So, I've had this game on my radar for a while.

It's a single-player survival/horror game, wherein you play as a crewmember of a spaceship that crashes on a water world. You then have to build a base/etc. to survive and try to find other crewmembers, all while surrounded by creatures and an endless amount of water - that's the horror part btw.

There is something that is utterly terrifying about exploring in the deep, where it's already murky and spooky when night falls and you can't see anything outside the light of your flashlight. Though, to be fair, even when you're in the 'shallows' at night, when something moves out of the corner of your eye it can still startle you.

Since it actually left Early Access on Steam and is only 28~$ Canadian I took the plunge. The game is gorgeous, terrifying, and the storyline so far is actually pretty interesting.

Has anyone else been playing this, or had their eye on it?

 

Been watching Let's Plays since it launched in Early Access. On the scale of Minecraft to FNAF, I place it closer to FNAF, meaning that I prefer to watch someone else play it than play it myself.

 

Picked this up today due to a massive sale; which coincided with a video I saw of it that made me like it. Mildly hyped.

Edit: Actually this in't the game I got, but I am hyped to try it out. Looks good for its genre.

 

I'm actually surprised how much time I've spent in this game already. Normally I'm not big into single player games that spook me this much, but damn, I'm already up to 12 hours spent in my current save file.

I will say I have a bad habit of building new outposts in areas I discover, only to find out there's not much there that I need, material wise.

 

Holy fucking shit a random fucking huge monster crawled out of the depths as I was exploring the Aurora and fucking murdered the shit out of me.

I heard it before I saw it, too, and it was almost night. Scared me shitless. I hauled ass and I could hear it behind me but I couldn't stop to look. Fuuuuuuck.

 

Yeah, that's a thing that happens.

Wait until you get to exploring some of the deeper areas. It gets DARK at night. I do my best just to find a nice little spot to Nope the night away. Building a small hab during the day so it'll have a bit of power to produce oxygen is definitely tedious, but makes you feel a bit safer.

 

Just got to the bit with the Sunbeam's arrival.

Spoiler

I got done exploring the alien facility with only minutes to spare, and when I realized what was gonna happen I felt incredibly helpless. I knew the Sunbeam would be shot down but had no means of contacting them and then I watched it happen ... damn

Whoever made this game knew what they were doing. Well worth the 20. I still have so much stuff to do.

 

I haven't even made it that far, just been swimming around exploring wrecks and such. My fear of the ocean has kept me out of most of the deepest areas so far.

Just recently got the prawn suit though, which makes it a lot easier to explore.
--- Post automerged ---
So, I'm at about... 32? hours into my first playthrough, and I've finally discovered the Alien Containment Room's blueprint. I can now do something with the eggs I've been collecting all over.

Ironically, I missed out on seeing the

Spoiler

Sunbeam's Arrival

since I was exploring an underwater cave at the time. I have regrets about this, and intend to witness it on another play-through hopefully.


Also, I stumbled on an area with multiple

Spoiler

Leviathan class predators

I promptly turned my Prawn suit around and Nope'd on out of there. Pretty sure I'll have to go there eventually, but I'm not ready yet.

 

Anyone wanna post their bases? Or their Cyclops if they've kitted it out.

Spoiler

Directly to the right is the Scanner above the Moonpool containing my Seamoth.

Behind the outdoor garden is the fabrication room.

Behind the fabrication room and to the left is the indoor garden with lantern trees and to the right of that is the aquarium that I haven't started yet.

All of that is powered by the tower to the left which is 3 Bio Reactors. I'm not happy with the tower.

I built my base right above the Jellyshroom cave which I found out when I started scanning and there was a gigantic tunnel under it. The Reefbacks in the two pictures are always there and constantly making noise.

Thinking of making another base near the Sea Treaders.

Right now, I'm trying to find all of the Cyclops parts so I can get started on it and load the Prawn inside it.

 

tbh I find myself barely using the Cyclops. It's useful as mobile storage, or as a mobile farm for food/water, but it's so big and slow and vulnerable I tend to run around in my Prawn or use my Seaglide.

It is handy if you find a new spot you want to build a base, since you can basically just load it with storage and have all of the materials needed for the new base right there.

Prawn with grappling hook can actually get moving pretty quick. Grapple ahead of you on the ground, and just before you actually get to where you grappled release and use jump jets to zoom.

Protip:

Spoiler

Once you get the Swimming Fins that charge the battery of the item you have out, you never need to make new batteries/recharge them in a base.

You can just swim around using the Seaglide and the battery will charge up. Swap battery out to any other equipment that has a low battery and voila.

Though not really a spoiler I guess, but it is related to an item you unlock somewhat later in the game.

