OpenWorld, SandBox, Both, or Neither?

[Blitz4]

What is Subnautica, why, and what defines OpenWorld/SandBox?

[Lotdot]

Both for sure

[Lotdot]

There is a big world to explore and ( if you find the blueprints) there is much to build and many places to build it.

[Brechnor]

I have seen a small handful of people saying it’s neither, don’t take them too seriously if they come here because it feels bigger than the likes of Skyrim if you factor in its depth and don’t just surface swim.

Heck, you can complete the game and see less than half of the biomes available, without even skipping story content. When you consider everything, it’s huge.

[Jacknm2]

Its open world in the sense that it gives you a vast open world with several Biomes to explore and enjoy / be terrified of with completely random encounters with the wildlife however the result will usually be the same of one or the other but they can surprise you, you may find the odd thing here and there.

Its sandbox in the sense that it lets you do what you what to a certain degree within the confines of the game without being pressured to do anything else. If you playing in survival mode the story is there to provide direction, something to aim for and allow you to progress, you can compltely ignore it if you like and basically wanna survive to the bare minimum or without exploring the deeper biomes.

So its both.

[OnlyZuul]

Both. Open world/sandbox means you have the freedom to do what you want, when you want, and how you want. It also means there are consequences for your actions.

That said, there are limitations built into the game. One limitation is resources and depth. Progess in the game is dependent on depth reached. You need different materials to accomplish this which just happens to be the depth you can reach at the time and so on. There are only a couple of steps in this process but it's there nonetheless.

It's a gorgeous game and if you like to explore this game has it in spades.

[Blitz4]

I found the definition for Open World on wikipedia[en.wikipedia.org]
(Most popular game in genre: WoW)

There's no clear-cut definition of sandbox other than:

"A game in which the player has been freed from traditional video game structure and direction, and instead chooses what, when, and how they want to approach the available content. The term alludes to a child's sandbox without rules, with play based on open-ended choice. While some sandbox games may include building and creative activities, they are not required. Sandbox games generally employ an open world setting to facilitate the player's freedom of choice." -
src[en.wikipedia.org]
(Most popular game in genre: Minecraft)

I came across one comment that said 'In sandbox games, you create your own fun, in open world games your fun is dependent on what you find in the world. A true open world game will let you beat the final boss when you start the game, but it's up to you if you have the skill to do so.'

[Jacknm2]

But for us there is no "Boss" only the end of the story. If you dont end it and continue to play within the confines of the gameworld you can literally do anything possible within that world so long as its programmed. Be creative and find new things to do?

So the deffinition which you found deffintely applies to subnautica.

[Mr. Fibble]

I'd say more openworld than sandbox as you have a specific goal to work towards.

A sandbox is one where you get the world and some toys but its up to you to make what you want from it just as you would with an actual sandbox.

[Blitz4]

I just beat the game, loved it. If I had to choose to use the words open world OR sandbox to define the game, it'd have to be sandbox. That's not a bad thing.

The only times I needed help to beat this game was finding that last prawn suit grappling hook piece or cyclops hull piece, finding which biomes the ingredients for the enzyemes are located, asking in the forums what I should do to find nickel, using the map until very late in the game I found out you can disable the GPS indicators which convinced me to create more beacons (really wish I knew this at game start).

I think I sought help to bypass the parts of the game I didn't enjoy, because I tend to enjoy sandbox games more than open world games (there are so many great mods for Minecraft). Proof is that all of the things I needed help with were open world activities.

My point, this game has both open world and sandbox elements. If I had to choose one genre, I would choose the one I enjoyed the most, which is likely influenced by the types of games I tend to enjoy the most.