Long story short, and sneak peek, but I know this is the part I should probably be switching over to the Cyclops. However, I've only found 2/3 of the blueprint for it, the PDA said I have 2 weeks to live (though I assume this is just for dramatic effect), and I don't feel like driving a bus. I'm back on the seaglide planning to build a chain of bases that's basically just an MPR with a charger, biofuel generator and some marblemelons for food/water/fuel. Then, I'll move my scanner room around as needed to find the path down.
I'm not sure what that big ass blocky thing is supposed to be. But, my scanner shouldn't be able to see through solid surfaces, so I really thought it was another glitch.
Long story short, and sneak peek, but I know this is the part I should probably be switching over to the Cyclops. However, I've only found 2/3 of the blueprint for it, the PDA said I have 2 weeks to live (though I assume this is just for dramatic effect), and I don't feel like driving a bus. I'm back on the seaglide planning to build a chain of bases that's basically just an MPR with a charger, biofuel generator and some marblemelons for food/water/fuel. Then, I'll move my scanner room around as needed to find the path down.
I'm not sure what that big ass blocky thing is supposed to be. But, my scanner shouldn't be able to see through solid surfaces, so I really thought it was another glitch.
I feel like I can offer a few small spoilers regarding the vehicles. Read at your own risk, of course, but they're not terribly spoilery, just mildly.
Regarding the prawn suit:
It can go way deeper than the seamoth, if you upgrade it
Regarding the cyclops:
You can build stuff inside of it, and you can grow plants inside of it, so it functions like a mobile base. No need for a chain of small bases. Plus, you can dock a seamoth or a prawn suit inside of it as well.
You haven't really spoiled anything. I pretty much either knew or sorta assumed most of that. My thoughts:
It's my understanding that the prawn doesn't really "swim", but there are mobility devices that partially make up for it. I'm somewhat tempted to build one, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort. In all probability (since I don't want to build moonpools everywhere), I'd have to also build a power cell charger and maybe carry an extra cell to be safe. However, the one thing I haven't found for it is the drill arm. I think I have like 1/3 of the blueprint. That would sell me on it a little more. You can't really find titanium deep outside of large resource nodes. Had I the drill arm. I could just harvest for my next base locally and keep going rather than backtracking.
No wait, I still have to go back for creepvine pods (lubricant for bioreactors).
I got the impression that the cyclops is a mobile base, but I also have the impression that it's slow as molasses so I can't just run away from things. The last thing I need is a base that blows up in the middle of nowhere after a critter attack and then I drown because I can't get to a static base before I run out of air.
So, are you enjoying the game so far? Besides all of the dead ends, the need to always come up with a new plan, and the occasional jump-scare. If you can get past those things, there's a really solid game here, I think.
Totally enjoying it. Definitely one of the better games I've played. Any frustration I express about dead ends is intended "in character". However, from a player-perspective, dead ends are almost a plus in a way. The reiterative process of "logic-ing" something out, not succeeding, but learning new things to contribute to a new theory adds a think-y element to the game I appreciate. I'm planning for my last entry to be my reflections on the game as a player, but I'm finding it to be a very positive experience so far.
I re-evaluate my base design and go even more streamlined. Without the Seamoth, I only need an MPR with a biofuel generator and some plants. I just need a place to catch my breath and grab a meal. I can drop that down for an outpost with a beacon, then back track to the prior outpost to pick up the battery charger, scanner room, and other supplies, moving them to my most forward base. I'll be relying on the seaglide again for transportation.
Charlie is set at a four-way intersection. I explore a little in the three directions I haven't seen yet, and one looks promising. I can take the Seamoth down that way, as long as I stick to the top of the cavern. At the end of the tunnel, I find another ravine that can take me deeper.
This is where I set up Delta Outpost. I'll be able to send the cameras down the ravine to scout and work out my next move from there. At this point, I've officially retired the Seamoth. I've left it parked at Charlie for now. It should be safe there. Delta is at 914m deep, which is 14m past the Seamoths crushing depth. I have about another 500m before I hit “long shot for a cure” depth.
As I get deeper into the planet, I find the stone has turned igneous with lava coulees in the crevices. I'm barely at 1.2 k deep at this point.
I find a nice nook in an upside down arch hanging from the top of the cave. Echo Outpost fits here. There are teleporters wandering around the area, but much lower than my current position so I'm able to slip by them if I stick to the top of the cave.
