Dev Take Tuesday - Deep Breaths in Subnautica

Subnautica, the ocean-themed survival/exploration game from developer Unknown Worlds, captures a mood better than any other game I’ve played. That mood is a vibrant mix of awe, tension, and fear—probably the same emotions I’d be feeling if I actually did crash-land in a dangerous but beautiful ocean on an alien planet. After playing several hours, I realized that I would immediately and invariably take a deep breath of relief whenever I returned to safety in my lifepod or underwater bases. I honestly can’t think of higher praise for a game about surviving a perilous underwater world.

Official screenshot from the game's Steam page.

So how does Subnautica manage to create such a powerful and pervasive mood? Obviously, audio and visual elements both play a key role. But I think it comes down to two important design decisions: embracing the setting and balancing risk with relief.

Subnautica fully embraces its setting. Because the game takes place almost entirely underwater, you feel constantly exposed. Danger can come at you from any direction, and tunnel vision could quickly get you killed. The shallows feel safe not only because less dangerous fish spawn there, but because you have ground beneath you and open air above you, limiting the field of threats and orientating your character. In sharp contrast, some of the most harrowing moments in Subnautica come as you explore caves or wreckage and lose your sense of direction. Oftentimes the path back to air isn’t all that complex, but even memorizing a few turns gets complicated when you can move freely in three dimensions. The “floor” of the wrecked spaceship might be at a 45-degree angle above your head when you enter, and that gets disorienting, especially when under stress.

An interesting distinction between Subnautica and other survival games I’ve seen is the use of what I’d call “true relief.” Your starting lifepod and the underwater bases you eventually construct are (from what I’ve seen) entirely safe from the watery depths’ denizens. But the game’s other systems force you to move out of that comfort zone. Hunger and thirst will eventually force you to risk leaving the safety and oxygen of your base, and expanding your living arrangements will also require you to leave and gather resources. This creates a natural rhythm of risk and relief that perfectly captures the mood of diving into the water. At early levels, the comparison is clear. You have less than 30 seconds of oxygen in your tank, so you dive down from the surface to maybe catch a couple fish, and then you have to swim back up. Over and over. However, even when a miniature submersible and larger oxygen tank allow you to explore more freely, your longer expeditions still maintain that rhythm of leaving comfort, gathering supplies, and returning with a deep breath of relief.