Subnautica

The gameplay revolves around venturing underwater, finding useful minerals, and returning with them to build new tools and equipment. As progress is made, the player can start building a more permanent underwater home and expand their operations with underwater vehicles, including a submarine that can be walked inside of.

Players learn new items and equipment upgrades by scanning intact or broken examples found in the Aurora's wreckage. The player will encounter new regions with unique flora and fauna as they journey deeper into the planet, and face increasingly dangerous predators along the way. The distress beacon also picks up messages from other escape pods, guiding the player to uncover their fates.

The game features four playable modes: Hardcore (with hunger, thirst, power drain, and permadeath), Survival (with hunger, thirst, and power drain), Peaceful (with power drain), and Creative (with no limits).