Subnautica, A Brief Review- Part 1: Storyline

!!! Spoiler Alert: This review/article contains several major and minor spoilers for the plot, gameplay, and mechanics of the 2014 survival game Subnautica. Proceed at ur own risk  or turn back if you want to avoid said spoilers !!!

As someone who lived on a sailboat and got to get up close and personal with the ocean (including the good and bad), the open-world adventure survival game Subnautica holds a close place in my heart. The game is very sci-fi, with the general plot being that you (the player) are a colonist from the spaceship Aurora that crash-landed on planet 4546B, a planet completely covered in large oceans with few islands or land to speak of. As the player, you must learn to survive, search for fellow survivors, solve the planet’s mystery, and eventually, figure out a way to escape. The only CPUs (computer-controlled entities) in the game are 4546B’s wildlife, which motivate much of the player’s survival. While many serve a purpose in helping you survive in some way or another, most of them also bring danger. The game’s graphics and map, additionally, are some of the most beautiful I can say I’ve ever seen. You can feel the care put into every sloping rock, well-placed plant and strategic life pod (all of which, the map itself and resulting details, were done by hand little by little). Whether you enjoy the survival aspect of building bases, pursuing resources, and dodging predators or the exploratory aspect of observing every nook and cranny, every easter egg, and every scannable item in the game, or even the meticulously crafted plot aspect of a well-drawn out story, I believe this game has something for every gamer. So tuck yourself in, put on your reading glasses, and settle in for an in-depth review of every aspect of this game (spoilers and all).

Part 1: Story

As a big fan of games with good plot, world-building, and characters, this game checks pretty much every box. Despite having no NPCs and (spoiler alert) zero fellow survivors of the crash, the presence and storytelling from other characters still exists in the form of excellently voiced- acted audio logs in the form of PDAs (Personal Device Assistant; has a digital AI whose main purpose is to keep you alive and advise on certain situations; the modern equivalent to an iPad with an AI assistant) that you can find scattered throughout the map. Through these PDA logs, you can find out what happened to the entire crew of the Aurora that escaped the crash in life pods (spoiler, there are no bodies. It is heavily implied that most of them got eaten or killed in some usually gruesome manner). Additionally, you can learn the story of the Degasi crew, a diplomatic delegation ship that crash-landed on 4546B and was, incidentally, the reason that the Aurora was interested in landing on 4546B in the first place (learning of the Degasi’s whereabouts, crew, and reason for crashing would serve as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Mongolian Independent States, a trans-gov that Alterra is currently in competition with for expansion and colonization rights. The Degasi was a MIS ship). These stories, and the fate of the Degasi crew, are vividly fleshed out in the passionately voiced and sound-effect-laden voice logs, which artfully and skillfully accomplish the difficult task of having deep, well-developed characters while only having those characters’ presence be in the form of second-hand logs. The logs explore themes of desperation in a survival situation, fear of the unknown, leadership and responsibility in a survival situation, and confrontation of the fear of death. Keep in mind as playing (and read this review) that all PDA and voice logs occur before the player has listened to them. They have already happened, lending a sense of desperate resignation to the game as you listen to hair-raising, involved stories that lure you in despite not having a way to change them or save characters that you have become attached to. All this to say, if you have yet to do so, I would highly recommend taking the chance to seek out and listen to all of the PDA logs in the game. It is a highly rewarding experience listening to and stringing together both the intertwined and separate plots that the PDAs document. That being said, almost the entire game and plot is playable even if you pick up no PDAs. The voice-logs serve an entertainment aspect primarily, and serve no practical purpose to the game beyond enriching the story and providing necessary context for certain aspects of the story. Collecting and seeking out the PDAs is entirely optional.

Beyond the PDA plot lines, there is the entire main story plot line of the game that runs concurrently to whatever survival or exploratory activities you may be pursuing. From the Sunbeam explosion, to the Architect (the extinct alien species that previously occupied 4546B and left numerous structures with varying research, environmental-, and energy-regulating  purposes) structures, to the subsequent infection of the player with the Kharaa Bacterium (the main motivator of the game’s plot and closest thing to an antagonist in the game), to the discovery and exploration of the lost river and Sea Emperor Leviathan enclosure, to the destruction and consequent radioactivity of the Aurora, the game manages to pack several different plot points into one story and not only execute them effectively, but also somehow tie them all back to each other in one way or another. It is a masterfully made and tasteful story, full of ideas and details that kept me interested and occupied even while pursuing other things. My one criticism is that there is very little assistance or nods to where to go when the player is confused. If you are not willing to Google what to do at certain points in the story, then you might be held back, as I did. The lack of plot signaling, while contributing to the isolated, unperturbed feeling (and adding to the feeling that the possibilities are limitless and that unexplored details could be right around the corner at any time), can be a little bit frustrating for players who are not as intuitive as necessary. Additionally, finishing the game involves solving the plot and mystery, which means pursuing most of the difficult storyline that I mentioned earlier. Players should keep this in mind when starting. If you’re not interested in the plot or in completing the game and just want to explore, build bases, and/or simply survive, then pursuing the difficult plot is not necessary. For interested players, you should keep in mind that you are about to embark on a deep, detailed, rewarding-but-not-without-its-challenges game storyline. All above remarks aside, however, I think that Subnautica’s plot line is well worth the difficulties and hurdles and provides a wonderful experience that ties together all other parts of the game.

That being said, if we’re discussing Subnautica’s plot, I do feel the need to mention a little bit of the exploratory bits; because Subnautica’s plot and its exploratory aspects are not necessarily separate.  The game’s storyline and exploration go hand-in-hand, with certain areas only being unlocked after progressing the storyline a certain amount, and vice-versa with the plot requiring a certain amount of searching, exploring, and familiarity with the map and with taking risks, to progress the storyline. However, like much of the rest of the storyline, the game handles this exploration and plot line partnership rather masterfully. Abandoned bases scatter the map, some above and others below sea level, many containing resources, essential and non-essential blueprints (needed for the player to construct anything using the Habitat Builder tool; once a blueprint is discovered, the player can build it any time they want, as long as they have the resources required), and more, such as plot-line relevant items, PDAs, and details. Beyond the abandoned bases, Precurser structures also play an important role in both the story and the exploration aspect. While not being that practical, they usually provide points of interest to any undersea explorer, interesting details sometimes relevant to the plot (and sometimes not), and usually another piece of the story’s puzzle.

Overall, I would say that Subnautica’s plot achieves a lot of difficult goals, and still manages to not detract from other parts of gameplay. I really enjoy the twists and turns, optional aspects, and long-running points of the story. It manages to do what some games have difficulty with, and still manages to have a somewhat satisfying ending (in my opinion). If you’re a player who enjoys pursuing long, in-depth, detailed storylines that satisfy, excite, and draw you in, then I would highly recommend the experience. That being said, beyond the above thoughts, I will leave any other plot details for you to discover for yourself! Have fun, subnauts, and I’ll see you in the next post.

This article is part of a multi-series review and opinion on the 2014 survival game Subnautica. As more parts come out, I plan to discuss the game’s storyline, exploration, and survival aspects, possibly more, and possibly a similar series for other games in the Subnautica universe (Subnautica: Below Zero and the recently released Subnautica 2). Stay tuned and please keep in mind that all of the above is my opinion and contains copious spoilers.

Other Video Game posts we’ve done: 

Kids Corner: Subnautica: Below ZERO

Kids Corner: Subnautica Background Lore!