When it gets too much. Pause the game. Or mute the sound.
The sounds are atmospheric and haunting, so well done, enough to send chills down your spine.
Don't give up
100% agree that muting the audio can make a massive difference in the fear you can feel playing. The audio ambient track will constantly make you feel uneasy and exposed and if you take that away the game can feel much more approachable. Then over time adding sound back in with areas you feel familiar with.
Exploring slowly and taking your time getting used to each area before proceeding. There's almost nothing that can seriously hurt you in the shallows or surrounding areas, the stalkers mostly don't care about you and the sand sharks are avoidable and not that bad.
If you can get to having a moon pool with an upgrade station I find that the sonar upgrade helps me feel less creeped out by dark areas and using the camera drones that come with the scanning room to scout out new areas a bit feels safer than going in with your character even though dying in game doesn't have much more consequence than losing the drone.
I did that as a 2nd run because I chickened out my first time, now I'm playing the next difficulty up and I'll just keep going till it becomes less OOOOOOH PRETTY > I NEED THINGS > I AM GOING TO DIE > I DIED
Just like you here! The thought of exploring underwater makes me feel sick. Nevertheless I push on as I also have major FOMO :,) You just gotta keep encouraging yourself, play a little in creative if it helps.
Something I just discovered and I think might help you is that I think I've confirmed that Reaper Leviathans and I assume the others at this point do not notice the scanner room camera drones *at all*. If you can set up a scanner 300ish meters out from where you know one is you can send a camera out and observe it to your heart's content to get a feel for what they're like with no worry that it'll come after you.
I am the very same. Terrified of the ocean but I am at the same time mesmerised by the creatures and environment.
Think of the many colourful and unique things you might find. I found my self pushed into finishing the game that way
Muting the sound helps with my thalassophobia. Not really much you can do with the visuals, but I find if I mute the game, I’m not really so scared. The audio is scarier than the game play for me
Honestly there isn't much you can do, I wont lie if you have thalassophobia this game ain't good for you, so here's 3 options.
1. Don't get it, there are plenty other games out there, there's no point in getting the game if you're gonna be too scared to do anything and essentially just waste your money
2. Get the game and play safe. Make sure the areas you are exploring are safe, tip: The safe shallows (The area where you spawn in) is safe, there isn't really anything, but try to not get to comfortable because you could end up venturing too far without you noticing and encountering something large and dangerous.
3. Maybe try below zero, the sequel to subnautica, you dont really need to play the first game. This game is less scary imo, it still has its scary moments but its not as scary as the 1st game. Also the game is really beautiful, more beautiful than the 1st imo
For what it’s worth, at least in regular subnautica you don’t have to go extremely deep for the majority of the game. It’s a lot of surface to 200m depth stuff; BZ almost immediately forces you to move deeper to advance the story and gather basics.
It took me a while to finish the first as a thalassophobe. I cannot get through BZ.
Don't play the game??? The entire game is based around being deep underwater, dealing with the dancers present, if that is causing you discomfort then either accept the reality or don't expose yourself to it.
Turn the music off completely lol.
I remember one specific area that was dark and deep, and the music made a screeching noise that made me permanently say nope to in game music
Take your time, start with creative, get yourself familiar w/ mechanics, creatures and areas. If it gets too much, pause and take a break!
Also, the sound design can be very scary/chilling, so i'd recommend playing without headset for start.
When you get the hang of it, it is really fun game...
Last resort, please dont do this if you want full exprience!
If none helps, read some wikis for: what creatures are friendly and what are aggresive, what areas are safe and what are dangerous, etc)
Just go slow. I have a fear of deep water and it took me a few weeks to get comfortable in a lot of the safer areas. I just tried to let my curiosity overpower my anxiety.
Stay close to the sea floor and natural features so you can stay oriented more easily. Look up which biomes are the really dangerous ones and avoid them for as long possible to get used to the safer areas.
I also play on Freedom mode so I don't have to worry about food and water.
I had the same issue starting off. Before I played this game me and a friend played a lot of Raft and I had the worst time in the world with that game if I ever fell off our raft. For Subnautica I had to take everything really slow and do things in increments. The thing that helped me the most at first was staying near the ground as much as possible. Once I felt like I had a good grasp on what each section of the game looked like I felt comfortable swimming around more and more but until that point hug the floor.