Edit: As for pictures of bases...

Base #1 My 'Main' base is located more or less under the lifepod you start in.
though not really a spoiler I guess, but it is related to an item you unlock somewhat later in the game.

Spoiler

Top floor in this picture is the personal quarter's, lower floor is the recreation area.
Off to the left is the scanner room, the right the Moonpool with my Seamoth.
And my Cyclops in the background.

Personal Quarters:

Recreational Area

Hovering over the previous parts looked back, there's the Alien Containment module on the left. (Read: Aquarium)
The middle module has a greenhouse on the top floor and water purifiers on the bottom.
Far right module has a Nuclear Reactor I haven't actually used.

Picture of the Greenhouse/Aquarium hallway

The tower going up out of the water is part lookout tower part Solar Panel holder.

View from atop the lookout:

Base #2 is actually down inside the Jellyshroom cave.

Spoiler

So, kind of went a bit more compact with this one. The Moonpool is on the far right, with an attached observatory to look at the pretty shrooms. (Forgot to take a picture from the inside with this base.)
The Scanner room is on the same level as the Moonpool.
The 2-tier module in the middle has my crafting/storage on top, and water purifier's on the bottom.
Far left module has the greenhouse.

Jellyshroom base is powered by two Thermal Generator's located down below. Has to use a power relay to connect it to the base. Still. Unlimited powah!

Base the Third:

Built this base out past lifepod 6, near one of the Mushroom Forest's. It's theoretically going to be my new main base, if I can ever bring myself to finish working on it.

Spoiler

So the area with foundations and the U-shape is actually my 'dock' for the Cyclops. It actually needs to be even bigger since the Cyclops is about 5~ or so of those foundations long.
Works for now though.
To the right is the moon pool, and just behind it you can see the module housing the Nuclear Reactor (This one is even turned on!) which is actually down a level, relative to the rest of the base..

So, ignoring my Cuddlefish that decided he wanted to play, you can see the Nuclear module bottom left.
The three tier one is Top: Personal Quarter's (SO many knickknacks), Middle: Crafting/Storage, Bottom: More Storage and Water Purifiers. (Also connects to the Scanner room which is in behind it.)

That two tier in the back is a second Alienquarium. The module to the right of it is the greenhouse.
That bit going up on the far right is another observatory.

Bonus Cyclops Pictures:

Spoiler

Outside:

Inside, lower deck:

Upper deck, standing at helm looking back:

And the next room:

As you can see, I mostly use it for mobile storage and as an easy way to get food if I'm out exploring.

 

How replayable is this game?

 

Fairly replayable, I think.

The storyline won't change, and I think the map is fixed (not randomly generated), but it's ultimately more or less a sandbox game. You can go wherever and build whatever.

There are also already rumours of an expansion, as well as a new 'Arctic' biome being added. Not sure how reliable, but there's that.

I fully intend to try and do at least one more playthrough of the game, if only because I built my main base in a really awkward spot so it's hard to expand it.
--- Post automerged ---
New most hilarious moment in this game that I wish I had gotten on video.

Accidentally lured the

Spoiler

Reaper at the rear of the Aurora

to my base at the lifepod you start in.

This was an issue for me, since I did not want him there. Tried to bait him away in my Seamoth, but he kept sorta homing in on the base when he got shocked by the PDS on my Seamoth etc.
I'm pretty sure he was actually getting close to death, with how many times I shocked him.

Eventually, he apparently got stuck in some shallows or something, and his body sort of... flipped? up out of the water briefly before coming back in.

This is the point where the physics got hilarious, because apparently he somehow slingshotted himself about 100~ meters into the air, back towards where he spawned.

I swear to god, I had the mental image of him with that stupid meme where glasses slide onto his face as he flipped and tumbled back towards his spawn while in the air.

Legit made me laugh so hard I got a headache.

 

So, potentially stupid question but

Spoiler

I've spent the last ten hours or so exploring the subterranean caves with the lava and all the alien facilities. Fully equipped my Cyclops and Prawn and went nuts. Made it into the Primary Containment Facility, looted the shit out of it and eventully stumbled face-first into its Moonpool.

How the fuck do I get out? And I don't mean the archway; that takes me to the Enforcement Platform; my fully kitted Cyclops is still 2k meters down below. But my Prawn or the player can't make the jump out of the Moonpool, so I'm sorta stuck.

Help?

Edit: Nvm found it that room is fucking huge lol

 

Finally made my way down to the

Spoiler

Bone Caverns, under the Deep Grand Reef

I have to admit, I have never been so lost in a video game before.

 

Anyone enjoy the

Spoiler: fun

Dead Zone

?