I take a camera from Echo to its max range and find a ledge for Foxtrot in the haze. I scout out from Foxtrot and find a massive underground cavern. I can not even scout as far as to the other side without building another outpost, but fortunately, I probably don't need to. At the edge of the scanners from my current position, I see another path down. That is where I will go next. By my estimation, this should have me at around 1.4k, the depth for the alien facility.
However, I've run into a bit of a supply problem. My outposts require wiring kits, lubricant, quartz (for hatches) and beacons. I've run out of all these things. I'll have to backtrack to Staying Alive to resupply. I know I'm running low on silver for the wiring kits. I return to Staying Alive and scavenge for some silver, mostly in the Mushroom Forest. I then head back to Foxtrot with five each of wiring kits, lubricant, beacons, quartz, and even some lithium (in case I get so deep I need to reinforce something).
I place Golf Outpost right by the passage down. I rush to get it up and running and send the cameras out again and find my next drop.
The heat is almost unbearable here. I'm glad I traded in my radiation dive suit for a reinforced one some time ago. I'm sure it's the only thing keeping me alive here.
This monstrosity makes its home here. It doesn't seem to mind the cameras, but it takes a chunk out of me when I try to pass through.
Fortunately, I already have Hotel Outpost set up. I break free from the maw of the beast and rush to safety to heal up. I'm hanging on by a thread, but use a medkit and slowly heal the rest of the way at the base. From this location, I can get cameras into the main chamber.
I find this facility at 1.4k. This must be it. If I can't find the cure here, I'm surely done for. There's a place right next to the entrance where I can set up my final base. I do my best to avoid the sea monster and ferry materials for India, hopefully my last outpost.
I enter the facility. There's some kind of force field that keeps the water out. I can breathe normally. I'm greeted by another access terminal. I thought ahead and brought a purple tablet with me. It needs a blue tablet. A blue tablet!? What the hell? Nobody said anything about a blue tablet.
I can do this. Just think it out. Blue tablets aren't just going to be laying about. It's the key to the most important complex the aliens built. It's going to be in a safe place. They're going to keep it secure.
I look through the PDA entries for clues. I find the entry for the teleporters. Wait a minute. They aren't fish. Why didn't I pay more attention to this before? They're some kind of modified life form the aliens created to serve as security. There are quite a few of them wandering the facility area. Clearly they're there to protect it from intruders.
Ok, so I just need to backtrack, find another cluster of teleporters, and they're probably guarding a place that has the blue tablet or maybe something that will point me there. Easy peasy.
I search the rest of the cavern where I have Hotel and India, but all I find is another passage up to the previous layer. I break down the scanner and fall back to Golf to do the same again. However, after setting up the scanner, I take inventory and realize I don't have enough titanium for the next base anyway. I backtrack to Staying Alive and start scavenging. I load up both the Seamoth and my own inventory with titanium. The loaded Seamoth will be left at Bravo, to reduce backtracking less if I need titanium again.
From Golf I scout deeper into the cavern and find a mountain of molten rock. Aside from its massive size, it looks pretty unremarkable. However, there are a number of teleporters around the area and even the gargantuan sea monster from below takes a pass through from time to time. There must be something interesting here to warrant the traffic.
There is a ledge on the mountain in an area the teleporters don't seem to frequent. This becomes the site for Juliet.
I send the first camera out to circle the mountain, working my way up and then down the face. I find nothing remarkable. That can't be right. Why are all these creatures here?
I take the cameras for another pass before I intend to give up and set up Kilo Outpost further past the mountain when I pass by the entrance to a cavern in the mountain. The camera is low on juice, but I leave it there as a beacon so I don't lose the entrance. I send the second camera out to poke around in the cave.
There is another facility here. That is what the teleporters are protecting and why they are more active on the opposite side of the mountain as Juliet. I send the camera deeper in to investigate.
That looks like a blue tablet to me.
I leave this camera where it is, as well, to serve as a beacon. I make my way in and there's another forcefield keeping out the water so I can breathe inside. I use my last purple tablet to get access to the blue tablet.
I find another force field, but I'm out of purple tablets. I'm curious, but this is likely not going to get me to the cure so I leave it behind.
I pull some data nodes and an ion cube from the rest of the facility and rush back to Juliet to refresh. I'm so excited, I almost lose my path along the way and get lost in the caves. I start to feel optimistic. I'm getting closer to a cure. I can feel it.
I install the blue tablet into the kiosk and enter the facility. The atrium appears to be some kind of museum of artifacts. It's not germane to my situation, but I scan everything anyway. There are little spiderbots roaming around. They leave me alone as long as I don't get too close. There are side chambers that lead to other gates, but that is not why I am here. The chamber ahead is blocked by another forcefield and needs a second blue tablet.
