Subnautica
Ranked 9 of 11 sandbox games by recommenders
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.
6 people recommended Subnautica in Hacker News comments, 3 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 10 comments.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- mixed feelings
- 3
- warn against or regret it
- 2
The record
Recommended in 5 of 12 months
In 6 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 6 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 17% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 10 of the 11 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Favorite game for several recommenders
“Subnautica is one of my favorite games so I was very excited for the sequel”
Comment from 28 Mar 2026 in “AI chatbots are "Yes-Men" that reinforce bad relationship decisions, study finds” “Subnautica one of my favourite games was written in Unity.”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “I learned Unity the wrong way” “I really liked Subnautica”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Subnautica 2 Early Access” Stands out among survival games
“I don't recall survival games like Subnautica or Don't Starve being much of a thing in the PS2 era.”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “PlayStation 2 Recompilation Project Is Absolutely Incredible” “I think Subnautica broke the mold for this”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Superintelligence: The Idea That Eats Smart People (2016)”
Other sandbox games people recommend
The four most recommended other sandbox games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minecraft | 134 | 73 | 127 | 51% | 12 | 10 yrs11 people | — |
| Luanti | 19 | 2 | 4 | 83% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Voxile | 13 | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| No Man's Sky Cosmos | 13 | 9 | 29 | 31% | 1 | — | — |
| SubnauticaThis page | 6 | 3 | 2 | 75% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
10 of the 11 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“one can enter the water by piloting a badass mecha right out of the moonpool”
“Subnautica 3 is now so dense and linear I gave up after a week”
“thought the base building was just as buggy as it was before”
“I think Subnautica broke the mold for this”
“I really liked Subnautica”
“that really turned me off from sticking with it”
“Subnautica one of my favourite games was written in Unity.”
“Subnautica is one of my favorite games so I was very excited for the sequel”
“I don't recall survival games like Subnautica or Don't Starve being much of a thing in the PS2 era.”
“experiencing the scale of everything is wild”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 3 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.