You popped out of your seamoth at 199 meters and it moved slightly past you so it was most likely at its breaking point so... Yeah it was probably crushed
@@RueUnderbite Thanks man! I could say the same for you! Your videos are really well put together and this video definitely deserves the attention it has gotten and more
Most likely one of the creatures bumped it and pushed it below its depth. I learned that the hard way, I never leave my seamoth less than 15 meters above its crush depth after that lol. It's a horrible feeling, knowing for certain you will drown because your safety net is unexpectedly absent
This fact in the PDA scared the bejesus out of me. Whether it is mechanically true or not idk, but the last time I played the game I managed to scan a Reaper and learn this fact about them. From that point forward every time I heard a Reaper I believed that they knew where I was...I could never hide from a Reaper...my only option was to keep moving or run! Whenever I heard the distant roar of a Reaper all I could think about was that the beast could see me and I worried how long before it finally decided to come and eat me!
In-game they can't see you over the massive distance their roars cover, but they do have a considerably larger sight range than the player does (they can see you past the distance they're visible through most biomes' fog), and they don't just rush you. They circle you and try to surprise you from behind, though much like everything else in Subnautica, they try to avoid instantly killing you, as that would break immersion and give you a break from the terror.
@@sillygoose_8635 fortunately for you, thats not how it works, but its roars are a sign that its nearby so it might be stalking you if you hear the sound
Submechanaphobia is definitely one of the phobias that makes sense as there are more planes underwater than submarines in the sky(as if that makes any sense)
I remember playing 30minutes of this game and 20minutes of it was me gaining the courage to jump in the water for the first time and waiting for the night to pass.
Lucky that we don't live at the same time as the mosasaur and similar creatures. Leviathans used to live on land and sea. In Subnautica that old fear of danger returns from our ancient days hiding in caves.
If there was ever a real reaper or any type of leviathan I would’ve been like “f*ck you beach”. Reef backs might also intimidate me a little bit too bcuz they’re bigger than even a blue whale ( I might be wrong )
It's amazing how people with fears getting help to their fears with this game and people without fears are getting new fears they never had before. I couldn't have complete this damn beautiful game. It's too heavy on my nerves.
Tbh, unless you're using a rendering mod to make the deepest parts actually dark, the last piece of the game is rather farming and avoidong sea dragons, which is easy if you have the jet and grappling hook upgrades. The lava zone felt anticlimactic to me, just like the crystal caves in below zero. Now imagine if you reach the bottom and there was nothing but actual darkness and beasts lurking... That would be impossible for me to complete
@@shalychtyou’re exactly right, the deepest parts in both games are simply not scary enough, they put big enemy threats in well lit areas which doesn’t provide enough of a ‘deep ocean’ feeling. It’s why so many fans love the void so much despite it not having any involvement with the main story progression of the games
Hearing "detecting multiple leviathan class life forms in the region, are you sure whatever you're doing is worth it?" Reminded me of the time where I accidentally encountered that message for the first time and I bolted out of there. When I saw that message I was worried you were gonna encounter a reaper or something.
You know whats weird? This game did not cure me at all, but it became sort of a comfort game. I love building my base, my safe space in the game. Coming back to it is so... calming.
Subnautica isn’t a comfort game for me but, it is one of my favourite games. I agree that returning to the safe spaces you’ve created are very relieving, getting back from search across the ocean knowing you made it back safe and sound, top tier relief.
I used to dislike how few decorative items there is in Subnautica. then I discovered the existence of living walls, decorative usage of plant beds and flower pots, as well as alien containments are perfect glass floors
The dunes was the area for my base on my 3rd playthrough and I made small bases with water purifiers, alien containments, fabricator and moon pool at the blood kelp forest, lost river and lava zone A reaper was close to my base, but a warper teleported it to me when I was 150 metres from my base so it didn't bother me anymore
oh i've been making it worse for myself by having my gamma to where it's still dark during the day. any biome is outright pitch black during night aside from the glowing parts of animals and plants it's fucking terrifying
@@jrex0522if you add some mods that make the gamma even more dark, there’s some that’ll make it black and white or just a true horror game. Plus tweaking the size of the reaper or any creature just adds even more 💩 in your pants. Idk how Subnautica can be a kids game if it has this much fear in it.
One of the best parts about Subnautica - and Subnautica RUclips videos - is that when people describe their first playthroughs somewhat cinematically and in a seemingly exaggerated way, it's actually sincere due to how immersive the game is. If I could wipe any game from my memory and play it again for the first time, it would absolutely be Subnautica, there's really nothing like it.
I think its really interesting to see people discussing subnautica in the context of thalassophobia because it (along with just playing subnautica) has made me realize that i have the opposite of whatever thalassophobia is. i dont really know how to explain it, i get the same kind of thought process (things like "we don't know what's down there", "there could be a massive creature in there") but for some reason those notions really excite me. I feel like if i can't see the bottom of the water, i have to go down and be the first one ever to explore it. I especially love it when there's creatures involved; if i think i see something in deep water, i get the urge to swim out to go see it. Even the creatures being hostile isn't enough to deter it, i actually found myself grinning during the reaper leviathan jumpscare because it was just so awesome to me. I know this is exactly how mad scientists die in movies and idrk what my point is, i just think its interesting to see how different people emotionally react to the same thing in such different ways
13:40 you can actually see that when you got out of the seamoth it continued to move just a bit, so it got under the 200 meters and blew up. I had a similar experience exploring a wreck but for me a bone shark pushed it under the 200 meters
24:13 What’s so funny about the gargantuan Leviathan is that there is a fully fledged mod currently in the works for it that shows what it would be like at full size. It really puts into perspective how bad my thalassophobia really is to say the least.
14:18 any hostile creatures will attack your vehicle if it's left nearby, and in this biome i expect it would have been bonesharks. for me, that's one of the things that made the game a little scarier, knowing that my source of air and safety could be gone in seconds if i didn't observe my environment well enough
A lot of hostile animals like bonesharks and crabsquids are attracted to light! Seen a lot of letsplayers get into trouble with them because they leave their crafts’ floodlights on. Switching off the lights before exiting the vehicle will actually reduce how much it is targeted by critters
I remember one time I was exploring the Dagasi base in the bulb zone. I was feeling confident. I was busy looting and listening to the PDA left behind when I heard something hit my seamoth. There was a window where I swam up and peaked out to see a crab snake. I watched in horror as this goddam big brained asshole broke my seamoth my way out my oxygen over 500m down.
A core memory of mine from this game is my driving the big sub in open ocean. I could not see the ocean floor or the surface and at some point, a barely visible reaper just swims across my screen in the distance and I just lose it.
Finally someone mentions Submechanophobia! I see people address this so rarely in relation to Thalassophobia and it's actually what mostly causes mine, since I'm scared there could be a submerged wreck somewhere. It's also the reason I had to stop playing Below Zero - the two wreck parts you have to enter and pass by any time you wanna visit the Lily Pads were just too much since they're much older and more decayed than the Aurora and the Architect ruins.
Fun fact: the circle of light on the surface is known in physics as Snell’s Window. It gets caused by the angles of light bouncing off the sea bed, the circle being the area where the visible light can escape into the air instead of getting reflected back down again. There’s a specific calculation that the game runs to render it. Really contributes to the feeling of being underwater.
When it comes to how much of the ocean has been explored it is more along 20%. I have played over 300 hours of subnutica one of my top games of all time. I will never forget my experience.
