[Top 10] Games Like Subnautica:
- Below Zero (Games Better
- Than Subnautica: Below Zero In Their Own Way)
10. Valheim - 2021 (PC, Xbox)
Valheim gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liQLtCLq3tc
Valheim is an intense survival game set in a Viking world. You can co-op with up to 9 people as you try to survive the harsh wilderness and prove yourself worthy to enter Valhalla, the great hall overseen by none other than Odin.
Like Subnautica: Below Zero, Valheim is an open-world game where you must craft tools and make a base if you hope to survive the many dangers the world presents. As the game progresses and you discover new biomes, the enemies become more formidable and so you must also level up your gear.
9. The Long Dark -2017 (PC, macOS, PS4, Xbox) 2020 (Nintendo Switch)
The Long Dark gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65qslR8hJ60
The Long Dark is a first-person survival game set in a frozen post-apolcalyptic world. Bush pilot Will Mackenzie crashes his plane in the Canadian wilds and must brave the elements to stay alive.
Like Subnautica: Below Zero, players of The Long Dark must also keep their body temperature in check lest they freeze to death. Players can from a variety of modes depending on their gameplay preferences. In Survival mode, you must scavenge and craft items to keep yourself warm and stay fed. Besides this, you also need to watch out for wolves and bears.
8. Rust - 2018 (PC / macOS) 2021 (PS4 / XBOX)
Rust gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGcECozNXEw
Rust is an open-world multiplayer-only game where your biggest threats aren’t wild animals or the environment, but other players. You only have one objective: to survive.
Subnautica: Below Zero players will agree that oftentimes, the game gets overwhelmingly lonely. While that actually adds to the eerie atmosphere of the game, you may want to try out the survival aspects while also being pitted against other players. Rust lets do just that, while you level up your gear, build secure bases, and grapple with aggressive wildlife.
7. Stranded Deep - 2015 (PC, macOS) 2020 (PS4, Xbox)
Stranded Deep gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qawXmda9ebY
Stranded Deep has many similar aspects to Subnautica: Below Zero. But instead of an alien planet, the player is instead stranded in the Pacific Ocean.
Stranded Deep has everything one would expect in a survival game set in the ocean, and more. You need to watch your thirst and hunger meters and build a raft to scavenge for resources. Occasionally the player will come across a shipwreck or island where they can forage for useful items. There are no Brute Sharks or Chelicerate in Stranded Deep, but players will instead have to fight off great-whites and hammerheads, alongside other aggressive fauna.
6. Ark: Survival Evolved - 2015 (PC / macOS) 2020 (PS4 / Xbox), 2018 (Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch) 2021 (Stadia)
Ark: Survival Evolved gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW9vsrPWujI
If you’re a fan of dinosaurs and survival games, then Ark: Survival Evolved definitely deserves a spot on your list. Starting off on an island teeming with dinosaurs, your objective is to tame these creatures to increase your chances of survival.
The game is available in both single-player and multiplayer. Players form tribes and build settlements, sharing resources with each other. As for the creatures, there is a wide variety of taming methods depending on the dinosaur. They can perform actions such as defending your base, attacking enemies, and even carrying bases on their backs. Additionally you must also explore the vast expanse of the land and gather resources to survive.
5. Minecraft - 2011 (PC / macOS / Android / iOS/ Xbox) 2014 (PS4)
Minecraft: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNMfF9TYETM
Minecraft is a game most people would have heard about, for its widely acclaimed praise. This sandbox game gives players immense freedom in terms of the goals to be achieved.
One may choose from different levels of difficulty including Hardcore mode, where the game is over if you even die once. The biomes you’ll encounter in the game include deserts, tundras, badlands, and many more. There are also two other dimensions, an Underworld-Esque fiery hellscape, and an alien world where a very important boss resides. Much of the environment and creatures are inspired by real-life but there are also fantasy elements like zombies, witches, portals, etc.
4. Astroneer - 2019 (PC / Xbox / PS4) 2022 (Nintendo Switch)
Astroneer gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv7xbHkLdGw
Like Subnautica: Below Zero, Astroneer also gets the player to explore a whole new planet. In this case, you must travel to multiple planets and activate their cores.
Once you start off, the biggest hindrance to exploration will be declining oxygen levels, which can be countered with oxygenators or tethers. When that’s out of the way, players need to break up the terrain to find raw materials, which can be used to build a base or new equipment. You can play Astroneer in both single-player and multiplayer. It is a visually eye-catching game that gives you a lot of freedom to explore all 7 planets.
3. Raft - 2022 (PC)
Raft gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__w615A5lC4
Raft was a hit from its early access days, largely due to its well-developed multiplayer options. Spend countless hours collecting trash from the ocean, growing your base, and defending your raft from sharks.
The game has a simple premise. You start off on a 2x2 raft armed with nothing but a hook, which you use to grab the nearby floating trash. Slowly, you gather materials and improve your raft, while also keeping an eye on your thirst. Sharks will attack you if you get in the water, but they will also not hesitate to chew off pieces of your raft. As you float along, you will not just discover islands but also many other interesting structures that help to progress the plot. The multiplayer mode is especially enjoyable in this game and is something you should definitely try out.
2. Abzû - 2016 (PC / PS4 / XBOX) 2018 (Nintendo Switch)
Abzû gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2G54w8H4oM
Abzû is a singleplayer game where the player must try and save the ocean from forces that are disrupting it. The game uses no narration and the story is told purely using visual elements.
Both Abzû and Subnautica: Below Zero have mastered atmospheric elements. But unlike Below Zero, where you have to survive the alien waters, Abzû constructs a synergy between the player and the ocean. You must work together with a great white shark to destroy pyramid-like structures that drain the ocean’s energy. Overall Abzû is a beautiful game where players truly become one with the water.
1. Subnautica - 2018 (macOS / PC / PS4 / Xbox) 2021 (Nintendo Switch, PS5)
Subnautica gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtP8r8nRfko
If you’re looking for a game to play after Below Zero and you haven’t tried the original Subnautica, you should go buy it right now without a second thought!
Subnautica is set two years prior to the events of Subnautica: Below Zero. One of Alterra’s spacecrafts, the Aurora, crashes into Planet 4546B after being hit by an unidentifiable energy beam. Out of the 100+ crew on board, maintenance chief Ryley Robinson is the only one to survivor the disaster as his lifepod crashes in safe, shallow waters. Infected by an alien disease and forced to explore dangerous water, the player (playing as Ryley) must find a way to escape the hostile planet and get back home. According to a good amount of players, the original Subnautica is much more high-stakes than its successor. So get ready for an even bigger challenge if you are to play it!