For fuck's sake.
I cursed too soon. I look through the PDA and apparently I can build blue tablets now. I only need a few locally sourced components. I leave the facility, backtrack to gather them, and build another blue tablet.
Further into the facility, I find myself in a massive chamber with a pool in the center below. I shrug and jump in to look around.
So, this is the creature that detected me so long ago. She's not with the aliens. She's a prisoner of the aliens. I don't understand why they imprisoned her. The aliens were decimated by Kharaa. Her species possess the cure for it. Seems like a good opportunity for diplomacy to me. I did see a PDA entry that suggested that their diets were detrimental to other species populations at large, but it also that it seemed to eventually find an equilibrium.
The creature wants to be free. More specifically, she wants her young, currently hibernating in their eggs, to be free to live in their own world. In exchange, she will give me the cure. It sounds reasonable to me. Frankly, I would do it for free. But, I really do want the cure.
I need five things to create an enzyme to hatch the eggs. I also need an ion cube to activate a gate in the chamber to free the young. I already have the latter on hand and activate the gate. Onto the former.
I need Eye Stalk Seed, Sea Crown Seed, Fungal Sample, Ghost Weed Seed, and a Bulb Bush Sample.
I remember seeing an Eye Stalk near Alpha Outpost in a ravine. I head there and take my sample. I know I've seen Ghost Weed somewhere. I double check the PDA then head to Bravo where I find a sample there. A fungal sample? That's pretty vague. Acid mushroom, deep mushroom, what kind of mushroom? I don't know of any vague general mushrooms in the game. No, wait, I do. I head to the Mushroom Forest and pull a sample from a tree with my thermoblade.
Now I need a Bulb Bush. I think that is by Alpha as well.
Nope.
Didn't I see something similar near one of the downed lifepods?
Yup.
Ok, what the hell is a Sea Crown? I know I haven't seen anything like that. I start to pull away the bulb bush area and get insanely lucky within moments.
It's about time I catch a break. I go back to Staying Alive and craft the enzyme. I then return to the Dragon Queen's lair to close the deal. I apply the enzyme and see the Dragon Queen's children come to life and swim to their mother's side. It was a sight I'll never forget.
Unfortunately, the birth of the young means the death of the mother. I'm saddened to see the loss of such a majestic creature. As her children head through the gate to start their new lives, I realize that the Dragon Queen never gave me the cure.
It didn't seem like it. I'm a little past this point now, and I (spoiler) found the cure, but it wasn't what I was expecting. All's well that ends well, though.
When the shock of impending doom wears off, I head through the same gate that was used by the Dragon Queen's young. I see them still in the area swimming around. I also see a number of glowing pods floating around. I scan one and accidentally touch it.
A liquid expels from the pod and adheres to my suit. I can feel it seeping into my skin and start freaking out. In a few moments, it passes and I feel...different. I scan myself and find I'm now cured of Kharaa.
Excellent! Now it's time to work on my exit. The gate has dropped me right next to the space laser, so I go straight to the control room.
I'm able to disable the laser and the power shuts down for the entire facility.
I head to Staying Alive to start building the Neptune rocket. I gather the components for the platform and activate the build.
Unfortunately, this only gives me the platform and I have to build the rocket in stages. I have some components on hand, but it's a laborious task to scavenge for the rest.
I hit my first speed bump when I need an ion power cell for the fuel reserve. I don't even have a blueprint for this thing. Why would I? Batteries are human and the ion cubes are alien. How is this a standard component in a Alterra vessel? I guess I need to synthesize the blueprint for this. I've already scanned ion cubes and an ion reactor. Clearly, I need something more specialized.
Ok, the ion cubes are alien, and the battery is for power. So, I need to find the main source of the alien power.
Wait, wasn't there a door in the alien power plant with the blue tablet that had a data node? It's a good of a guess as any. I still need a purple tablet though. I check my PDA. I can build fancy blue ones, but not the purple ones? I know I saw a broken one somewhere on a beach. Maybe I can fix that one. I head to the First Island and find the broken tablet. I can't seem to put the pieces back together, but I can scan it. I now have the purple tablet blueprint. Once I fabricate one, I head back to the alien power plant.
Sure enough, the room holds the blueprints for ion batteries and power cells. I grab it and go.