It's 100% of the surface, and nearly 100% at low depths closer to the surface. The 5% only refers to how much of the ocean floor is mapped (via satellite imagery) to the resolution of one square meter. It has nothing to do with how much we've seen or how many species we've discovered.
I've gotten over at least two phobias I had, but when I played Subnautica: it wasn't because of the Leviathans, sure they make me flinch, but what truly got me in the game was looking down, and seeing nothing, it invokes so much dread and fear in me, and after years of playing, I never got over that
I knew I had Thalassophobia when I first went swimming in deep waters for the first time as a kid. I was in the middle of a large lake. The water was cold and dark and the algae made it incredibly murky and hard to see even with goggles. I couldn’t see the bottom nor swim to it and was way far from shore. I live in California, i had nothing to be afraid of in a lake but 8 year old me felt like I was being watched from below and that something like an alligator was going to swim up and grab me and drag me to the bottom. The whole time swimming back I felt a constant dread and was so glad to finally get back to shore with my family. I’m not as scared of large water as I used to me now but I still feel uneasy in the dark deep water even in my own pool at night when the lights are off.
Broo ur script and edition are so good! I bet u will be famous in the future And yea. I dont have a pc or such, so all I did was watch subnautica gameplay, and even so it was scary. Dk if I will be able to play it someday haha
Subnautica gives me mixed feelings. It is my favorite game ever created, and for good reason. It’s beautiful, it pulls you in, and drowns you (sometimes literally) beneath 100’s of meters of water. It is masterfully done. But that… that is exactly why it’s so terrifying. Every roar, every voice line from the pda, and every time I get in my seamoth, I can feel it. A slight feeling of dread. I am alone, on an ocean planet, with only one choice-to go deeper. But if there is one takeaway from the game that *everyone* understands… “They do *not* want us down there…”
I can relate to you, I didn't watch any of your video, I jumped to another tab to just hear you, because footage of diving and of this games makes me feel anxious and have a hard time catching my breath. I already knew I was a little bit afraid of the ocean, but I didn't know how disturbing it would be to look around and only see the same shade of blue, or to look at a precipice and not seeing the bottom. I literally can't play this game alone, even though I am excited for it. Every time I try, my heart starts beating faster and faster, and I start to panic, even though I'm sitting at my room, in no danger at all.
Funny enough, I had a decent fear of the ocean. Sharks, very deep water, being alone and not being able to see the bottom. Subnautica took away those fears. Taught me I am a god damn human being, the Apex Predator. With a few rocks, I can make weapons that can slay even the mighty Sea Dragon. I have Sonar that can scan the deepest oceans. I don’t even need a sub, I prefer to fight Reapers hand to hand so I don’t have to repair. The only things in Subnautica I haven’t killed is the Cuddlefish and the Sea Emperor, and that’s because I chose to spare them. If a fish picks a fight with me, it dies, and I eat it. Subnautica allowed me to face a fear and conquer it, and I’ll always be grateful. Next time a shark crosses my path, I’m killing it and eating it. You don’t need a heat blade to kill an Earth Shark.
I have legitimately intense thalassophobia. When I first played this game, I wandered into the edge of the dunes along the seafloor. The PDA said “detecting multiple leviathan class life forms in the region. Are you certain whatever you’re doing is worth it?” Just as the shadow of a Reaper passed over me. I had to turn the game off and go outside, I was sweating with fear.
I also played subnautica, to me it seemed a little bit like a horror game, but it didnt really cause me to feel any extrme discomfort. Its liekly because i played it at 20 fps, but i heard form many friends that they are now a little bit scared of deep open water. But there is another game that i played, the forest and now part two, sons of the forest. Ever since i started playing the forest, im scared of dark and to me unknown places. Luckily its not an issue when im at home, since i know the place, but it allows me to understand how "suffocating" it can feel being scared of something you know you shuoldnt be scared of, but still are. And what i wanted to say is, that i think this is a really great video, everything is explained perfectly and backed up by examples, so yeah, great video, keep going.
@@RueUnderbite nah, my pc is just shit xD a ps 4 would be better xD But i am now finally getting a half decent pc, have been working a minijob. Now i can go and traumatize myself in sons of the forest.
For me Subnautica really made me scared for oxygen in every game i play were you can drown i directly scour to the nearest oxygen source when i put my head in the wet blue. I Just realy love this game even though i shit my pants more than once playing it
I fear not the bodies, but huge depths especially when you don't see the bottom, like...just pitch blue or black color down you. That freaks me out and I start thinking like 'BRO IT'S NOT OK, IT'S SO SCARY, IDK WHAT IS GONNA HAPPEN, PLEASE LET ME GO BACK!' The Void is one of these most scariest sh*t moments (I cannot explain, it's some kind of unexplainable thing) Like...if void could be bright or at least white instead of pitch black, then I would go in it after some time, but that pitch black color UNDERWATER, while being ALONE and NO SURRONDINGS, this is EXACTLY the way to scare me to 100% + panic + realization + creepy fantasy + f***ing heart attack I guess...
Horrible trivia: None of the monsters in this game can actually be killed. They merely go dormant for a few minutes. Hang out next to a "dead" monster long enough and it will eventually spring back to life.
Are you sure? Because I’ve killed the juvenile ghost leviathan that patrols the lost river near lava zone entrance (at least I think, this was about a year ago) and it never came back. Also looking it up it seems they in fact don’t respawn unless because of a game update or using cheats to reload chunks of the world. The normal creatures apparently do respawn though
No? Did you have a mod or get scared by a newly spawning ghost leviathan in the void? There's a reason there's a video about a dude making reaper leviathans extinct in his save file.
@@Kyydon I drilled a crabsquid to death because it was getting in the way of my base building project, left it floating next to the suit. Went back to building base, finished after a few mintues. As I was swimming back to the suit the "dead" crabsquid flipped itself upright and started attacking again. Was perplexed, began testing. Little fish won't resurrect if cooked by steam gyser or fire blade, but regular blade will pull a Lazarus eventually. Even a leviathan will, though only tested on Reaper, not Ghost. Resurrect times seem random but always at *least* five minutes - highest was over twenty when I drilled another leviathan that wandered into my base area. I went back inside the hab, felt safe, went to make lunch IRL, came back and he was up & swimming again. Did noticed that they seem to come back faster if you're not looking directly at them.
When I watch this video I wasn’t panicking or having anxiety knowing whatever happens ain’t happening to me however if I was playing this game I would be terrified just knowing something could be a few metres from me and I wouldn’t know it.
I can't help but feel like this video intents to give me thalassophobia as well XD. Won't happen tho as I love Subnautica to much and I am to curious about the unknown instead of being afraid of it.
Had Thallasophobia long before Subnautica came onto the scene and it’s entirely because of some video games: watching Spyro drown in Spyro 1 unable to help him, a glitch that happened in Croc which caused the camera to glitch which showed nothing but twisted black and blues, Divers Dream level 2 (shark level) and also Spyro 2: Aquaria Towers. Weird thing is I am terrified of water levels in video games but in real life I’m the first person running to the sea, maybe it’s a branch of this phobia idk
@@RueUnderbite Never played a lot of HT or ETD so not too familiar with that part sorry, but just got off the phone with my mum and brought up my phobia and she mentioned that I was terrified of the diving game (Divers dream) to the point they sold the game so I couldn’t play it anymore and some dolphin game, might have been ECCO the dolphin, wow I played a lot of traumatic water games when I was a kid XD
i've been afraid of open/deep water all my life- as far as i remember, might give subnautica a go to just to scare myself more, your descriptions gave me goose bumps so i might die of fright xdd amazing video, subbing and looking forward to more videos!
