Subnautica, the underwater survival game from Unknown Worlds Entertainment, has received its first significant update in a good while, and the patch notes say there are hundreds of bug fixes. Considered a strong release in the survival genre, the indie title sits up there with the likes of Stranded Deep, ARK: Survival Evolved, and even Minecraft. However, it offers something a little different to other games in that it takes place entirely in an ocean, which makes it something of a horror game for many.
Subnautica is known for its crafting mechanics, deep-sea surroundings, and interesting story, as the player finds themselves stranded on an alien world after their spaceship crashed. Emerging from the escape pod, the sight of the wreckage is laid before the protagonist, but there is nary time to take in the sights, beautiful though they may be, as the immediate task is to repair the escape pod and find a way to survive. The game takes a lot of cues from the genre but adds that element of thalassophobia, a fear of large bodies of water.
The new patch, which is being referred to as version 2.0 or Living Large, represents a "labor of love" for the team, so no doubt many fans will be excited to see what it comes with. According to the Subnautica Steam page, this new update has over 800 bug fixes, as well as some tweaks to the save function and some new base pieces which were, up until now, only available in the Below Zero sequel. In a report from Eurogamer, it seems Living Large is the first major update for the game in two years. Unknown Worlds originally launched the title in 2018, where it had a steady climb in the PC community before launching on Xbox One and PS4 later that year. It was also ported to PS5 and Xbox Series consoles in May 2021.
The studio also released the sequel Subnautica: Below Zero last year, which was almost as well praised as the base game. The DLC takes place a couple of years after the events of the main story and received high scores from notable outlets as well as the fans themselves.
Although it's not technically classed as a horror game, Subnautica certainly has its terrifying moments. As well as the general fear of the ocean that many people have, there are also the monstrous denizens that live in the ocean. From vicious Reapers to the gargantuan Dragon Leviathan, it's a game that actively insists on survival in a world that many are hesitant to explore.
The full patch notes for update 2.0 are as follows:
All Platforms
- Improved font rendering to increase UI readability and visual quality
- Adds accessibility features: UI scaling, PDA pause, option to disable light flashes
- Item bars
- Adds pinned recipes
- Adds run mode
- Improved Air Bladder functionality
- Adds the Large Room and Glass Dome base pieces from Subnautica: Below Zero
- Adds Land Hatches from Subnautica: Below Zero
- Pings are now visible when piloting the Cyclops
- Save system improvements
- Improved performance
- Improved subtitles sync
- Loading screen improvements
- Intro skipping improvements
- Various performance optimizations
- Improved control mapping, for things like transferring items between inventory and storage
- Fixed some creatures not spawning properly
- Fixes for some VFX issues
- Fixed multiple terrain streaming issues (vehicles/items falling through)
- Fixed multiple issues related to base-building, vehicles
- Fixes for many possible photosensitive issues
- …And many more various bug fixes!
PC
- Changed how the dev menu is accessed to SHIFT + `
- Fixed jittery movement on land
- Less likely to get stuck in Alien Bases while operating the Prawn
- Added an option to limit FPS
- Added Cloud Save Support
- Legacy Steam branch for Mod Integrity
- Fixed VR frame lag in PDA UI screen movement
- Fixed a VR issue with player orientation being slanted in some scenarios
- Fixed Sunbeam countdown timer not showing up in VR
- Fixed VR Main Menu prompts on selecting and interacting with the menu
Subnautica is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.