My final speedbump comes from building the cockpit. I need a Cyclops shield. For that I need a Cyclops. And, for that I need Cyclops blueprints. I don't have the full set so I tour around the sea to find wrecks that I may have missed or not completely investigated. It probably takes a week or two before I locate the missing pieces. On one hand, the search is pedantic and frustrating. On the other hand, seeing all these places again make me think of how long this planet has been my home and how I'd soon be leaving it behind.
I build the vessel and use its fabricator to build the shield generator. Along with some other components, I complete the build for the Neptune rocket.
I finish the build just as the sun is setting. It seemed appropriate but also a little bittersweet as I would not be seeing the sun set again on this world.
I step back and look at the final result. It's done. Everything is done. I've beat the Kharaa. I've shut down the alien defense system. I've found my way off the planet. Mission accomplished.
I do all my pre-flight checks and get comfortable in the command station. With a heavy sigh, I start the launch. Within moments, I'm in orbit of the planet preparing for a slingshot maneuver to get to the rendezvous with Alterra.
I look down on the planet one last time and think about home. After everything I've seen and done, how will it feel to be back? Will it even feel like home? Or, is home this beautiful and terrifying place that I am leaving behind?
Congratulations! I hope the game met your expectations. I don't keep up with current trends in gaming because, on the one hand, there's mountains of trash, and on the other, most AAA games seem soulless to me. That might just be the millennial in me talking, though. But this one particular title (and its sequel) really stood out for some reason. Granted, I have a deep fondness for the sea, so I'm aware that I'm biased. But it's a great game nonetheless.
And now that you've finished it, we can finally talk about some other great aspects of it, such as base building. People have made this into an art form (well, almost, lol).
I present to you one of the coolest ones that I've seen: the Reaper Leviathan Observatory!
But this one particular title (and its sequel) really stood out for some reason. Granted, I have a deep fondness for the sea, so I'm aware that I'm biased.
I think my take is a little biased, too, considering I'm have a weird fear of the ocean. I looked at my notes and realized I've been calling it a survival horror game the whole time, when it's really a survival adventure game. But, if you're afraid of the ocean, it becomes a horror game.
Random observation, but I didn't die once in this game. It's kind of surprising for a survival horror game, though I was also playing it super safe since I was playing blind. Anyway...
Great game. Definitely worth the purchase. Would have been worth it at full price. I always appreciate it when I see a game that breaks the convention of run-around-and-kill-stuff-and-here's-a-little-story-to-break-the-monotony-of-that. I wish more games did this. Effectively removing combat from the equation almost necessitates developing a more creative and engaging gameplay loop. Kudos to Unknown Worlds.
I would love to give this game a 5/5. As I was playing it, I was really hoping it would shake out that way. Unfortunately, it didn't. It's definitely a solid 4/5 and I was even tempted to break my personal rule about integer-only ratings and give it a 4.5/5. To be clear, for me, a 5/5 isn't an absolutely perfect game to caters to everything I personally want in a game. That would be unreasonable. Instead, I see a 5/5 as a game that establishes a compelling premise, and then delivers on that premise as best as humanly/reasonably possible with an engaging gameplay loop and no significant shortcomings or missed opportunities. I think the devs did a great job of what they set out to do. I wouldn't describe anything as “bad" in the game. But, there were some decent-sized missed opportunities that I couldn't help but notice.
I could have done without the vehicles. You feel more vulnerable when free swimming and so much more can go wrong. Sure, I used the Seamoth, but only because I'm an abject coward. I think they could have done more with less and had a stronger showing if all you got was the Seaglide. Have a workbench station base item where you could “dock” it to charge if you want (but still have the batteries). You could also swap around upgrade there. A storage unit, extra O2, an infrared light (looks creepy, you have lower visibility than a standard light), the sonar from the Seamoth, etc. Some modules are clunky and drop your top speed. Others run hot and burn through your battery quicker. It would have sold the theme more to me if this was the only mobility device and it was more customizable.
Base building was a little janky. Certain pieces could only match up with other certain pieces. I had a lot of clipping issues. i didn't feel like I had a lot of creativity. I also didn't need really any of the advanced materials. Bioreactors were king. Nuclear/thermal aren't worth the hassle/effort. I wanted to build tiny tube bases but had to use MPRs for the bioreactors were I couldn't use solar. I would have preferred solar panels be replaced with a semi-perpetual-motion hand crank deal that can provide a small storage of energy (like even reduced to 25-50 vs. solar). the player has to handcrank it to charge it up (which burns time/hunger/thirst). It slowly diminishes on its own, even faster if scanners, chargers, moonpools are connected. Moonpools were a pain.