Highly recommend the game, however if you have a fear you might struggle a bit. Take your time with it, a few others in the comments have said it actually helped them with their phobias, never know.
I was recommended this video a few days ago, so saves it for later. It's been great seeing your view and subscriber count go up. Well done, great video, keep up the good work!
I know that Subnautica didn't give me Thalassaphobia. I got into Bioshock late because the opening drops you in the water, and Endless Ocean was the most chill horror game I've ever played. It did, however, deepen my fear of it.
For me Subnautica actually helped my thalassaphoboa. When I fist started playing the game I was glued to the surface, I was so scared to go down into the unknown. Over time I built the sea moth, prawn suit, & the cyclops I started having a false sense of security, so I would start venturing downwards. Over time I started to get over my fear of the deep unknown, until after hours & hours of play time I felt like I had mastered my fear. It was an amazing experience & I absolutely love the first Subnautica game. The second game was a disappointment for me, though. They changed themes & artistic directions too much. I really didnt like the voiced protagonist. It took me out of the moment constantly.
Honestly your fear of the water now and everythin associated with subnautica is justified, as someone afraid of deep water and especially heights, and who will 'happily' stay on ground level whenever possible... I am honestly always terrified to look down from a 10 story window because there's always that fear... that i'll just fall. But, despite that... i've learned to actually like fear to an extent... its there to remind you of your mortality, to let you know your limits... to guide you away from that which you know might harm you... even if it can't. True an 8 legged spider that's probably half the size of your foot can't hurt you much... but the fear is there, because while it can't hurt you physically, it can still 'potentially' hurt you... and that's all that your fear needs to warn you about. Fear is a friend that may not have the best methods, but its intentions are pure, it only wants you safe... it just goes about it in a less then welcomed way
The whale thing is so chill-inducing if you think about our real-world whales behaving like Reaper Leviathans. Just watching how fast that large friend in the clip moved through the water despite its size, I'm pretty convinced that if whales were naturally inclined to hunt humans we straight-up would not have made it through the Age of Sail without being Essex-ed into permanently staying on land.
Really great video mate! Subnautica is one of my fav games of all time because of how convincing and immersive its worldbuilding is. Two things I want to add that I think really make Subnautica such an excellent, and terrifying, experience. First is that you must face the ocean alone, completely alone. You mentioned it but I think its brilliance is often underplayed. This is something that the sequel expansion took away that I think detracted from below zero, having Al-an as a companion gives such great comfort in that game. Whereas in the original Subnautica you are completely and utterly alone, every hope of other survivors, even an NPC to visit, is completely obliterated as they are all revealed to be dead. You are the only survivor. Which creates an odd and unique pressure that survival is such an unattainable goal (the PDA even remarks as such when you pickup copper for the first time) that hope is slowly...and subtly...replaced with dread. Dread of what might kill you replaces the hope of what might save you. Second is how little hand holding the game provides in its narrative structure. Besides the markers for the sunken lifepods, the game never gives you a clear direction of where "exactly" to go. Just about every technology and upgrade you need you have to "stumble" into the wreck locations. Even major story locations are rarely marked explicitly; the PDA will tell you where to find something, but rarely where it actually is. Thus, in order to progress the game the player MUST explore, you MUST confront the fear of the unknown and delve into the deep with little to no direction as to where to go or what's out there.... Which is so damn terrifying!!!!
100% agree. I love the fact it doesn’t hold your hand and guide you through the world, I went into it thinking it didn’t have a story, so to find out here was actual objectives shocked me and it was better for it
The Magnus archives really captures the fear of the ocean so well for me with the vast. I’m so fucking scared of the ocean and I got subnautica to help with that fear but everything scared me. I tried playing on creative but just seeing the big creatures was just too much and I would shut the game off. I started listening to the Magnus archives and one episode I always think about it this person stuck in the ocean constantly feeling themselves drown and their body burn for oxygen but they never die. They have been stuck there so long they don’t know which way is up, it’s just pitch black ocean but they swim to the way they think is up, only to feel someone large graze their feet, the skin of the thing being enough to tear their skin. I think about that scene so much and how absolutely horrifying that idea is
I’ve had a fear of the ocean my entire life and I tried playing Subnautica to attempt to face my fears. Lo and behold, my mind refuses to let me progress past the starting area and am literally unable to play out of pure fear and terror
What’s funny, is I had this phobia BEFORE playing the game. Had it DURING the game too. Any time - ANY time I was out of a base, I was anxious; even tho I felt fine, I knew I was anxious because anytime I RETURNED to a base or otherwise ‘safe’ space such as an alien base, my base, or cyclops, I would physically react. I would have a single shiver flush over my whole body. As if it was physical relief. That said, I love the game, loved the sequel. And look forward to playing the next one. Even with my phobia remaining. I love the story, the overall design and look of everything (truly a beautiful game!). I just watch Let’s plays before playing myself, and other RUclips videos or shows in the background to help minimize the effect of ambience horror sounds, creature noises, etc.
As a sufferer of submechanophobia, subnautica is DAUNTING, having to approach a wreck and seeing it emerge from the darkness sends chills down my spine, makes my legs feel flimsy and the thought of knowing i have to approach and even enter it..... Horrifying.
At first I play this game like a walk in Disneyland. Fear nothing. Tackle every biome with sparkling eye. Fist Reaper encounter change me. I'm scare of gastropod. Stalker. Sandshark. Island leviathan. Suddenly the sea become scary. Man I love Subnautica
Subnautica didn’t give me Thalassophobia. The ocean is fucking cool. What it DID give me was Megalothalassophobia. I’m scared of what’s living IN the ocean.
I absolutely HATE even thinking about swimming in the ocean. But... this game is so much fun! We'll, I should specify the "story" and "base building" parts are fun lol. 😅 The creatures, especially the reaper, scare the daylights put of me, and I avoid them like the plague. 😂 (Sode note: After now having also played most of Below Zero, I can confidently say that the reaper is the scariest creature in the Subnautica world. I will gladly take a ghost or even sea dragon over that darn reaper every single time.)
I have a weird fear of glowing red eyes on humans/humanoids. Like pictures of them always make me go cold. I’m schizophrenic, I see shit like that sometimes. I have dreams about this one being (I called it Him). Seen him during hallucinations or just an excited brain as well. He’s a shadow figure, black suit, and glowing red eyes like the enemy from Rodger Rabbit. I think that’s how he manifested. I always didn’t like the man. Also, fuck da ocean and planes (especially since Boeing).
Hehe, Subnautica terrified me so bad I actually had to stop for over a month after finding the blood kelp zone. But I eventually finished it, and LOVED it. This game was a masterpiece. You feel like you actually accomplished something when you finish it. That said, the Shadow leviathans from Subnautica Below Zero scared me the most of all the leviathans. The Warmers terrified me more than the reapers or the sea dragons XD
Ironically enough, Below Zero which leaned into grief far better than it did into fear, did Submechanophobia much better with the Mercury II wrecks. The Aurora wrecks, being anything between 8 hours and 5 months old, are still fresh, sparkly and fun, and the Degasi wrecks, while they give a taste of it, are simply too small and easy to navigate.
