Introduction
People familiar with the game Subnautica are acquainted with that feeling when you are exploring a strange alien sea of wonders and horrors. The game has survival mechanics, exploration, and base-building with some storylines that keep players in its clutches. Once you have visited all the biomes, created every vehicle, and unlocked the secrets of Planet 4546B, you may find yourself wanting something somewhat similar.
There are, however, several other games that can help sate the craving that Subnautica leaves behind, though many can be found through stunning sceneries, downright dangerous survival elements, or a well-developed environmental exploration and discovery. Other games have gone more toward the direction of survival, and still others have branched into more styles of the game, like space exploration or even psychologically centred.
This paper will present the most worthy substitutes to Subnautica, analyse what makes each one of them unique, and why you can make it your next favourite game to play.
Subnautica: Below Zero
The first and most evident suggestion to the admirers of Subnautica is its sibling game, Subnautica: Below Zero. Whereas it has the same basic mechanics, the setting changes to a frozen arctic area of the same alien world. This shift affords a new set of biomes, as well as unique animals and frozen-survival challenges.
You will struggle to survive against frozen oceans, uninviting weather, and threats that are very different but under the ice. The story of Below Zero is more pointed than that of the original game: the character relations and plot points are much more evident, which can definitely drive the process of exploration.
Any player who liked the blend of mystery, survival, and base-building of the first Subnautica will find the same in the sequel, though new and different. It expands the lore, polishes the mechanics, and offers a bit more of an accessible starting point to new players, all the same time creating the feel of nihilism and exploration players want.
No Man’s Sky
Whereas Subnautica is the game about perfecting one alien ocean, No Man’s Sky is about exploring an entire galaxy. When it was initially published, the game was met by criticism, but it has undergone years of updates, allowing it to become a massive sandbox of survival and exploration. The universe provides lots of procedurally created planets, and each of them has unique ecosystems, resources, and secrets, which can be explored by players. Similar to Subnautica, No Man’s Sky focuses on crafting, base-building, and survival, but makes all of it on a literally infinite scale.
In it, you can set up bases on the ocean floor, domesticate alien wildlife, fly spaceships, and even play in co-op with your friends. The feeling of mystery and discovery is how it is tied most to Subnautica. At least you are not tied to the ocean, and every session is unique. No Man’s Sky will suit the players who grow fond of exploration but wish to have even more scale and freedom to explore.
Raft
Raft provides a simple but entertaining idea of survival at sea. You start at a rickety raft in the centre of an ocean which seems to be endless, accompanied by nothing but a hook. As you gather drifting trash, you slowly enlarge your raft, make tools and develop devices to survive. Sharks incessantly circle, hunger and thirst must be controlled, and storms put your strength to the test.
Whereas Subnautica focused on exploring the depths of the sea, Raft does not overlook what may happen above the water, making it no less dramatic. There is exploration in the way of drifting islands, reefs, and derelict outposts, but the main joy is gradually converting your skiff-sized raft into a sea-going citadel.
There is also the social aspect to Raft, with co-op play helping to allow friends to collaborate on surviving, building, and warding off threats. Raft is a fun twist on the survival genre that offers a new challenge to Subnautica players who learned to love the survival components.
Stranded Deep
Stranded Deep builds upon being lost at sea and puts the player in a more realistic environment. The crash leaves you on scattered islands in the Pacific, and you have to survive. No aliens, here–only sharks, storms, and trying to survive. Topics of gathering resources, building shelters and crafting are paramount to progression, much like Subnautica.
Nonetheless, Stranded Deep is also based on realism; this means that the game requires the player to deal with hunger, thirst, and even sleep. It is a more calculated game with a slower pace, and patience plays an important role.
The feeling of vulnerability that it evokes will be familiar to those who played Subnautica, but the setting is much more Earthly, like Cast Away. Fans who liked the realistic feel of the survival loop should definitely take a glance at Stranded Deep, the game provides just that with its survival loop, albeit with more ocean depth.
The Long Dark
Although not an ocean game, The Long Dark feels close to Subnautica in its most important subject: isolation. Activating in the tundra of Canada following a geomagnetic catastrophe, players have to survive the bad weather, dwindling caches of resources, and unending hunger.
The Long Dark is not much about antagonistic beings but rather about surviving nature itself. This similarity may be seen in the quiet that surrounds present action, the wind howling down and constantly trying to search out food and warmth, a feeling that the fans of Subnautica will be familiar with.
The game is also filled with a considerate story mode that involves survival mechanics, all coupled with story details. Its plodding, punishing nature and the intensity of its atmosphere also lend it some of the most emotionally potent excursions into survival that are currently available.
The Planet Crafter
Although not an ocean game, The Long Dark feels close to Subnautica in its most important subject: isolation. Activating in the tundra of Canada following a geomagnetic catastrophe, players have to survive the bad weather, dwindling caches of resources, and unending hunger.