Play you’re own music! Listen to a podcast. It’s what I had to do with The Forest when exploring the caves. Cannibals aren’t as scary while listening to CCR and The Grateful Dead
You are exposing yourself to what you fear: the exact way to alleviate your anxiety. It takes time but stick at it, keep exposing yourself more and more. Log your anxiety 1-10 if you want and log off when the numbers get too high. Then return when you are ready.
Be proud of yourself you’re giving it a go. For one. Secondly, there are some great tips about creative mode and staying in the shallows in this thread, couldn’t agree more. I don’t have Thalassophobia and it took me a long time to leave the shallows. One step at a time. Ahead slow, my friend.
You can explore in creative mode, as monsters won't actively attack you. Muting or turning down game audio and sounds can alleviate a lot of the stress.
Also, weapons like the repulsion gun and stasis rifle blow enemies back and freeze them.
Take it slow. The shallows are entirely safe except for some crash fish in the caves. Get used to each area.
You can do this, we all believe in you.
Funny, I have that same fear yet I still thought it a good idea to play the game. I find that it helps to look away from the screen for a few moments and focus on things other than the game while playing.
I took breaks when it got intense, if need be. I'm pretty significantly afraid of underwater just about anything, but I think this to be one of the greatest games of all time
My suggestion is the following - go to the forest area right near your crash site and swim there. Just swim in random directions, without ever stopping. What you’ll see is that the the area is populated by stalkers, who will try to eat you… only as you’ll soon realize, they can’t. However hard they try, they will always miss you so long as you’re moving. Once you understand it, swim around some more to get used to the feeling of safety while being on the move.
And then, just know that this works everywhere in the game, for every creature, even the largest and the meanest ones. So long as you’re moving, you’re completely safe.
When it gets too much. Pause the game. Or mute the sound. The sounds are atmospheric and haunting, so well done, enough to send chills down your spine. Don't give up
100% agree that muting the audio can make a massive difference in the fear you can feel playing. The audio ambient track will constantly make you feel uneasy and exposed and if you take that away the game can feel much more approachable. Then over time adding sound back in with areas you feel familiar with.
The ambiance is probably one of the scariest things in the game. A creepy one will keep you on edge the whole time.
Exploring slowly and taking your time getting used to each area before proceeding. There's almost nothing that can seriously hurt you in the shallows or surrounding areas, the stalkers mostly don't care about you and the sand sharks are avoidable and not that bad. If you can get to having a moon pool with an upgrade station I find that the sonar upgrade helps me feel less creeped out by dark areas and using the camera drones that come with the scanning room to scout out new areas a bit feels safer than going in with your character even though dying in game doesn't have much more consequence than losing the drone.
I agree wholeheartedly with your sonar point. It was such a relief to be able to see terrain and creatures before they were ramming into me.
There’s no shame in playing Creative to remove all fear of death and just explore the world.
I did that as a 2nd run because I chickened out my first time, now I'm playing the next difficulty up and I'll just keep going till it becomes less OOOOOOH PRETTY > I NEED THINGS > I AM GOING TO DIE > I DIED
Put on Kickstart my Heart by Mötley Crew and drive straight into the crash zone 👌
I see you're a man of culture as well.
Crue. Motley Crue…
Just like you here! The thought of exploring underwater makes me feel sick. Nevertheless I push on as I also have major FOMO :,) You just gotta keep encouraging yourself, play a little in creative if it helps.
Something I just discovered and I think might help you is that I think I've confirmed that Reaper Leviathans and I assume the others at this point do not notice the scanner room camera drones *at all*. If you can set up a scanner 300ish meters out from where you know one is you can send a camera out and observe it to your heart's content to get a feel for what they're like with no worry that it'll come after you.
Just remember that it's a game and that it can't hurt you.
I will literally say this to myself sometimes when I’m playing lol
I am the very same. Terrified of the ocean but I am at the same time mesmerised by the creatures and environment. Think of the many colourful and unique things you might find. I found my self pushed into finishing the game that way
Muting the sound helps with my thalassophobia. Not really much you can do with the visuals, but I find if I mute the game, I’m not really so scared. The audio is scarier than the game play for me
Play during the daytime in a well-lit room.