If you think this game is scary..... You havent seen the Garg Mod.... Let's just say..... I watched a YT-er play that mod, and he dosent have Thallasaphobia..... He screamed on the top of his lounges,
Honestly, a voice line from a completely different game which just succinctly describes the sense of fear in water is from a Far Cry 6 DLC. There is a purely underwater level, and you hear this at the start if you play the level at a certain point: "Hurry, Dani. You are not a predator in this environment." And that just in one quick line sums up the entire driving force behind the fear of the ocean, I think. No matter how olympic you are, you cannot outswim the majority of threats you would face in the water. It's such a different environment that you can't even instinctually move. Swimming can simply not be something you're capable of if you don't practice, and a lot of human behaviours which occur instinctually from panic in the water are actively detrimental and will get you killed. You have to fight your own instincts to perform well enough. And no matter how good of a swimmer you are, you're prey until you have your feet back on solid ground.
I have Thalassophobia since...since I can think, actually. Sea of Thieves is luckily no problem, but Grounded kicked of my fear with Water Spiders My fear is less the body of water itself but what might hide in it, that I cant see.
I don't like playing horrors, it's scary as hell when you have to go into situation and by yourself face the things. Somehow Subnautica was worse nightmare, but I was hooked so much. It gives you safehaven you can build yourself. You venture into deep in your own pace. Ultimately I conquered my fears. I was able to learn the ways of the ocean. I was still intruder with a huge disadvantage, but I had experience and equipment. I took submarine. I was able to ignore small threats. I was able to confidently scout with sonar larger ones. I was able to consistently sneak past leviathans without any risk. My peak point of this rite of passage was when I was mining in prawn suit and accidentally attracted ghost leviathan. . I could not run in this machine, so I stood my ground. I jumped forward against the monster and punched him in his face so hard that I scared it off. I felt more badass then in Doom, and that says something. In the end I was feeling like in home. Leaving the planet was even a bit sad
I never finished Subnautica. I never felt ready to go explore the Lava Zone, I kept postponing it until I simply ended up abandoning it. This was in mid 2021, and I always want to return to the game but I feel discouraged. I haven’t played this game in 3 years… and yet… this game appears in my dreams quite often, and in those dreams the game is scarier and more difficult
i had thalassophobia before playing subnautica, what i have now? thalassophobia, but its even worse now after i fully played subnautica, i still love the ocean and everything yet im scared of the deepness of some water, the void that is the most hardest thing to avoid in the game so that makes it even worse, when you just casually swim and you think thats a long drop, no its not just a drop... the feeling that ANYTHING can be in the void and you just casually look down and see the darkness raising up, when i saw the void for the first time i was like nuhuhuh im going back to sleep in my life pod for 10000 days before i go back to the ocean
Dude, i have the same problem as you honestly. When i was about 7 years old i almost drowned about 3 times (i went to far too deep into the ocean and got caught in massive waves numerous times) but i never really got SCARED or frightend of the fact i almost lost my life to the ocean. even today i almost drowned again, the only reason me being alive is because there were tons of lifegaurds around the ocean, and i wasnt TOO far out.. I still loved the water and swimming after EVERYTHING. but something about subnautica just felt diffrent, the fact that there were these other wordly creatures in the massive expanse of the ocean was so daunting. There were no other humans in the area either.. Just you, you're base and the unknown.
for me i have an opposite effect I LOVE THE OCEAN i love being underwater, but i HATE and fear being on land, too many spiders wasps ect. i feel calm in the water
Honestly I feel like the entire Subnautica experience can be summed up by a quote from Q from Star Trek the Next Generation: "If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home, and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wondrous...with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid."
I've never had thalassophobia nor submechanophobia nor megalophobia, but I would 100% be lying if I said I didn't feel any fear in the crash site or void xD
What is interesting was that this game had it’s rating change in 3 countries. In Switzerland, Australia, and Spain the game was rated E-10 when first released. A month later the rating went up, in Spain it went to a Teen rating. In both Australia and Switzerland it became M for Mature. Those 2 countries realize children were developing new phobias ocean based. The game was also rebranded as a horror survival game. The Mexican version actually lists every Phobia related to the game and says if you have any of theses to turn the game off. Ironically, if you join either the US Navy or Marines, you are actually required to play the game. You don’t have to beat the game but you have to get at least to the part you first meet the good Leviathan.
Fun Fact: I couldn’t help but notice, at 14:20, he could’ve made it to the surface in about 5 seconds using the airbladder. I know it was likely for footage but still
You popped out of your seamoth at 199 meters and it moved slightly past you so it was most likely at its breaking point so... Yeah it was probably crushed
Hey I just checked out your channel, super fun! If anyone sees this comment check it out yourself
@@RueUnderbite Thanks man! I could say the same for you! Your videos are really well put together and this video definitely deserves the attention it has gotten and more
doesn't sub have that weird "feature" that has ships rise to the surface? excluding the big ass sub
Most likely one of the creatures bumped it and pushed it below its depth. I learned that the hard way, I never leave my seamoth less than 15 meters above its crush depth after that lol. It's a horrible feeling, knowing for certain you will drown because your safety net is unexpectedly absent
that happened to me at 899 near the lava zone...
16:57 the fun part is, Reapers use echolocation according to the pda. Meaning if you hear one, it can see you.
Fortunately that is just for lore, the reaper actually just stalks the player and circles around them waiting for the chance to strike.
This fact in the PDA scared the bejesus out of me. Whether it is mechanically true or not idk, but the last time I played the game I managed to scan a Reaper and learn this fact about them. From that point forward every time I heard a Reaper I believed that they knew where I was...I could never hide from a Reaper...my only option was to keep moving or run! Whenever I heard the distant roar of a Reaper all I could think about was that the beast could see me and I worried how long before it finally decided to come and eat me!
In-game they can't see you over the massive distance their roars cover, but they do have a considerably larger sight range than the player does (they can see you past the distance they're visible through most biomes' fog), and they don't just rush you. They circle you and try to surprise you from behind, though much like everything else in Subnautica, they try to avoid instantly killing you, as that would break immersion and give you a break from the terror.
@@sillygoose_8635 fortunately for you, thats not how it works, but its roars are a sign that its nearby so it might be stalking you if you hear the sound
This isn't actually true in gameplay, but several mods have actually gone and implemented it.
Submechanaphobia is definitely one of the phobias that makes sense as there are more planes underwater than submarines in the sky(as if that makes any sense)
That’s a meme
Yes
That's just how gravity works 😂
I once stood on a edge of a underwater cliff in Subnautica..... Just Jumped down into the Abys with my Prawn Suit. Was fun.
I remember playing 30minutes of this game and 20minutes of it was me gaining the courage to jump in the water for the first time and waiting for the night to pass.
18:40
I DON'T have thalassophobia, but what I do have is megalophobia, and that whale wade me fucking jump up, not cool 😭
I scuba dive in real life wit little to no fear whilst submerged, and still, Subnautica continues to scare the ever living crap out of me.
Well, you don’t have to deal with leviathans when you dive, do you?
Lucky that we don't live at the same time as the mosasaur and similar creatures. Leviathans used to live on land and sea. In Subnautica that old fear of danger returns from our ancient days hiding in caves.
Opposite for me, I’m terrified irl but games and movies.. no problemo
Cuz its technically closer to a freedive survival game than a scuba simulator.
If there was ever a real reaper or any type of leviathan I would’ve been like “f*ck you beach”. Reef backs might also intimidate me a little bit too bcuz they’re bigger than even a blue whale ( I might be wrong )
It's amazing how people with fears getting help to their fears with this game and people without fears are getting new fears they never had before. I couldn't have complete this damn beautiful game. It's too heavy on my nerves.
I also couldn’t finish the game because of that reason, I’ll gladly watch all the videos on it though!
