#IndieSpread: Water, Water Everywhere...Subnautica

Wow, the weeks sure fly by, as yet here we are again with a new title to look at under this weeks #IndieSpread! Hey all, its Max again and if the title isn’t indicative enough, we’re here to look at the wonderful world of Subnautica.

Now, first and foremost, to get us kicked off: What on Earth is Subnautica?

Funny you mention that, as Subnautica does not even take place on Earth.

Coming from the rather small studio, Unknown Worlds, Subnautica takes you to an entirely different world: Planet 4546B, to be exact. An uncharted alien world that humans seek to colonize from their brand-new shiny ship, the Aurora.

Well, no surprise, the Alien World ain’t havin’ none o’ that and decides to shoot the ship down, killing thousands and marooning little old you in the middle of a planet of mostly WATER.

For those of you who suffer from Thalassophobia(Ocean Fear), now is the time to leave.

So, you being the apparent survivor master that you are, it’s up to you to tame the seas of this foreign world and find a way off this rock and back home.

Oh wait, what’s that? You’re infected with a deadly bacterium and will be shot down on attempt to leave the planet by a giant alien weapon left behind by the previous inhabitants of the planet?

Well. Looks like you’ll have to fix that too. Add it to the list.

It is here that the story of Subnautica truly begins. Welcome to Waterworld and all that.

Subnautica is one in a long line of “Open-World Survival Indie-Games” that have been coming out over the last few years, though it is probably one of the first to be almost ENTIRELY underwater.

First and foremost, the environment of Planet 4546B is GORGEOUS.

Granted, some of those images are above water. Yes, there is some land. A VERY small amount of it.

Now granted, you won’t just be here to see the sights and survive against various flora and fauna. The goal is to get off the planet and back home safely. Two issues immediately arise. Lack of a Ship and the disease you seem to have contracted.

Now, without spoiling too much of the game’s narrative, the basis of the game is that the previous inhabitants of the planet were pretty creative and very intelligent, opting to pursue a lot of biological and technological scientific endeavors. Turns out one of them was this bacteria, called “Carar”, which apparently mutated out of control, infected and killed a lot of creatures on the planet, including the native genius aliens.

So, in a last ditch effort to protect the rest of the Galaxy from the disease, the aliens, known as the Precursors in-game, built a network of giant laser cannons to shoot down incoming ships and ships attempting to leave, in order to quarantine the planet. Bad news for you.

So that’s your bit right there. Get resources, build stuff, cure self, leave planet. Pretty straightforward.

Of course, you can take any number of detours while on the planet itself, since this is a game and it’s open world, the Carar Disease inside you will sort of “pause” while you have a good look around. Which is fine, because there is more than plenty of things to see and experience across Subnautica’s story.

Now, sadly, as it stands right now, Subnautica is not quite at its official release yet. Yes, I’m sad to say that this is one of those Steam “Early Access” titles that is not 100% polished and definitely still rife with various issues that most Early-Access games tend to come with. However, while not finished, Subnautica is still an amazing experience even in the current build, which was recently updated as of early May.

So what the heck, if you're into an open-world, sea-based game with loads of diving, resource gathering, building stuff and avoiding death (in that order), then definitely consider giving it a look, or, alternatively, you could check out a number of YouTube channels that play it as it the game is updated.

Yes indeed, Subnautica has been on the radar in the YouTube Gaming Community for quite awhile now. Large channels like Markiplier and JackSepticEye have all taken to the game and post episodes fairly regularly (Links to their playlists below!). Trust me, they cover quite a bit of the game and share the experience of Subnautica quite nicely, without you having to shell out for it if you're strapped for game money.

Personally, I bought it just to support the developers and show that I’m eager for the game’s completion, but I’m not here to tell you what to do, just to share tidbits of info about stuff I find cool.

But hey, that’s a taster of Subnautica! Tell us what you think about it in the comments below and share with us any experiences you’ve had with Subnautica and its amazing environments. As always, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog for more game related stuff (Especially more IndieSpread content!) and as always, for all the Indie content I share, keep it tuned here with GamerSpread!

Markiplier's Subnautica Playlist Here!
JackSepticEye's Subnautica Playlist Here!

Subnautica YouTube Channel Here!