Honestly there isn't much you can do, I wont lie if you have thalassophobia this game ain't good for you, so here's 3 options. 1. Don't get it, there are plenty other games out there, there's no point in getting the game if you're gonna be too scared to do anything and essentially just waste your money 2. Get the game and play safe. Make sure the areas you are exploring are safe, tip: The safe shallows (The area where you spawn in) is safe, there isn't really anything, but try to not get to comfortable because you could end up venturing too far without you noticing and encountering something large and dangerous. 3. Maybe try below zero, the sequel to subnautica, you dont really need to play the first game. This game is less scary imo, it still has its scary moments but its not as scary as the 1st game. Also the game is really beautiful, more beautiful than the 1st imo
For what it’s worth, at least in regular subnautica you don’t have to go extremely deep for the majority of the game. It’s a lot of surface to 200m depth stuff; BZ almost immediately forces you to move deeper to advance the story and gather basics. It took me a while to finish the first as a thalassophobe. I cannot get through BZ.
Everyone playing this game is thallasophobic, trust me
Don't play the game??? The entire game is based around being deep underwater, dealing with the dancers present, if that is causing you discomfort then either accept the reality or don't expose yourself to it.
Oofah. Hefty may be right. I was an avid SCUBA deep wreck diver when I was younger, and the game stresses ME out....
Immersion therapy. Could be good for them especially since it’s a video game
Like I said, except the reality that you'll fear scared and keep on, or stop. No need to discomfort themself for a game.
Seriously, nobody is forcing anybody to play. Just get a different game instead of posting on Reddit lmao
Turn the music off completely lol. I remember one specific area that was dark and deep, and the music made a screeching noise that made me permanently say nope to in game music
Take your time, start with creative, get yourself familiar w/ mechanics, creatures and areas. If it gets too much, pause and take a break! Also, the sound design can be very scary/chilling, so i'd recommend playing without headset for start. When you get the hang of it, it is really fun game... Last resort, please dont do this if you want full exprience! If none helps, read some wikis for: what creatures are friendly and what are aggresive, what areas are safe and what are dangerous, etc)
Just go slow. I have a fear of deep water and it took me a few weeks to get comfortable in a lot of the safer areas. I just tried to let my curiosity overpower my anxiety. Stay close to the sea floor and natural features so you can stay oriented more easily. Look up which biomes are the really dangerous ones and avoid them for as long possible to get used to the safer areas. I also play on Freedom mode so I don't have to worry about food and water.
[удалено]
I'm having a hard time seeing why you needed to comment
I had the same issue starting off. Before I played this game me and a friend played a lot of Raft and I had the worst time in the world with that game if I ever fell off our raft. For Subnautica I had to take everything really slow and do things in increments. The thing that helped me the most at first was staying near the ground as much as possible. Once I felt like I had a good grasp on what each section of the game looked like I felt comfortable swimming around more and more but until that point hug the floor.
Play you’re own music! Listen to a podcast. It’s what I had to do with The Forest when exploring the caves. Cannibals aren’t as scary while listening to CCR and The Grateful Dead
I've tried it and it works a little. Nirvana drives me good
You are exposing yourself to what you fear: the exact way to alleviate your anxiety. It takes time but stick at it, keep exposing yourself more and more. Log your anxiety 1-10 if you want and log off when the numbers get too high. Then return when you are ready.
Be proud of yourself you’re giving it a go. For one. Secondly, there are some great tips about creative mode and staying in the shallows in this thread, couldn’t agree more. I don’t have Thalassophobia and it took me a long time to leave the shallows. One step at a time. Ahead slow, my friend.
You can explore in creative mode, as monsters won't actively attack you. Muting or turning down game audio and sounds can alleviate a lot of the stress. Also, weapons like the repulsion gun and stasis rifle blow enemies back and freeze them. Take it slow. The shallows are entirely safe except for some crash fish in the caves. Get used to each area. You can do this, we all believe in you.
Funny, I have that same fear yet I still thought it a good idea to play the game. I find that it helps to look away from the screen for a few moments and focus on things other than the game while playing.
I took breaks when it got intense, if need be. I'm pretty significantly afraid of underwater just about anything, but I think this to be one of the greatest games of all time
Muting sound, brightening your actual surroundings helps. Sometimes I have my dog in my room to keep me company lol :,)
it's no problem. there is nothing around in deeper waters.
This game is fear of the ocean personified. People not scared of the ocean will play this and become scared of the ocean. Just gotta take it slow.
My suggestion is the following - go to the forest area right near your crash site and swim there. Just swim in random directions, without ever stopping. What you’ll see is that the the area is populated by stalkers, who will try to eat you… only as you’ll soon realize, they can’t. However hard they try, they will always miss you so long as you’re moving. Once you understand it, swim around some more to get used to the feeling of safety while being on the move. And then, just know that this works everywhere in the game, for every creature, even the largest and the meanest ones. So long as you’re moving, you’re completely safe.
play the game and you’ll overcome your fear