Tbh, unless you're using a rendering mod to make the deepest parts actually dark, the last piece of the game is rather farming and avoidong sea dragons, which is easy if you have the jet and grappling hook upgrades. The lava zone felt anticlimactic to me, just like the crystal caves in below zero. Now imagine if you reach the bottom and there was nothing but actual darkness and beasts lurking... That would be impossible for me to complete
Have you tried getting the stasis rifle? It freezes anything in place, allows you to kill even things like leviathans
@@shalychtyou’re exactly right, the deepest parts in both games are simply not scary enough, they put big enemy threats in well lit areas which doesn’t provide enough of a ‘deep ocean’ feeling. It’s why so many fans love the void so much despite it not having any involvement with the main story progression of the games
The only thing I’m afraid of is some weird bug happening and killing me before I have saved the game and thus losing 2 hours of progress.
Hearing "detecting multiple leviathan class life forms in the region, are you sure whatever you're doing is worth it?" Reminded me of the time where I accidentally encountered that message for the first time and I bolted out of there. When I saw that message I was worried you were gonna encounter a reaper or something.
I had that message pop up after I hunted my 3rd reaper behind the crash site
Gotta be the most unsettling quote ever imo, I never got it tho 😂
brother was gifted with elequant speech and used it for good
Hahaha I’m glad it seems that way! Certainly took long enough to record
You earned yourself a loyal sub
You know whats weird?
This game did not cure me at all, but it became sort of a comfort game.
I love building my base, my safe space in the game. Coming back to it is so... calming.
Subnautica isn’t a comfort game for me but, it is one of my favourite games. I agree that returning to the safe spaces you’ve created are very relieving, getting back from search across the ocean knowing you made it back safe and sound, top tier relief.
I built a base in every zone and each one became my new favorite hobbit hole
I used to dislike how few decorative items there is in Subnautica. then I discovered the existence of living walls, decorative usage of plant beds and flower pots, as well as alien containments are perfect glass floors
Holy crap this is so high quality, figured i was watching someone with atleast 100k subs, amazing content please keep making stuff of this quality!
Thank you so much! Comments like this encourage me to do more, much appreciated
THATS WHAT I THOUGJT TOO
Yeah, absolutely the same
Me too, subbed immediately
@@legendaryblob8227 Thank you!
If you want to experience the premium version of Thalassophobia try exploring the Dunes biome during the nighttime
Actually scarier than most horror games
The dunes was the area for my base on my 3rd playthrough and I made small bases with water purifiers, alien containments, fabricator and moon pool at the blood kelp forest, lost river and lava zone
A reaper was close to my base, but a warper teleported it to me when I was 150 metres from my base so it didn't bother me anymore
The back of the Aurora is also beautiful under the moonlight 👀
oh i've been making it worse for myself by having my gamma to where it's still dark during the day. any biome is outright pitch black during night aside from the glowing parts of animals and plants
it's fucking terrifying
@@jrex0522if you add some mods that make the gamma even more dark, there’s some that’ll make it black and white or just a true horror game. Plus tweaking the size of the reaper or any creature just adds even more 💩 in your pants. Idk how Subnautica can be a kids game if it has this much fear in it.
You ever hear a loud scary noise and you just start backing up only to get jump scared running into a wall? 😂
Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who watched, liked or left a comment, it means the world to see this kind of support. Thank you all!
when watching the video i tought of the same joke for the enitre thing
there are more planes underwater than submarines in the sky
Try to do a deep review on grounded it could be great also Ark survival is another great game.
@@repaeR_ehT love grounded, but haven't played Ark
I have done SO MANY play through of this game and not once did I ever realize you can eat bladder fishes for oxygen
c'mon youtube algorithm, pump this masterpiece up, a 30min essay of this quality under 1k views is a crime
One of the best parts about Subnautica - and Subnautica RUclips videos - is that when people describe their first playthroughs somewhat cinematically and in a seemingly exaggerated way, it's actually sincere due to how immersive the game is. If I could wipe any game from my memory and play it again for the first time, it would absolutely be Subnautica, there's really nothing like it.
I think its really interesting to see people discussing subnautica in the context of thalassophobia because it (along with just playing subnautica) has made me realize that i have the opposite of whatever thalassophobia is. i dont really know how to explain it, i get the same kind of thought process (things like "we don't know what's down there", "there could be a massive creature in there") but for some reason those notions really excite me. I feel like if i can't see the bottom of the water, i have to go down and be the first one ever to explore it. I especially love it when there's creatures involved; if i think i see something in deep water, i get the urge to swim out to go see it. Even the creatures being hostile isn't enough to deter it, i actually found myself grinning during the reaper leviathan jumpscare because it was just so awesome to me. I know this is exactly how mad scientists die in movies and idrk what my point is, i just think its interesting to see how different people emotionally react to the same thing in such different ways
Psychopath energy 😂. That’s interesting, can’t say I’ve felt that way before
Soooo that would make you a… thalassophile?
@@halla3184 i guess lol
That's called Thalassophilia,,, I am also a Thalassophile. The love, or attraction to the sea. You love it unconditionally,,,
And thanks to people like you our species progresses.
13:40 you can actually see that when you got out of the seamoth it continued to move just a bit, so it got under the 200 meters and blew up. I had a similar experience exploring a wreck but for me a bone shark pushed it under the 200 meters
You’re right, well spotted
I absolutely ADORE Subnautica, but I'll never see large bodies of water the same ever again.
You enter an area where you know a Reaper resides…. Panic!!
You don’t hear it…. Calm :)
You don’t hear it…. PANIC!!!!
24:13 What’s so funny about the gargantuan Leviathan is that there is a fully fledged mod currently in the works for it that shows what it would be like at full size. It really puts into perspective how bad my thalassophobia really is to say the least.
14:18 any hostile creatures will attack your vehicle if it's left nearby, and in this biome i expect it would have been bonesharks. for me, that's one of the things that made the game a little scarier, knowing that my source of air and safety could be gone in seconds if i didn't observe my environment well enough
A lot of hostile animals like bonesharks and crabsquids are attracted to light! Seen a lot of letsplayers get into trouble with them because they leave their crafts’ floodlights on. Switching off the lights before exiting the vehicle will actually reduce how much it is targeted by critters
I remember one time I was exploring the Dagasi base in the bulb zone. I was feeling confident. I was busy looting and listening to the PDA left behind when I heard something hit my seamoth. There was a window where I swam up and peaked out to see a crab snake. I watched in horror as this goddam big brained asshole broke my seamoth my way out my oxygen over 500m down.
The seamoth broke because he left it moving just before the depth limit so it glided from the momentum, just under the limit, causing it to break
Nah, it was gone because it coasted to 200 meters, making it take damage slowly until destroyed completely.
@@masoncannon3616 ohh of course!!! :))
There's a mod in the works that actually adds a live Gargantuan Leviathan the mod also give an alternate ending to that Sunbeam scene
A core memory of mine from this game is my driving the big sub in open ocean. I could not see the ocean floor or the surface and at some point, a barely visible reaper just swims across my screen in the distance and I just lose it.
Finally someone mentions Submechanophobia! I see people address this so rarely in relation to Thalassophobia and it's actually what mostly causes mine, since I'm scared there could be a submerged wreck somewhere. It's also the reason I had to stop playing Below Zero - the two wreck parts you have to enter and pass by any time you wanna visit the Lily Pads were just too much since they're much older and more decayed than the Aurora and the Architect ruins.
Fun fact: the circle of light on the surface is known in physics as Snell’s Window. It gets caused by the angles of light bouncing off the sea bed, the circle being the area where the visible light can escape into the air instead of getting reflected back down again. There’s a specific calculation that the game runs to render it. Really contributes to the feeling of being underwater.
