Subnautica is a scavenge/survival game created by Unknown Worlds Entertainment, the team behind the 2012 team-based shooter Natural Selection 2. After a short intro you awake in an escape pod on an alien planet, this will be your starting base for the game. Upon exiting the pod all you see is a large space ship in the distance and and a seemingly endless vast ocean. Right off the bat you can begin exploring the shallow ocean floor below you scavenging materials to help create your various tools to help you survive.

The main parts of your hud is your oxygen supply which slowly drains the longer you remain underwater, your food supply which you replenish by eating cooked sea creatures, and various forms of flora, and lastly your water supply. The game for now has 3 game modes, Freedom, Survival, and Hardcore. In freedom mode you will not die of thirst or hunger, and your bases do not consume energy overtime. This is a great starting mode for beginners and lets you ease yourself into the game and how the randomly generated map can sometimes form. The only things that can kill you in this mode is running out of oxygen and dying to hostile creatures. Survival mode makes you have to watch your food and thirst levels while also making you worry about your undersea vehicles and bases eventually run out of energy. Hardcore simply adds permanent and unlike survival and freedom mode you won't receive an audio warning when you are low on oxygen.

Right off the start you have a fabricator in your escape pod, this is essentially your crafting station for the game. Simply have the needed materials in your possession and BZZZTTTTT you got it. Everything you make will be essential for your survival. You'll start off making simple things like a knife and oxygen tanks and eventually move towards full sized submarines allowing you explore even lower into the depths of this strange water world. The games very bright colored graphics help everything stand out so you won't have any trouble noticing important materials while swimming across.

The hostile creatures you have to avoid honestly terrified me the first time I came up to them. The different creatures tend to hang around certain specific areas such as the shark-like creatures hanging around kelp vines, and another giant worm that digs and hides under the sand until you come nearby. I fell out of my chair the first time I saw the Reaper which is a MASSIVE fish with tendrils on the front that instantly kills you if you catches you.
The music is very soft and atmospheric lending itself to the feeling of lonesomeness and mystery while exploring the deep depths. It seemed very fitting like the soft music from games like Mass Effect and FTL.
Overall I was surprised at just how well designed the game is for it being in Early Access. There are some occasional bugs and glitches, such as exiting your sub only to be thrown high up into the air before splashing back down into the sea, and the creatures clipping through the various rocks and landmarks. But they are adding new content to the game on a steady bases giving you plenty reason to game back even when you feel you've had your fill of the game. This game is how early access should be done, the mechanics are sound and well put in place with limitless potential of what could come in the future. The retail price for the game is $20, whether that will increase or decrease when the game releases is up to speculation.

A quick mention the game does not have any multiplayer support, but there is a possibility of adding it in the future, or even modders assisting with that.

If you enjoy survival games such as Don't Starve and survival mode in Minecraft then this game is well deserving of your time. If the thought of exploring a deep caves and a deep dark ocean in your own commanded sub seems your idea of a good time, then this is the perfect game for you. I highly recommend it to anyone with even a small interest in survival games, that wants something a little different rather than just sticking to the same world and planet we've grown accustomed to.