Is it worth playing Subnautica in 2025?

Subnautica is a horror game in disguise. In the first couple of hours, you will think it’s a casual survival game underwater. However, the first time you encounter a Reaper, the game takes a drastic turn. Instead of just mining resources and making structures that can help you survive the submerged life, you will soon be running for your breath, literally.

Subnautica was released back in 2018, and after more than half a decade, the question stands, is the game still worth playing? The short answer, absolutely yes. In this article, we have shared all the reasons you should give Subnautica a try in 2025.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.

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Why you should play Subnautica in 2025

The more you explore the more you know in Subnautica (Image via Unknown Worlds Entertainment)

Subnautica is a game centered on high-stakes exploration, crafting, and environmental storytelling. In the game, you will be free to traverse an alien ocean brimming with life, you will find cutesy penguin-seal hybrids to massive monstrosities that will give anyone with thalassophobia an extremely hard time.

The gameplay revolves around finding resources, crafting tools, and unraveling the mysteries of an alien planet while struggling to escape it. Its non-linear progression encourages you to experiment and explore your environment as much as you can. As you explore, you will not only unlock more advanced tech but also learn about the story.

The story, though not structured like traditional quests, is very immersive and unfolds as you explore and notice the fine details. The best possible comparison for the story progression is the Dark Souls series. While it is not as cryptic as Fromsoft’s titles, if you don’t look at all the fine details, you can easily go past a lot of pieces of the story without realizing.

Subnautica balances casual and intense gameplay (Image via Unknown Worlds Entertainment)

While the game avoids excessive hand-holding, it is designed brilliantly, giving you enough breadcrumbs to follow and discover everything. The radio and PDA systems give you helpful but unobtrusive navigational aids, giving you more chances to progress organically. So, if you are a beginner to the franchise, don’t feel too intimidated. Once you start, you will get the hang of things eventually.

Subnautica 2 will also have an early access release in 2025. So, before diving into the sequel, you should give the original a go. In the end, if you want to play a survival game with unparalleled levels of freedom and secrets, then Subnautica is the game for you. However, if you are scared easily or have thalassophobia, you should avoid this one.