More games like Subnautica?

[id10m]

[note: before I say anything else, if you're on the fence, please go ahead and buy Subnautica. It's early access but even if the devs never finish it, it's already a beautiful game that's well worth the price and it's only going to get better from here.]

So I've really been loving Subnautica, kind of obsessed over it these last couple of weeks, but I think I've exhausted most of the current content. So, while we're waiting for the devs to add more stuff, let's talk about other games that scratch the same itch.

The highlights for me here are the exploration (and the thrill of finding cool or rare stuff), the base building (especially building a base with a ton of windows in an interesting area, like deep in the Grand Reef), and the overall atmosphere. I'd like to play more games like this.

Some games that come close, for me:

• The Long Dark - great atmosphere and exploration, similar survival mechanics, good crafting, but not so much base building
  
• Salt - totally different from TLD but also great atmosphere and exploration, some crafting and base building, plus a huge ocean (though you're mostly on top of it instead of below it)
  
• Minecraft - fun exploration, finding resources, crafting, building great bases in interesting places (including underwater if you're patient); obviously not as pretty and a whole different atmosphere though
  
• Starbound - exploration, resources, crafting, base building, but 2D vs 3D, less pretty, and the randomness of it really feels random, more so than Minecraft, it gets old faster for me
  
• Terraria sort of fits into the same box as Starbound I think, I could never really get into it though, maybe because I tried Starbound first
  
• Skyrim, Fallout 3/4, and similar titles - great first-person open world exploration, atmospheric, limited crafting though any base-building is rare and minimal... these games are great but they tend to be much more about story and questing and less about exploration and building/crafting for their own sake.

Games I haven't played but that sound similar/promising:

• Rust - it sounds like there's a lot of finding resources, crafting, and base building, but I hear the MP is a bloodbath for new players so I haven't tried it yet. I don't mind losing a bunch of resources because I ran out of O2 or got eaten by a reaper, but I don't want to constantly be starting over due to random 12yo griefers camping spawn spots.
  
• Elite Dangerous - I don't know about crafting or base building but it sounds like there's a lot of exploration in an immersive environment.
  
• Stranded Deep looks interesting, kind of a cross between Subnautica and Salt, I guess but some of the reviewers didn't like the last update.

What are you playing when you're not playing Subnautica? Have you tried any of these others? Any recommendations for games that capture some of the same feel?

[shponglefan]

I think the closet game in overall theme and mechanics is Far Sky. Haven't played it myself, but it's an underwater crafting/survival game. However, it looks much more primitive and from what I've read, the developers more or less abandoned it.

Planet Explorers also looks similar in that it's an open world sci-fi game about exploring and crafting. It's just set on dry land as opposed to under the water.

Of the games in the OP, I've played both The Long Dark and Stranded Deep.

TLD is a fantastic game and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who likes the idea of freezing in the Canadian winter. :)

SD is in a bit of flux right now, as the devs are in the process of radically changing a lot of it. It remains to be seen how things will shape up.

[id10m]

Right, Far Sky looked like it had some potential but sounds like it's dead. I might pick it up for a couple of dollars if I find it on sale, but I hate to invest in early access titles that have been abandoned, I've already been bitten by that once or twice. (Lookin at you here, Spacebase DF-9.) I was actually on the fence with Subnautica until I saw enough to convince me that even if they never make it out of EA, it was already worth the price.

TLD is indeed fantastic and I'm really looking forward to the upcoming story mode. That's another example of an EA game that's well worth the money in its current state... I have 50+ hours in that thing and it's only halfway done.

[Myrador]

id10m původně napsal:

Far Sky looked like it had some potential but sounds like it's dead.

as Far as i know FarSky was just one person doing everything thats why it is "dead" (finished) its still worth the price imo i enjoyed it very much.

[Tito Shivan]

I discovered Subnautica after playing Far Sky, it's definetly worth a play.
The game is rough around the edges and isn't really deep gameplay-wise. But it did a good work in setting the mood IMO.

[Ryan]

It's kind of old, but Treasures of the Deep was a really excellent open world-ish underwater adventure game with themes of exploration, treasure hunting, pirate hunting, sunken treasure ship exploring, fighting various underwater monsters.

[lucyrocketdog]

I have looked for every game like subnautica that I could find. I have played the ones listed. I have been playing Stranded Deep for a while now, and the latest update upset some people. But I like the game, and still play it. The following list of games are all EA, and in various stages of "buggyness".

Empyrion-Galactic Survival is a game of exploration and discovery. The building system is fun and you can easily build spaceships and travel to the moons, asteroids and even different planets. There are NPCs-- wildlife, drones, aliens, and some will try to kill you.

Rising World is simply a game of building (at the present time) . Imagine Minecraft in a realistic setting, with animals, plants and trees that look natural and lifelike. Rising World has lots of building options, along with lots of furniture and decorations. There is only natural wildlife, and most of it will not attack you.

Kingdoms is a game I just purchased. It is very new, quite "raw", but seems promising. The game will try to create an immersive world of NPCs that operate together and with the player like in a society. The player is like a traveller through this world, able to interact with the NPCs. In the future, you could decide to set up shop and be a blacksmith, or a shopkeeper, or a king and wage war .

[LeoBerlin]

If you want something like Subnautica and dont have problems with Space go get Empyrion Galactic Survival. Its EA too and really amazing already. I own Stranded Deep a long time and i wouldnt recommend buying it now. I think the devs need way more time.

[Twelvefield]

The best game (also EA) about being stranded on an alien world and using Star-Trek-style science to build your way to safety is Factorio. If Factorio had Subnautica's graphics, we would not be here, we'd all be in that forum instead.

As for Elite (it was mentioned above), there's practically no similarity to Subnautica. It's a decent game, but even slower than Subnautica with no building at all. It's a good pickup if you like fliying-fighting games, but only on a STEAM sale.