Pacing was a little...odd. I would break the game into three phases. The first is the orientation phase where you figure out what is going on. The second is the spelunking phase where you delve deeper into the planet to solve your problem. The third is the escape phase where you free the Dragon Queen's young, get cured, disable the weapon, and get off the planet. The first was great the second was rather linear (especially for a sandbox game), and the final one was a grind. I think they could have embelished on the Lost River area forward and given more plot reasons to poke around. The escape phase was just a grind. Not just that, it was anti-climactic after the dramatic end for the Dragon Queen. It was like, this meaningful thing just happened, now I have to shop around for parts for a rocketship. I was especially annoyed with having to find the blueprints to build the Cyclops (which I never used otherwise) to then scavenge the components to build it, to then scavenge the components to build the shield generator, to then have only a single component needed to build one of the three pieces of the Neptune rocket.
I don't see a lot of replayability here. I want to want to play this again. However, it's a pretty linear game. I figured out the mystery, I have a good idea of where things are in the world. There's nothing I really want to build. I know I missed a few secondary sites, but that's ok. If I could do it over, I would do my bases differently and trim the fat, but it doesn't seem a strong enough motivation for a replay. Then again, I've also never replayed Planescape: Torment, but I don't hold it against the game. Like PS:T, Subnautica took me on an amazing journey. It was the kind of journey where you can't really go back again, but that's ok. Maybe some things are only meant to be experienced once? Perhaps if there was more to do in the game, something to scratch a simulationist's/completionist's itch, I could see having another go. But, as is, I can appreciate for what it was and will remember it fondly.
But my biggest criticism is that there's no Subnautica 3. I've read about Below Zero, but it seems like more of the same, for the most part. I still may grab it on a sale, though. I would have liked an alternate ending where you have a reason to stay on the planet and “go native”, subsequently continuing play. But, really, the only solution here is for Unknown Worlds to make another game. The main character is Justin Kneller, crewman on an Alterra expedition to an ocean planet rich with resources. Justin and his crew are part of a forward team to establish a mining colony. Upon approach to the planet, their ship is grappled by an alien tractor beam that drags them to the planet's surface. Their arrival triggers a global force barrier. Nobody can enter, nobody can leave. The planet itself is teeming with parasitic lifeforms that attack the crew when they emerge from the ship. Through [insert plot device here], Justin is the only survivor and survive is what he must do. What dark designs did the ancient aliens have for the planet? Why did they need to trap passerby? What are these parasites anyway? All these questions and more will be answered as Justin creates safe havens from the parasites while exploring this stunning and dangerous world to find a way to get home.
But really, I did think it was just such a great game. I think I get more critical of a game the closer it is to a 5, because I really want to see games with that potential get there. If anything, it's a compliment. My low rated games get a couple sentences because they don't have the potential for more so there's really no point hashing it out. For example, Fallout 4. 2/5. The intro is good, it's visually appealing in some places, but the writing is god awful, the combat mechanics are trash, the character/base mechanics are half-assed, and it's just a walking simulator that tries to be a survival game. That's it. See? Not wasting any more time with that.
Back on point, Subnautica would definitely make a top games list for me. I have very few 5/5s on the list, and out of my 4/5s, this was one of the closest to the 5/5s that I've played. I'm happy and feel like this was time well spent.
Thanks a lot for sharing your adventures. I tried playing Subnautica, but as you said, for me it was a horror game. But it was great to read and observe your adventure.
I hear you. I like horror games, or at least the idea of them, but frankly they end up freaking me out so much that I can't see them through. I tried playing Amnesia: The Dark Descent and only made it in a half hour before it got too freaky and I had to nope out. The only horror feathers in my cap that I have are one of the earlier Resident Evil games and one of the earlier Silent Hill games.
I wish I wasn't such a chicken shit. Horror games often have more creative gameplay loops that essentially nerf the combat option so you have to come up with creative solutions to problems. I really dig that.
4/5 stars and a comparison with Planescape: Torment is high praise indeed! I actually agree with your observations, and I would rate it 4/5 myself, but I have to give it a 5/5 due to a few other things that weren't mentioned: the creature design and the soundtrack.
As for the creature design, it's incredibly creative. And even though all of these creatures are unique in some way, the Sea Emperor and the Sea Dragon really stand out. (Note: you call the Sea Emperor a "Dragon Queen", but technically it's a different species from the Sea Dragon, although they're closely related).
On the other hand, the soundtrack for Subnautica is top notch. My favorite track is the one that plays in the Blood Kelp Zone:
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