Subterrain

This tense survival horror game plunges you into a vast, procedurally generated underground world, where every move is a fight for survival. With a top-down perspective, you'll manage not only your character's health but also oxygen, temperature, hunger, and even sleep and bathroom breaks. Base management offers brief relief, but the constant need for resources drives you back into the terrifying unknown. The game’s blend of intense resource management and unpredictable exploration creates a uniquely stressful experience, perfect for fans of the genre.

One of the most stressful games out there.

It's not the monster who beat you. It's their numbers.
It's not the combat that is difficult to handle. It's your nerves.
It's not the resources that run out. It's the time.

Yes, it's an old game. But everything in it is so atmospheric, you can't help but immerse.

Libera te tutemet ex Inferis. (c)

Don't generally write reviews, especially on an 8 year old game, but just wanted to commend this game for doing what it does well. It's fairly simple in design, but it's challenging, creates a sense of progression as you go along and has just enough variety to keep you going. I've spent way more on games that I've put much less time in. Well worth it.

A Claustrophobic Descent into Survival and Sanity
At first glance, Subterrain might appear to be just another sci-fi survival game, but it quietly grows into something far more compelling—an oppressive, slow-burning descent into isolation, systems management, and dread. Set in the crumbling underground colony of Mars, the game throws you into the role of Dr. West, a wrongly imprisoned scientist who wakes up to a facility gone silent and a red planet no longer under control. What follows is a harrowing journey through survival mechanics, strategic exploration, and mounting psychological pressure.
The Depth Beneath the Surface
What truly sets Subterrain apart is its refusal to hold your hand. There's a rough charm in how it throws you into a cold, uncaring world with no tutorial parade. Instead, you're left to figure things out—how to manage oxygen, power, water, hunger, thirst, infection, sleep, mental stability, and even body temperature. It can feel like spinning plates on a unicycle, but the satisfaction of mastering this brutal rhythm is what gives the game its hook.
There’s a constant need to balance scavenging expeditions with life support systems. The colony is slowly decaying—power runs out sector by sector, oxygen systems fail, the infection spreads—and there’s no stopping the clock. That time pressure turns every decision into a gamble. Stay out too long and you risk exposure; go back too early and you waste precious time and resources.
The game’s semi-procedural map layout and interconnected sectors add a sense of scale and realism. You're not just exploring for loot—you're piecing together the story of a disaster, one crumpled note and shattered corridor at a time. Combine that with an eerie, minimal soundtrack and subtle environmental storytelling, and you’re left with a creeping paranoia that never fully fades.
Not Without Its Scars
For all its ambition, Subterrain stumbles in ways that can test patience. The user interface is clunky and often feels like it's fighting against you. Managing your inventory, crafting, recycling, and researching takes up a huge chunk of time—and not in a rewarding way. It’s hard to shake the feeling that some of the systems could be streamlined without losing the challenge.
Combat is another rough edge. While it's serviceable, it lacks finesse. Gunplay feels floaty, and enemy AI often behaves more like a nuisance than a true threat. Boss fights are underwhelming, occasionally reduced to frustrating bullet sponges rather than climactic encounters. The visuals also won't win any awards, with dated character sprites and environments that start to blur together over long sessions.
Then there's the pacing. The early hours are brutally slow, and some might check out before the systems start to click. It's a game that demands time and attention, and in return, it gives anxiety, repetition, and a sense of being constantly behind the curve.
Pros:
Deep survival mechanics that reward strategic thinking
Atmospheric world design and immersive environmental storytelling
A strong sense of tension and progression over time
Uncompromising and unique gameplay loop
Cons:
Clunky interface and overwhelming micro-management
Underdeveloped combat mechanics
Repetitive environments and dated visuals
Slow, sometimes punishing early-game pacing
Final Verdict
Subterrain isn’t polished or easy to love. It’s the kind of game that tests your resolve as much as your skill. But those who stick with it often find themselves hooked on its relentless systems and the raw satisfaction of surviving against mounting odds. It's messy, it's tense, and it’s undeniably one-of-a-kind.
Score: 7.5/10 – A flawed but fascinating gem buried beneath the Martian soil.
If you liked my attempt at making a professional review of this game, please leave a like for this review and if you think I should continue doing professional game reviews, then click on "Award" in the bottom right corner. Thank you!

I love this plucky little game. It has a lot of systems put together: the top down shooting, some base management and survival elements. Each one isn't too fleshed out, but I feel they work together well.

It's a fairly big game, and there's a fair number of things that repeat themselves just to make the game seem bigger. That said; it's disciplined in it's approach. In less than eighty hours; I beat it on the second hardest difficulty (which is really the normal difficulty). For comparison's sake; I have sunk hundreds of hours in to some open world games and have not completed the story.
That's just it; there's a story here. Even just fooling around is advancing the plot. There are no "radiant quests" there are no fishing mini-games. It's just the plot and game-play flows along with that, rather than adding a bunch of filler that doesn't advance the plot. Speaking of plot. The whole "people talking about everything they're doing in to a recorder" is here, but as unrealistic as it is, it works as a "trail of breadcrumbs".
I did consult some information sources online for this game. I did this mostly because necessary upgrade items are scattered throughout the game and the game would have been a lot longer if I had to search every single area to find them, but if you pay attention the game does a pretty good job of telling you where to look for at least the early upgrade items.
It is a bit grindy, to be sure. You will revisit areas you've already been to, defend your base against waves of enemies several times, but it does end.
All in all it's a good game if you've got the time to get in to it.

good atmosphere, quite entertaining, story was good, little repetetive after while but still not boring