Anything to scratch that Subnautica itch?

[ValeVelKal]

Just a quick impressions from dipping into Windbound for about half an hour so take it with a big grain of salt:
+ no handholding, you're washed ashore a small island and basically fuck you
+ combat is simple but perfectly functional, you have melee attacks with a knife/spear, ranged attacks with bow/sling, there's a lock on and dodges, basically miles ahead of Subnautica which had only a knife and torpedoes (there's also sneaking and hiding in bushes), I have not encountered any glitches, bad hitboxes or general jank which was mentioned in the Steam reviews
+ I like how your hunger bar doubles as your stamina, basically the hungrier you are the less stamina you have
+ resources are scarce and your inventory is very limited (you can carry a single bag + a basket on the boat)
/ you can swim but there's no diving (though I don't see any point in swimming at the moment, it quickly drains your stamina and when it's empty you drown and wake up on the nearest island or your boat if you crafted an anchor)
/ low poly cell shaded graphics, the game as a whole looks pretty nice and vibrant but there's no denying the individual textures and models lack details
/ the game takes place in some fantasy/alien setting which is a plus (I hate realistic survival games because they lack the "unknown") but so far the environments are pretty standard islands with trees, stones and some cute creatures
- no base building, I think having a home you can decorate with various trophies, flora and other random things is quite important in those kind of games

So far I'm very positively surprised. Especially for a 3€ game (currently -85%).

Ok, It started pretty good but by the end of chapter 2 I have enough of it.
- no meaningful exploration
- the environment consists of almost identical copy-pasted islands and there's nothing else
- closed chapters instead of a single large world map
- sailing the boat is slow and tedious unless you're sailing with the wind
- the objectives in each chapter are the same, find three "totems" then fuck off to the next chapter and everything you've built like campfires, drying racks, kilns etc are gone and you have to rebuilt them every single time
- lack of content (especially compared to other survival/crafting games)
- pretty easy even on the highest difficulty level (and there are only two)

Well, I would say this matches what I told you

The combat is not pure glitchy jank, but mediocre and flavorless. You won't enjoy or hate it anymore than, say, mining stuff. Once you have a bow you will just use that anyway and it will quick & efficient.
Again, the huge problem of the game is repetitivity :
Chapter 1 : collect components, build a ship, explore the place/"chapter" until you find the 3 islands with a monolith, move to next chapter,
Chapter 2 : collect the new components, improve your ships with new tech, explore the place/chapter, find the 3 islands with a monolith, more to next chapter
Chapter 3 : Same as chapter 2
Chapter 4 : Same as chapter 3 etc

except this :
"Your ship is interesting to handle from chapter 2 iirc, and then really fun to handle from chapter 3" ; it looks like you did not like it.

 

[Wesp5]

It must be pretty janky though since Wesp5 is patching it xD

The Precursors is a fantastic rough diamond of a game, you can already do things that modern open worlds games only did decades later! Luckily it includes very little crafting and no base building, but sadly it's basically unfinished. And I don't mean unfinished in the sense that Bloodlines has missed or rushed sections which I could restore, but in the meaning that the actual ending is missing! There is nothing I could do about that, but in case you play this, please report open issues you find. Maybe I will update my patch again...

 

[ValeVelKal]

So Arthandas how is Breathedge ?

 

[Arthandas]

So @Arthandas how is Breathedge ?

Insufferable, I dropped it literally after 15 minutes. Forced 50 IQ humor + a button dedicated to pissing yourself somehow didn't win me over.

 

[ValeVelKal]

So @Arthandas how is Breathedge ?

Insufferable, I dropped it literally after 15 minutes. Forced 50 IQ humor + a button dedicated to pissing yourself somehow didn't win me over.

Well, then my review did not align.

Hopefully you got your money back.

 

[Vic]

 

[Arthandas]

Yeah, I've seen it, but, just because it's underwater doesn't mean it's anything like Subnautica...

 

[kangaxx]

This is might get you close:

I tried this a while back but I can't recommend it to be honest.

 

[Vic]

Yeah, I've seen it, but, just because it's underwater doesn't mean it's anything like Subnautica...

just thought I'd mention it, I know it's not like subnautica, but if you like that setting maybe it can be fun, but based on the reviews it seems to have very little content yet.

 

[Arthandas]

I tried this a while back but I can't recommend it to be honest.

Why not? I had high hopes for it.

 

[kangaxx]

I tried this a while back but I can't recommend it to be honest.

Why not? I had high hopes for it.

Personally I found the game loop boring, but YMMV. It could be a good game in a genre I didn't know I didn't like.

 

[Mortmal]

Yeah 3€... That's 2 croissants.

you spend 1.5EUR for one croissant? mr moneypants over here.

3 euros get you two mediocre supermarket croissants now here.

 

[Machocruz]

Conan Exiles is the only survival craft game I enjoyed after Subnautica. I love Howardian sword and sorcery, so the environment hits right. Exploration is key to get to the higher tier resources, and the world is beautiful imo, with lots of places, creatures, and secrets to discover. There is a considerable building and crafting component. Combat is just ok and there is a lot of it, but you can get away from most things rather easily. It doesn't have much of a narrative drive at all, although there is an end goal you can reach.

Subnautica is one of the standout video games in the last 10 years, it transcends its genre. CE isn't on the same level overall, but there is much there to enjoy along similar lines. I just like running around the world sometimes, fucking up monsters and humans, finding a cave or temple, gathering resources along the way. Other times I'll be invested in building my fortress and managing my slaves at their workstations to produce all the materials I need.

 

[Perkel]

Aside from sequel there is nothing like it.
Sequel isn't that bad though.

You might try Abzu, not exactly the same thing but it checks whole "exploration" theme which is imho main thing going for subnautica that makes it good, whole crafting/basbuilding always sucked

 

[Arthandas]

You might try Abzu

But what's the point of exploration? Isn't this a game where you just swim around and do nothing?

I gave up on finding anything similar (at least until Grounded gets cheaper and Planet Crafter gets out of EA). For now at least I'm scratching the exploration itch by playing the old classic Tomb Raiders and trying to find all the secrets.

 

[Perkel]

You might try Abzu

But what's the point of exploration? Isn't this a game where you just swim around and do nothing?

I gave up on finding anything similar (at least until Grounded gets cheaper and Planet Crafter gets out of EA). For now at least I'm scratching the exploration itch by playing the old classic Tomb Raiders and trying to find all the secrets.

Much like in Subnautica you are trying to first find out what is going on and then later find answers.
It's not a long game (like 3-5 hours if i remember correctly) but imho worth it. It got similar sense of exploration and wonder. IT's not the same thing but imo good.

And like i said earlier there is sequel.

 

[vibehunter]

Not out yet so it could be shit.