Ramble: Life and Subnautica

In the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of social chaos that will hopefully bring some good change, in the middle of everything, I can admit to the world that I'm alive, I'm healthy, if a little fearful at/of everything.

There, that's my update on life.

No, to be honest, things have been okay for me. I'm fortunate that I can work from home virtually unimpeded and am in a position where I don't have to fear for my livelihood. And for that I'm exceedingly grateful. As we step into winter, I have yet to deal with any of the common place colds and flu - which I know is due to the lockdown my country has implemented and not just a stroke of luck, but I'm still grateful that I haven't had to deal with that in the midst of all this insanity.

As an introvert, locked in a house with her mom for company since March, I have to say that only recently have I begun to feel the need to expand my communication lines. And then it's only a slight niggling I get every now and then reminding me that talking to people is actually normal and healthy and thus advised. 

Maybe that's why I'm getting back to blogging... er... don't hold me to that.

So yes, that's life. It still consists of work, video gaming, (virtual) tabletop roleplaying, and just existing. Waiting for something, but I can't tell you what because goodness only knows what it is. Maybe just waiting for the storm to pass.

In this time of confinement, I've been gaming quite a bit - getting back to it in a way I had not realised I had missed until I started playing again. I still have that incurable itch to play something new which got filled for a time with me finally getting my toes wet in Subnautica.

I've had the game in my wish list for years and I had a couple of reasons why I didn't just buy the thing. 

The first was a personal, silly matter. See, I don't like water. I live by the coast and the closest I get to the ocean, if I ever do, is about ankle deep and it's been more than a year since I've even done that. Same with swimming pools. I can swim (not gracefully, but still), but I've never had a call to the water. It's just not my thing.

The other thing I found that made me hesitate was that I was simply afraid the game was going to be too complicated for me. That it, like with Oxygen Not Included, would be the kind of game where I only scratch the surface of understanding and be limited in enjoyment because of it.

But boy, the game still looked darn pretty. So in the middle of the first month of lockdown, I decided to hell with caution, bought it for a song on Steam and loaded it up.

And I was instantly transfixed. The game is gorgeous. Visually, the game was just something to appreciate. I did have to tone down the effects so that my PC could take a breath, but even at lower settings, the game is still a beauty to behold.

So what is the story behind Subnautica? (of course, this is the thing that caught me) Your ship crash lands on an alien planet and you soon learn that rescue is something for other people. You have to get off the planet by yourself. You traverse this mostly aquatic world, searching for wreckage blueprints so you can craft, build and ultimately escape. Unlike games like Don't Starve, there's a definite feeling of having a goal beyond survival. You want to discover and explore and gain knowledge of the world around you, partially out of curiosity but also, more importantly, because you want to leave. Every trip you take is another step towards that goal even as you build a base and set up a temporary residence. 

The game kept me captivated from start to finish, and I was so excited and a little sad when I was ready to leave. But I was also ready to launch into the stars. I loved the sense of accomplishment.

Subnautica does have a dark side. Though it's not something you see in most of the game, the game does have some glitches that had me up in arms. Sometimes you would set out on a journey that would take you fourteen minutes to get to your destination, only to get stuck or have the save go wonky. In my second play through of Subnautica, I found that I had less patience for that. I knew how the game ended so I wasn't going to do a 'rescue' mission to recover lost equipment that would take another thirty minutes of my time.

That said, I've already purchase the sequel, Subnautica Below Zero, and eagerly - dare I say childishly - await its final release date.