faster, knives and high-tech equipment like the stasis gun provide more effective means of defense. Lights, beacons, dive reels, air pipelines; the array of equipment to be constructed is varied and grows with each update.
It's an engaging cycle; new equipment allows you to explore more of the world (a reward by itself), thus acquiring new and better material and having access to better gear to explore deeper. In my opinion, the fact that every piece of equipment has a direct tangible effect, from faster movement or more air, makes crafting and collecting material more tolerable than in similar games. Once you're constructing bases on the sea floor or building submersibles, Subnautica really opens up, as you establish footholds in deeper terrain.
Subnautica is currently on Steam Early Access; the most recent update added a gravity gun-esque Propulsion Cannon and a Workbench to lets you modify your gear in new ways, among other content. You can follow its progress here and on the developer's Trello board.
*Subnautica is currently $17.99/10% off until June 22nd for the Steam Summer Sale.
