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Subnautica?

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Karl Masks

Birds Angel Delight
So this is on sale on psn right now. Lots of people, iuncluding on here, seem to like it. I am curious.

Does it have much depth (pun intended)? I didn't like No Mans Sky because the survival thing just got in the way. Travel to another planet, run out of ruel, find fuel, fly to another different coloured planet, run out of fuel. Maybe survival games aren't my jam. Is there much to craft in this? Or do you just sail around in your boat trying not to run out of air?

Thanks.
 
Karl Masks said:
So this is on sale on psn right now. Lots of people, iuncluding on here, seem to like it. I am curious.

Does it have much depth (pun intended)? I didn't like No Mans Sky because the survival thing just got in the way. Travel to another planet, run out of ruel, find fuel, fly to another different coloured planet, run out of fuel. Maybe survival games aren't my jam. Is there much to craft in this? Or do you just sail around in your boat trying not to run out of air?

Thanks.
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I think crafting and running out of fuel are the two staples of the survival game aren't they? Not really played subnautica but NMS you can build bases and all sorts of shit now.
 
It's an extremely good game, but yeah, it's a survival game, half the point is that you're always on the limit of something.

That said its progression is excellent. Deep is definitely the word. Depth is everything... Depth is a shelf that just drops, and fuck knows what's down there. But then a few hours later you'll have a base there, and it will all seem relatively safe. It works well because essentially it means that your exploration limits, and game progression in general, seem pretty natural.

Remember it's not procedurally generated either... so there is intent in much of the stuff you encounter. So yeah, you'll get 'run out of fuel' stuff, but there will be something there that you're trying to work out. Some of this is obviously 'want upgrades? go deeper', but there is also some plot, and there is also a real sense of discovery. there's a lot of basecraft if you want it, really depends how you approach the game. You have to eat and drink, which can be a bit of a chore, but it doesn't take that much to get your production nicely stable. Also I think you can turn it off, though I wouldn't as it ties into progression and base building.

Effectively no combat... I mean there are bits of it (which generally aren't the best), but it's minimal. You are insignificant in this ocean, fighting is pointless, just run. That's what it does really well, gives you the feeling of unknown terrors below. And then gives you just enough to navigate your way through them.

Definitely worth playing imo. It has its flaws, and it does have a lot of survival mechanics (breath, fuel, water, food), but a lot of that shit annoys me generally, and still loved it. It does a thing that no other game does, and that experience is worth it.
 
It's brilliant and I can't really add to the post above.

I never actually finished it as I played half way through once and then realised that I had missed a key element that would have made my life so much easier. I decided to start again and then ran out of steam. I watched someone I like finish it on YouTube though and it was great.

I would still recommend it.
 
thanks. Not sure at the moment. I like the idea of these sort of games, but my experience with NMS was, as i said, a bit meh. In practice not sure, but these are two different games so perhaps context is everything
 
I fucking loved NMS (before all the mega updates which ruined my game when i went back to it maybe a year later) might have to make this my next long play game as i've been feeling uninspired of late and leaning on quick fix multi-player stuff :hmm:
 
Karl Masks said:
thanks. Not sure at the moment. I like the idea of these sort of games, but my experience with NMS was, as i said, a bit meh. In practice not sure, but these are two different games so perhaps context is everything
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I've not played No man's sky but was tempted to try it after playing this. I don't think they are the same though. Subnautica has a story that gradually presents itself to you and it's also beautiful if glitchy. There is a lot of tension in the game too.

I think I got it for a tenner on Sale and it was worth a try at that price. I felt very similar to you too as I'm not really into base building etc.

I've not given below zero which is the next in the series a go though as it has some very mixed reviews.
 
This threads actually inspired me to do a run with the once you die it's game over setting turned on. I've never really been tempted to do that before and I have no doubt I will die within the first 30 minutes due to poor oxygen management.
 
You can turn off the food/water needs to reduce the survival mode aspect just to oxygen when you're diving, and it doesn't take long to get ships which you can explore in without worrying about oxygen.

I don't like survival games generally because I feel like the survival aspect is just busy work so always happy when I can turn these things off.

It's a really great game that well deserves all its praise imo.
 
Karl Masks said:
It does sound good, but I think i'm going to pass for the moment. Maybe when it's next on sale. Thanks anyways
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I loved subnautica. Great writing, humour and satire. Though yeah, gathering resources is going to be a thing.

Base building is nice and simple too.
 
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