The mechanics of the game involve swimming to ever-greater depths to find materials and resources. There are dangerous, terrifying areas to find, but they’re intentionally mapped pretty far away from where you start out. It’s also worth noting that Subnautica is not procedurally-generated. There’s a list of things to find and craft, and the more you find the more opens up pretty quickly. There isn’t much exposition - the entire opening of the game doesn’t take long at all - so you’re dropped into the world pretty quickly. And well over 90% of that survival will take place underwater. The ship is beyond repair, so within a few minutes of playing you realize that long-term survival on the planet is your only hope of living. The game opens as your character’s ship goes up in flames, prompting a crash landing in the middle of this mysterious ocean. Subnautica is an open-world (ish) survival game set on a planet where water is everywhere. What Subnautica is and how you play itįirst, a quick description. Through its detailed setting and close commitment to engaging gameplay, Subnautica cements itself as one of those rare games. I love when video games break off from genre tropes and create something truly unique. The atmosphere in the game is incredible, and its design has kept me coming back many times. Subnautica is definitely not a scary game, but it has moments of pure terror and adrenaline that have already terrified me multiple times.

Subnautica is one of those games (though it’s also much more, which I’ll explain below).

However, there are some games where the most threatening enemies can’t be beaten. But the thing about video games is that they’re often designed so you can beat them, which means that (usually) even the biggest bad guys can be beaten down with enough time and energy. There are a few scenes in The Last of Us and its sequel that would be on the list, as well as a few other games that boast equally scary moments.

I can count on a few fingers the number of times that playing a video game has left me truly terrified.

Subnautica game over