The quality of this video is so good I didn't notice he only had 300 subs until 19 minutes in
Yeah, that seamoth imploded. It kept moving to 201 meters beyond its limits.
When it comes to how much of the ocean has been explored it is more along 20%.
I have played over 300 hours of subnutica one of my top games of all time. I will never forget my experience.
It's 100% of the surface, and nearly 100% at low depths closer to the surface. The 5% only refers to how much of the ocean floor is mapped (via satellite imagery) to the resolution of one square meter. It has nothing to do with how much we've seen or how many species we've discovered.
I've gotten over at least two phobias I had, but when I played Subnautica: it wasn't because of the Leviathans, sure they make me flinch, but what truly got me in the game was looking down, and seeing nothing, it invokes so much dread and fear in me, and after years of playing, I never got over that
I thought this vid had like a million views or something . This is top tier keep doing it
I knew I had Thalassophobia when I first went swimming in deep waters for the first time as a kid. I was in the middle of a large lake. The water was cold and dark and the algae made it incredibly murky and hard to see even with goggles. I couldn’t see the bottom nor swim to it and was way far from shore. I live in California, i had nothing to be afraid of in a lake but 8 year old me felt like I was being watched from below and that something like an alligator was going to swim up and grab me and drag me to the bottom. The whole time swimming back I felt a constant dread and was so glad to finally get back to shore with my family. I’m not as scared of large water as I used to me now but I still feel uneasy in the dark deep water even in my own pool at night when the lights are off.
hello vault boy
@@PRESTONGARVEY-ww3fq Yes i didn't forget about your settlements
Broo ur script and edition are so good! I bet u will be famous in the future
And yea. I dont have a pc or such, so all I did was watch subnautica gameplay, and even so it was scary. Dk if I will be able to play it someday haha
Subnautica gives me mixed feelings. It is my favorite game ever created, and for good reason. It’s beautiful, it pulls you in, and drowns you (sometimes literally) beneath 100’s of meters of water. It is masterfully done. But that… that is exactly why it’s so terrifying. Every roar, every voice line from the pda, and every time I get in my seamoth, I can feel it. A slight feeling of dread. I am alone, on an ocean planet, with only one choice-to go deeper. But if there is one takeaway from the game that *everyone* understands… “They do *not* want us down there…”
I can relate to you, I didn't watch any of your video, I jumped to another tab to just hear you, because footage of diving and of this games makes me feel anxious and have a hard time catching my breath. I already knew I was a little bit afraid of the ocean, but I didn't know how disturbing it would be to look around and only see the same shade of blue, or to look at a precipice and not seeing the bottom. I literally can't play this game alone, even though I am excited for it. Every time I try, my heart starts beating faster and faster, and I start to panic, even though I'm sitting at my room, in no danger at all.
Funny enough, I had a decent fear of the ocean. Sharks, very deep water, being alone and not being able to see the bottom.
Subnautica took away those fears. Taught me I am a god damn human being, the Apex Predator. With a few rocks, I can make weapons that can slay even the mighty Sea Dragon. I have Sonar that can scan the deepest oceans. I don’t even need a sub, I prefer to fight Reapers hand to hand so I don’t have to repair. The only things in Subnautica I haven’t killed is the Cuddlefish and the Sea Emperor, and that’s because I chose to spare them. If a fish picks a fight with me, it dies, and I eat it. Subnautica allowed me to face a fear and conquer it, and I’ll always be grateful. Next time a shark crosses my path, I’m killing it and eating it. You don’t need a heat blade to kill an Earth Shark.
BASED
I have legitimately intense thalassophobia. When I first played this game, I wandered into the edge of the dunes along the seafloor. The PDA said “detecting multiple leviathan class life forms in the region. Are you certain whatever you’re doing is worth it?” Just as the shadow of a Reaper passed over me.
I had to turn the game off and go outside, I was sweating with fear.
I love this game and I'm scared of it, but i never knew why. This video helped me figure it out. This is also very high quality. Good Job!
I’m glad it helped
Bro I was gonna like the vid and saw that u didn't have at least 100k likes, great vid dude
Haha (you have gained a sub)
Definitely thought I was alone in developing a fear of the ocean from this but good to hear others are scarred too 👍
I also played subnautica, to me it seemed a little bit like a horror game, but it didnt really cause me to feel any extrme discomfort. Its liekly because i played it at 20 fps, but i heard form many friends that they are now a little bit scared of deep open water. But there is another game that i played, the forest and now part two, sons of the forest. Ever since i started playing the forest, im scared of dark and to me unknown places. Luckily its not an issue when im at home, since i know the place, but it allows me to understand how "suffocating" it can feel being scared of something you know you shuoldnt be scared of, but still are. And what i wanted to say is, that i think this is a really great video, everything is explained perfectly and backed up by examples, so yeah, great video, keep going.
Thanks! We’re you playing on of the old gen consoles by any chance? I originally played it on PS4 and oh boy it ran terribly
@@RueUnderbite nah, my pc is just shit xD a ps 4 would be better xD But i am now finally getting a half decent pc, have been working a minijob. Now i can go and traumatize myself in sons of the forest.
Haha hopefully not too bad, enjoy it man
22:00 mane just give me a stasis rifle, some batteries and a survival knife and there ain’t anything I can’t get rid of
Your editing is really great...NGL you made better understanding to the viewers about phobias...good job ❤
Thank you so much!!
For me Subnautica really made me scared for oxygen in every game i play were you can drown i directly scour to the nearest oxygen source when i put my head in the wet blue. I Just realy love this game even though i shit my pants more than once playing it
BRO My arachnophobia is also from eight legged freaks :c
I fear not the bodies, but huge depths especially when you don't see the bottom, like...just pitch blue or black color down you.
That freaks me out and I start thinking like 'BRO IT'S NOT OK, IT'S SO SCARY, IDK WHAT IS GONNA HAPPEN, PLEASE LET ME GO BACK!'
The Void is one of these most scariest sh*t moments (I cannot explain, it's some kind of unexplainable thing)
Like...if void could be bright or at least white instead of pitch black, then I would go in it after some time, but that pitch black color UNDERWATER, while being ALONE and NO SURRONDINGS, this is EXACTLY the way to scare me to 100% + panic + realization + creepy fantasy + f***ing heart attack I guess...
Yeah that pretty much sums up the void
1:25 That's not true at all, most of the ocean has been explored but only 5% of it by humans
13:54 your seamoth descended too far and ended up breaking due to the pressure (i think)
Not think! You are correct here.
Horrible trivia: None of the monsters in this game can actually be killed. They merely go dormant for a few minutes. Hang out next to a "dead" monster long enough and it will eventually spring back to life.
Are you sure? Because I’ve killed the juvenile ghost leviathan that patrols the lost river near lava zone entrance (at least I think, this was about a year ago) and it never came back. Also looking it up it seems they in fact don’t respawn unless because of a game update or using cheats to reload chunks of the world. The normal creatures apparently do respawn though
@@Kyydon yeah can confirm, leviathan seems to not respawn along side crabsquid because i slaughter all of them in around degasi base.
Why are you just lying dawg 😭
No? Did you have a mod or get scared by a newly spawning ghost leviathan in the void? There's a reason there's a video about a dude making reaper leviathans extinct in his save file.
