A Recommendation- Subnautica

The sea, cruel and a relentlessly large habitat that holds many stories and legends; but here on earth it holds just a lot more ... well water. It’s a boring place to be; believe me I work as a mariner on merchant navy vessels. There isn’t much going on out there in the great big blue. And that, in essence is what makes being stranded out there so terrifying.

So this is a whole game based off that one shit water level; that is in every game. Thank Christ then that it is built on the premise that iron boots do not make water fun. But good design does.

Falling Into Some Water:

When your poor bastard avatar is very impolitely jettisoned from a huge exploding space ship; you pay witness to him being thrown around a tiny room and eventually knocked unconscious; something your mum would understand. Once he wakes, you take control. From there you look around your battered escape pod. Fortunately, it contains everything you need to survive for the time being. You just need to collect some stuff.

So, you exit and are treat to the realisation of your character that; it wasn’t a dream; he is stranded and will likely drown very soon. It looks cool though. From there you set off picking up any old shit to craft the basics. Just as well your pockets are bottomless and all matter your character touches suddenly becomes weightless. How handy to be a god in this situation. Otherwise he would sink immediately.

I'm A Survivor:

Crafting, exploring and building are the three pillars of this exemplary survival game; and all three are executed very well. Any are available to you as soon as you can collect the necessary; hidden supplies. And fortunately, your character ‘Kratos; God of War(ter)’ is an architect, builder, engineer, mariner, soldier and Alien lifeform specialist. He’s basically a Jack of all trades and master of all- those trades.

So you will easily build a base; then a small submarine, then a bigger submarine and even a mech suit; all of which are incredibly customizable and very useful. Although im sure your character is one IQ point away from just forgoing the undersea life and walking on the water.

When you persevere with the lonely life at sea; much less lonely than the real thing I assure you. Then you will scour the huge world and discover different biomes; fauna and flora, crafting materials and even some islands; whose beaches aren’t yet plastic bottle storing facilities like our own.

The story in this game is drip fed to you in pieces, is very engaging and is definitely worth your time. And it is told by the most unfortunate humans you have ever seen; or will never see.

As you progress deeper down (where the cooler stuff is) you will find some of the largest and scariest creatures in the game world; all of which will make you scream like your goldfish when it saw your face. They are very cool to see and are genuinely frightening to swim/ sail past/ fight.

Conclusion:

The planet and its story keep you engaged throughout; the game has a way of loosely pointing you in the right direction and letting you discover the intricacies yourself.  The crafting materials can all be farmed for the late game and it never feels like the laborious task it sometimes becomes in other games. Progress and tools get more and more exciting as you progress and I never lost interest in the story. Overall its an amazing survival story and the best I’ve played in ages; in an oversaturated genre.

Buy this game; not enough water.