# Subnautica

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/subnautica/

6 people recommended Subnautica in Hacker News comments, 3 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 12 months, in 6 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Underwater survival game that several people name among their favorites and say broke the mold for its genre. Critics say the base building is buggy.

Summary written by Claude from 10 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Favorite game for several recommenders (3 comments in the sample): "Subnautica is one of my favorite games so I was very excited for the sequel" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47557346)) "Subnautica one of my favourite games was written in Unity." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47844430)) "I really liked Subnautica" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48142967))
- Stands out among survival games (2 comments in the sample): "I don't recall survival games like Subnautica or Don't Starve being much of a thing in the PS2 era." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46819048)) "I think Subnautica broke the mold for this" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48361158))

## Other sandbox games people recommend

- [Minecraft](https://hackerapproved.com/p/minecraft/): 134 recommend, 73 mixed, 127 criticize
- [Luanti](https://hackerapproved.com/p/luanti/): 19 recommend, 2 mixed, 4 criticize
- [Voxile](https://hackerapproved.com/p/voxile/): 13 recommend, 2 mixed, 0 criticize
- [No Man's Sky Cosmos](https://hackerapproved.com/p/no-man-s-sky-cosmos/): 13 recommend, 9 mixed, 29 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Subnautica", https://hackerapproved.com/p/subnautica/ (6 recommend, 3 mixed, 2 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 3 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.