The fact that you’re completely defenseless adds to the horror and fear and is a big part of what makes it such a great game.
this post was submitted on 16 May 2026
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Yeah, designed right I can see it being fine. You can't kill a rock falling towards you, you have to avoid it. As long as anything that could kill you is something that makes sense you would be unable to kill it then it seems fine to me.
If you can't kill something that should be easy enough to kick to death then it comes across as odd.
I'm not an expert, but kicking something to death while underwater is probably pretty hard.
It also keeps the late game interesting as it’s impossible to be so OP you’re invulnerable
I wonder how it's even a point of resistance. The whole game is built around this, the fear that you feel is because you're defenseless, and ultimately not killing creatures cultivates a respect for life that many could stand to gain from
I have distinct memories of being able to kill in Subnautica 1 though. Sure, they never give you a gun, but they do give you a giant mecha with a grappling hook and a drill arm. It can be a lot of fun to hook onto a Leviathan and drill them to death. Are they going all in on making the creatures immortal this time?
pretty solid article
lol at what region wanted guns
There just aren’t enough games where you can kill things with guns, criminally underserved market
Just like there aren't enough games with stoic white male protagonists. Truly a persecuted minority.
If there's no killing then there need to be better ways to scare them off or manage them besides flares. I made the mistake of building my first base in the middle of a hammerhead rut arena so like 3 of them are trying to smash each other directly under my tadpole dock at any one time. Just some kind of field that makes them uncomfortable so they go somewhere else I can place on my base, or make the sonic destabilizer gun actually scare them off like it does for smaller threats.
That title kinda gives the wrong impression, i think. The co-founder adopted that position almost as reactionary dogma without thinking it through and it did hurt the game, at least in small ways. The new lead seems to be adopting an actual philosophy for the franchise that can be felt through every aspect. The story of s2 is already incorporating the new mutualistic ideology they want the franchise to have and the lead has already said they plan on touching on why more violence (you already do some by eating) is out of your reach despite being an incredibly important tool.
Wait so you don’t eat fish to survive anymore?
The ability to kill leviathans would make the game incredibly boring. Anyone asking for that has no idea what they actually want. Its like complaining that you can't just shoot the xenonorph in alien isolation. The tension is the thing you enjoy fool.
uuuh I should stop trying to bash the big fishes with the hammer I suppose...
I want to be able to defend myself against the human sized threats. Like those seamonkey things or sandsharks. Don't need to kill them but at least let me pop them to make them retreat.