The Long Dark is not much about antagonistic beings but rather about surviving nature itself. This similarity may be seen in the quiet that surrounds present action, the wind howling down and constantly trying to search out food and warmth, a feeling that the fans of Subnautica will be familiar with.
The game is also filled with a considerate story mode that involves survival mechanics, all coupled with story details. Its plodding, punishing nature and the intensity of its atmosphere also lend it some of the most emotionally potent excursions into survival that are currently available.
Blind Descent (Upcoming)
Blind Descent is another game yet to come out which has developed parallels with Subnautica. Rather than plunging into the unknown ocean, as they did in the novel, in the game, players venture into caves that are located deep in the subsurface of Mars.
The game is thought to feature survival mechanics, including resource gathering, and up to four-player co-op exploration. It has ominous and enclosed settings and extraterrestrial foes, similar to the otherworldly dread and awe that Subnautica is characteristic of.
Still under development, Blind Descent has already created a modest hype among admirers of survival games, who regard the game as a logical upgrade of the Subnautica mechanism. To get an idea of what the next big adventure that takes the same hold of wonder, this is the title to look out for.
The Alters
The Alters is a psychologically and narratively based survival. A ship crashes on a foreign planet, and you, the pilot, create copies of yourself to explore the paths which might have been yours. These alters are necessary for survival, but cause moral and emotional turmoil.
Whereas Subnautica has a big focus on isolation, The Alters focuses more on identity and fellowship through a hostile environment. Underlying mechanics such as resource management, base construction, and exploration are prominently featured, and it is therefore likely to be of interest to survival fans as well.
However, what makes it outstanding is that it revolves around the story and a form of self-discovery, making it special to specific emotions. The Alters is an original title that can appeal to the players who enjoyed the original game of Subnautica because of the atmosphere and story behind the scenes.
Astrobotanica
Astrobotanica inverts the issue of survival of predators to survival by knowledge. Whether you play as a stranded alien biologist in the Pleistocene, you have to forage, plant, learn about the ecosystems, and avoid the predators. The game does not simply concentrate on hunger or fighting but on research and thoughtful relations with nature.
This reflects what Subnautica was like in terms of its moments of silence, where cataloguing new species and developing knowledge of them was as fulfilling as survival. Astrobotanica rewards patience and exploration, which is why players who liked these scientific and exploratory elements of Subnautica will be satisfied.
The game is not about adrenaline but about exploration, and thus it will suit the individuals who prefer the challenge of exploration over confrontation.
Aquatico
Lastly, Aquatico is a city builder-style underwater survival. Rather than command one character, you manage a whole water society. You will direct resources, construct habitats and design a prospering undersea city. With a more Immersive level, although Subnautica is more of a personal experience, the underwater setting and management of complex systems are devised in the same way.
For those who loved to construct a massive underwater base in Subnautica, Aquatico takes this idea and adds all the strategy elements to it. It provides long-term objectives, complex strategies, and the same feeling of wonder that is associated with the project of building civilisation in a hostile environment.
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Conclusion
The genius of Subnautica is all about its fine-tuned combination of survival, exploration and atmosphere. Not many games can reproduce it in its full variety, but there are a number of games that share some common elements with it. Others grow to huge universes, such as No Man’s Sky.
Others are rooted in the ruthlessly hard reality, like Stranded Deep or The Long Dark. Coupled with titles like The Planet Crafter and Aquatico, the creativity and the building aspects are what are being portrayed, although newer ones, such as Blind Descent, bring different areas of excitement to this kind of environment. There is a range of emotions that you would like to experience after playing these games they are awe, fear, curiosity, and resiliency.
Subnautica is the game that probably made you discover the fun of survival in an unknown world, yet it is only a start. All these titles provide new areas to explore, new challenges to get through and new stories to unfold. So when you are up to your next odyssey, the options are wide, so go ahead and see where you can go next to survive.
FAQs
What are the best underwater survival games like Subnautica?
Among the best games about underwater survival, one should note Subnautica: Below Zero, Raft, Stranded Deep, and Aquatico. Each has sea-based environments coupled with distinct survival systems to play.
Are there open-world space exploration games similar to Subnautica?
In line with this, No Man’s Sky presents the player with galaxy-wide exploration, resource-collecting, crafting, and base-building. It is one of the widest choices.
Which survival games emphasise atmosphere and isolation like Subnautica?
The Long Dark does isolation on a frozen wasteland, and Astrobotanica does loneliness and research on early Earth.
Are there upcoming games with Subnautica-style gameplay?
Blind Descent is an upcoming Survival game for subterranean Mars caves where you will be able to co-op, explore and alien threat.
What indie games offer exploration and mystery akin to Subnautica?
MirrorMoon EP, Outer Wilds and Solus Project are good independent games. They are discovery-centred, puzzle-like and laden with mystery.