Subnautica

I just wish I could experience this game again for the first time.

Got this game in a last ditch effort to get my ten year old to spend time with his old mom. He loves playing it on his xbox, and constantly talks about it. The other day, I sat with him and watched YouTube videos of Subnautica while he explained what the game was and about etc. It dawned on me then, we were spending time together! It worked! I bought Subnautica and we stayed up later than normal playing it together. Of course it doesn't have multiplayer, but we both took turns gathering and making stuff. We were each cheering as we found resources, and we both were anxious to get away from the predators. It was fun, and I am looking forward for this game to help us come together and spend time together like last night.
**Update** We are now more than 20 hours into Subnautica. We are having a blast inside the game and outside the game. I have found a way to connect with my son, and I am enjoying every minute of it. When his dad is home, he gets so confused by what our son is saying, and I happily fill him in on the details. In the game, we have a base with a multipurpose room, the submarine vehicle, and we're now getting the laser cutter. He loves taking screen shots of our progress. I cannot wait to see what more this game has to offer, and I'm sure we will both be enjoying it for a very long time.
*Update 2*
I am wanting to get my son a gaming desktop so he can play games with me, and with his cousin, for his birthday. Sadly I'm a college student with not that much money, and gaming pcs are expensive. I made a gofundme if anyone of you in the gaming community want to contribute. I have the link to the gofundme in the comments to this review. Thank you so much in advance!

somehow relaxing and stressful at the same time

I never expected my self to be one of those people to like this game.
I can still remember my first dive into the waters of this sea planet, my fear of the unknown and the deep, the thrill of exploring and the need to go deeper.
-The first day I explored the shallow waters and saw every fish I could, some sounds where coming from far away from places where the eyes could not reach.
These sounds made me not want to explore any further than the protection of the shallow waters, where everything is peaceful and beautiful.
Yet the adventure inside me just kept pushing me despite my fear, slowly the exploration away from the shallow waters started to come into reality, I finally saw the deep waters but there was only darkness bellow me.
I dived deep into the darkness not knowing what could come at me at any time or what I could see or find while surrounded continuously by scary loud noises and creatures I could not see but their eyes glowed in the dark.
Once I reached the bottom I saw it all, I saw what I kept my self from seeing, it was .... -
If you want to see the deep you must be brave and make a dive, otherwise you will always be locked away with the question of what is down there.
Make the dive.

I get lost for hours in Subanutica's world. Exploring the Ocean depth of 4546B is amazing, finding new areas, getting lost, running into Leviathans. Honestly I had more jump scares on this game than any horror one.
Pros:
- Great sound effects
- Level Design
- Lighting is fantastic
- Exploration of the unknow is top notch
- Pretty cool creatures
- Ambience and atmosphere is crazy awesome
- Can be scary af
Cons:
- It has some optimization issues
- Half the time when surfacing the game freezes up for a few seconds
- Having a more delineated main quest would be helpful, I'm at a loss on how to progress the story 80% of the time.
- Can be scary af

Stop. Don't read any more reviews. Don't look at youtube. Buy this game. Play it. Thank me later.

This is not a survival/sandbox game. This is a horror/adventure game that you can build stuff in. The art, gameplay, storyline, and lack of grind are absolutely phenomenal. I truly believe that this game is among the most iconic of its generation. It doesn't have the same replayability of some other games in the survival category, but I'd say that's due the focus on storytelling and exploration. This game is a true masterpiece.