@@Kyydon I drilled a crabsquid to death because it was getting in the way of my base building project, left it floating next to the suit. Went back to building base, finished after a few mintues. As I was swimming back to the suit the "dead" crabsquid flipped itself upright and started attacking again. Was perplexed, began testing. Little fish won't resurrect if cooked by steam gyser or fire blade, but regular blade will pull a Lazarus eventually. Even a leviathan will, though only tested on Reaper, not Ghost. Resurrect times seem random but always at *least* five minutes - highest was over twenty when I drilled another leviathan that wandered into my base area. I went back inside the hab, felt safe, went to make lunch IRL, came back and he was up & swimming again. Did noticed that they seem to come back faster if you're not looking directly at them.
Terrifying but peaceful, I love this game.
im not afraid of the water and the seaweed im afraid whats inside it
The fear of the unknown, terrifying
When I watch this video I wasn’t panicking or having anxiety knowing whatever happens ain’t happening to me however if I was playing this game I would be terrified just knowing something could be a few metres from me and I wouldn’t know it.
You having less than a thousand subs is absolutely criminal. Still, I'm doing my part and will hereby watch your career with great interest))
That's greatly appreciated, thank you
Subnautica is scarier than a lot horror games while not trying to be a horror game. It’s also a amazing survival game as well
The ghost leviathan puts the fear of god in me.
I can't help but feel like this video intents to give me thalassophobia as well XD. Won't happen tho as I love Subnautica to much and I am to curious about the unknown instead of being afraid of it.
Still, good video by the way. The earie atmosphere with your tone of voice and the bgm really gets you emerged.
You should look up the gargantuan Leviathan mod
You only feel this fear the first 2-3 times of playthrough. After that it disappears unfortunately.
speak for yourself 😭
Had Thallasophobia long before Subnautica came onto the scene and it’s entirely because of some video games: watching Spyro drown in Spyro 1 unable to help him, a glitch that happened in Croc which caused the camera to glitch which showed nothing but twisted black and blues, Divers Dream level 2 (shark level) and also Spyro 2: Aquaria Towers. Weird thing is I am terrified of water levels in video games but in real life I’m the first person running to the sea, maybe it’s a branch of this phobia idk
Man, that made me think of Spyro A Heros Tail, where he splashed around and drowns in the purple energy goop stuff
@@RueUnderbite Never played a lot of HT or ETD so not too familiar with that part sorry, but just got off the phone with my mum and brought up my phobia and she mentioned that I was terrified of the diving game (Divers dream) to the point they sold the game so I couldn’t play it anymore and some dolphin game, might have been ECCO the dolphin, wow I played a lot of traumatic water games when I was a kid XD
Keeping the lights on for this one
i've been afraid of open/deep water all my life- as far as i remember, might give subnautica a go to just to scare myself more, your descriptions gave me goose bumps so i might die of fright xdd
amazing video, subbing and looking forward to more videos!
Highly recommend the game, however if you have a fear you might struggle a bit. Take your time with it, a few others in the comments have said it actually helped them with their phobias, never know.
I love your explanation and your game experience this basically tells my whole Subnautica experience
The best part is that if you can hear the Reaper Leviathan roar, it can already see you 🙃
I'm reminded of this fact every time I hear them :0
Subnautica actually helped me with my thalassothobia
The quality of the video is just wow for a 500 Subscriber Channel
I was recommended this video a few days ago, so saves it for later.
It's been great seeing your view and subscriber count go up.
Well done, great video, keep up the good work!
It’s been unreal to be honest. Had 15 subs when it was posted, nearly at 500 now. Thanks for the support!
I know that Subnautica didn't give me Thalassaphobia. I got into Bioshock late because the opening drops you in the water, and Endless Ocean was the most chill horror game I've ever played. It did, however, deepen my fear of it.
Good video 👍
Take this subscribe, my friend. A well written video that very perfectly describes the strange feeling of fear playing Subnautica!!
For me Subnautica actually helped my thalassaphoboa. When I fist started playing the game I was glued to the surface, I was so scared to go down into the unknown. Over time I built the sea moth, prawn suit, & the cyclops I started having a false sense of security, so I would start venturing downwards. Over time I started to get over my fear of the deep unknown, until after hours & hours of play time I felt like I had mastered my fear. It was an amazing experience & I absolutely love the first Subnautica game.
The second game was a disappointment for me, though. They changed themes & artistic directions too much. I really didnt like the voiced protagonist. It took me out of the moment constantly.
Honestly your fear of the water now and everythin associated with subnautica is justified, as someone afraid of deep water and especially heights, and who will 'happily' stay on ground level whenever possible... I am honestly always terrified to look down from a 10 story window because there's always that fear... that i'll just fall. But, despite that... i've learned to actually like fear to an extent... its there to remind you of your mortality, to let you know your limits... to guide you away from that which you know might harm you... even if it can't. True an 8 legged spider that's probably half the size of your foot can't hurt you much... but the fear is there, because while it can't hurt you physically, it can still 'potentially' hurt you... and that's all that your fear needs to warn you about.
Fear is a friend that may not have the best methods, but its intentions are pure, it only wants you safe... it just goes about it in a less then welcomed way
The whale thing is so chill-inducing if you think about our real-world whales behaving like Reaper Leviathans. Just watching how fast that large friend in the clip moved through the water despite its size, I'm pretty convinced that if whales were naturally inclined to hunt humans we straight-up would not have made it through the Age of Sail without being Essex-ed into permanently staying on land.
Really great video mate! Subnautica is one of my fav games of all time because of how convincing and immersive its worldbuilding is. Two things I want to add that I think really make Subnautica such an excellent, and terrifying, experience.
First is that you must face the ocean alone, completely alone. You mentioned it but I think its brilliance is often underplayed. This is something that the sequel expansion took away that I think detracted from below zero, having Al-an as a companion gives such great comfort in that game. Whereas in the original Subnautica you are completely and utterly alone, every hope of other survivors, even an NPC to visit, is completely obliterated as they are all revealed to be dead. You are the only survivor. Which creates an odd and unique pressure that survival is such an unattainable goal (the PDA even remarks as such when you pickup copper for the first time) that hope is slowly...and subtly...replaced with dread. Dread of what might kill you replaces the hope of what might save you.
Second is how little hand holding the game provides in its narrative structure. Besides the markers for the sunken lifepods, the game never gives you a clear direction of where "exactly" to go. Just about every technology and upgrade you need you have to "stumble" into the wreck locations. Even major story locations are rarely marked explicitly; the PDA will tell you where to find something, but rarely where it actually is. Thus, in order to progress the game the player MUST explore, you MUST confront the fear of the unknown and delve into the deep with little to no direction as to where to go or what's out there....
Which is so damn terrifying!!!!
100% agree. I love the fact it doesn’t hold your hand and guide you through the world, I went into it thinking it didn’t have a story, so to find out here was actual objectives shocked me and it was better for it
The Magnus archives really captures the fear of the ocean so well for me with the vast. I’m so fucking scared of the ocean and I got subnautica to help with that fear but everything scared me. I tried playing on creative but just seeing the big creatures was just too much and I would shut the game off. I started listening to the Magnus archives and one episode I always think about it this person stuck in the ocean constantly feeling themselves drown and their body burn for oxygen but they never die. They have been stuck there so long they don’t know which way is up, it’s just pitch black ocean but they swim to the way they think is up, only to feel someone large graze their feet, the skin of the thing being enough to tear their skin. I think about that scene so much and how absolutely horrifying that idea is
Mario 64 ruined any sort of water game for me. I got it thinking I would get over my fear, but I can't leave the pod LMFAO.
I’ve had a fear of the ocean my entire life and I tried playing Subnautica to attempt to face my fears. Lo and behold, my mind refuses to let me progress past the starting area and am literally unable to play out of pure fear and terror
What’s funny, is I had this phobia BEFORE playing the game.
Had it DURING the game too. Any time - ANY time I was out of a base, I was anxious; even tho I felt fine, I knew I was anxious because anytime I RETURNED to a base or otherwise ‘safe’ space such as an alien base, my base, or cyclops, I would physically react. I would have a single shiver flush over my whole body. As if it was physical relief.
That said, I love the game, loved the sequel. And look forward to playing the next one.
Even with my phobia remaining. I love the story, the overall design and look of everything (truly a beautiful game!).
I just watch Let’s plays before playing myself, and other RUclips videos or shows in the background to help minimize the effect of ambience horror sounds, creature noises, etc.
As a sufferer of submechanophobia, subnautica is DAUNTING, having to approach a wreck and seeing it emerge from the darkness sends chills down my spine, makes my legs feel flimsy and the thought of knowing i have to approach and even enter it..... Horrifying.
At first I play this game like a walk in Disneyland. Fear nothing. Tackle every biome with sparkling eye.
Fist Reaper encounter change me. I'm scare of gastropod. Stalker. Sandshark. Island leviathan. Suddenly the sea become scary.
Man I love Subnautica
Subnautica didn’t give me Thalassophobia. The ocean is fucking cool.
What it DID give me was Megalothalassophobia. I’m scared of what’s living IN the ocean.
I absolutely HATE even thinking about swimming in the ocean. But... this game is so much fun! We'll, I should specify the "story" and "base building" parts are fun lol. 😅 The creatures, especially the reaper, scare the daylights put of me, and I avoid them like the plague. 😂 (Sode note: After now having also played most of Below Zero, I can confidently say that the reaper is the scariest creature in the Subnautica world. I will gladly take a ghost or even sea dragon over that darn reaper every single time.)
I have a weird fear of glowing red eyes on humans/humanoids. Like pictures of them always make me go cold. I’m schizophrenic, I see shit like that sometimes. I have dreams about this one being (I called it Him). Seen him during hallucinations or just an excited brain as well. He’s a shadow figure, black suit, and glowing red eyes like the enemy from Rodger Rabbit. I think that’s how he manifested. I always didn’t like the man. Also, fuck da ocean and planes (especially since Boeing).
Hehe, Subnautica terrified me so bad I actually had to stop for over a month after finding the blood kelp zone. But I eventually finished it, and LOVED it. This game was a masterpiece. You feel like you actually accomplished something when you finish it. That said, the Shadow leviathans from Subnautica Below Zero scared me the most of all the leviathans. The Warmers terrified me more than the reapers or the sea dragons XD
Ironically enough, Below Zero which leaned into grief far better than it did into fear, did Submechanophobia much better with the Mercury II wrecks. The Aurora wrecks, being anything between 8 hours and 5 months old, are still fresh, sparkly and fun, and the Degasi wrecks, while they give a taste of it, are simply too small and easy to navigate.
If you think this game is scary..... You havent seen the Garg Mod.... Let's just say..... I watched a YT-er play that mod, and he dosent have Thallasaphobia..... He screamed on the top of his lounges,
Your doing great
Honestly, a voice line from a completely different game which just succinctly describes the sense of fear in water is from a Far Cry 6 DLC. There is a purely underwater level, and you hear this at the start if you play the level at a certain point:
"Hurry, Dani. You are not a predator in this environment."
And that just in one quick line sums up the entire driving force behind the fear of the ocean, I think. No matter how olympic you are, you cannot outswim the majority of threats you would face in the water. It's such a different environment that you can't even instinctually move. Swimming can simply not be something you're capable of if you don't practice, and a lot of human behaviours which occur instinctually from panic in the water are actively detrimental and will get you killed. You have to fight your own instincts to perform well enough. And no matter how good of a swimmer you are, you're prey until you have your feet back on solid ground.
I have Thalassophobia since...since I can think, actually. Sea of Thieves is luckily no problem, but Grounded kicked of my fear with Water Spiders
My fear is less the body of water itself but what might hide in it, that I cant see.
I don't like playing horrors, it's scary as hell when you have to go into situation and by yourself face the things.
Somehow Subnautica was worse nightmare, but I was hooked so much. It gives you safehaven you can build yourself. You venture into deep in your own pace.
Ultimately I conquered my fears. I was able to learn the ways of the ocean. I was still intruder with a huge disadvantage, but I had experience and equipment.
I took submarine. I was able to ignore small threats. I was able to confidently scout with sonar larger ones. I was able to consistently sneak past leviathans without any risk.
My peak point of this rite of passage was when I was mining in prawn suit and accidentally attracted ghost leviathan. .
I could not run in this machine, so I stood my ground. I jumped forward against the monster and punched him in his face so hard that I scared it off.
I felt more badass then in Doom, and that says something.
In the end I was feeling like in home. Leaving the planet was even a bit sad
I never finished Subnautica.
I never felt ready to go explore the Lava Zone, I kept postponing it until I simply ended up abandoning it.
This was in mid 2021, and I always want to return to the game but I feel discouraged.
I haven’t played this game in 3 years… and yet… this game appears in my dreams quite often, and in those dreams the game is scarier and more difficult
i had thalassophobia before playing subnautica, what i have now? thalassophobia, but its even worse now after i fully played subnautica, i still love the ocean and everything yet im scared of the deepness of some water, the void that is the most hardest thing to avoid in the game so that makes it even worse, when you just casually swim and you think thats a long drop, no its not just a drop... the feeling that ANYTHING can be in the void and you just casually look down and see the darkness raising up, when i saw the void for the first time i was like nuhuhuh im going back to sleep in my life pod for 10000 days before i go back to the ocean
Dude, i have the same problem as you honestly. When i was about 7 years old i almost drowned about 3 times (i went to far too deep into the ocean and got caught in massive waves numerous times) but i never really got SCARED or frightend of the fact i almost lost my life to the ocean. even today i almost drowned again, the only reason me being alive is because there were tons of lifegaurds around the ocean, and i wasnt TOO far out.. I still loved the water and swimming after EVERYTHING. but something about subnautica just felt diffrent, the fact that there were these other wordly creatures in the massive expanse of the ocean was so daunting. There were no other humans in the area either.. Just you, you're base and the unknown.
for me i have an opposite effect
I LOVE THE OCEAN i love being underwater, but i HATE and fear being on land, too many spiders wasps ect. i feel calm in the water
Honestly I feel like the entire Subnautica experience can be summed up by a quote from Q from Star Trek the Next Generation:
"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home, and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wondrous...with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid."
I've never had thalassophobia nor submechanophobia nor megalophobia, but I would 100% be lying if I said I didn't feel any fear in the crash site or void xD
What is interesting was that this game had it’s rating change in 3 countries. In Switzerland, Australia, and Spain the game was rated E-10 when first released. A month later the rating went up, in Spain it went to a Teen rating. In both Australia and Switzerland it became M for Mature. Those 2 countries realize children were developing new phobias ocean based. The game was also rebranded as a horror survival game. The Mexican version actually lists every Phobia related to the game and says if you have any of theses to turn the game off.
Ironically, if you join either the US Navy or Marines, you are actually required to play the game. You don’t have to beat the game but you have to get at least to the part you first meet the good Leviathan.
Fun Fact: I couldn’t help but notice, at 14:20, he could’ve made it to the surface in about 5 seconds using the airbladder. I know it was likely for footage but still