Why Subnautica and Horror Fans Should Keep an Eye on Weldiver

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 23, 2024 8 Views 6 Min Read
Why Subnautica and Horror Fans Should Keep an Eye on Weldiver



Players drawn to games like Subnautica and the intrinsic horror found in deep-sea gaming should keep an eye on the upcoming Weldiver with its realistic scenarios, extreme settings, and a deep story experienced through the lens of an underwater welder. When it was first released as an early access game, Subnautica became an indie hit within the gaming community for its underwater twist on the survival crafting formula, something which has led to its follow-up Subnautica Below Zero and its recently announced sequel, Subnautica 2. This same success appears to have inspired other like-minded underwater survival games such as the upcoming Weldiver.




While the Subnautica series has ruled with its niche of exploring the aquatic depths of alien worlds, Weldiver seems to be catering to a more realistic and intentionally darker side of the underwater survival genre that Subnautica doesn’t. With its trailers showcasing scenarios inspired by real-world counterparts ranging from aircraft carriers to spaceport ships, Weldiver‘s story and gameplay appear to offer a grounded experience with realistic welding mechanics and working conditions. But with the additional challenges of underwater emergencies, such as equipment failure and hostile wildlife, Weldiver also drives home the present-day fear of the deep sea rather than the sci-fi of Subnautica.

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Weldiver Channels The Underwater Horror of Subnautica


Many of Subnautica‘s most memorable moments range from first-time encounters with the Reaper Leviathan to venturing beyond the game’s playable area and into the Void, all of which taps into the sense of thalassophobia. Even despite calmer areas of the game, such as interacting with a Cuddlefish or building underwater bases, Subnautica seems tailored to deep sea horrors with its distant creature sounds and increasingly dim lighting as players dive deeper. But any potential underwater horror in Subnautica is diminished when players can rely on their tools and vehicles like Prawn Suits, Cyclops, or Seatrucks to avoid danger.

This is where Weldiver might take the same fear of the deep sea and go further with it than the Subnautica series did, such as using its modern-day setting on Earth to its advantage, unlike the fictional world of Planet 4546B. Subnautica and Weldiver share a similar approach in gameplay where players are tasked with building, repairing, and maintaining underwater constructs and vehicles which means the latter can channel the same uneasiness of working alone in deep water just like the former. For example, though the aquatic flora and fauna might be different, Weldiver‘s teased shark encounters could still rival Subnautica‘s Reaper Leviathans.


Weldiver’s Realism Could Amp Up its Horror Over Subnautica

As Weldiver‘s Steam page outlines, the game’s story will follow the career of an underwater welder taking on extreme challenges in hazardous conditions. But while this seems similar to Subnautica and scratches the same itch, Weldiver leans into its present-day setting. Players will have to contend with a range of problems from near-zero visibility to equipment failures like gas leaks, electric shocks, and total communication loss. So, where Subnautica players can instantly heal, repair, or escape potential issues, Weldiver appears to force its players to contend with the real forces of nature in Earth’s waters.


This limited and more realistic scope could give Weldiver a much stronger horror atmosphere, especially when the upcoming game has already been likened to a cross between Subnautica and The Forest, another hit indie horror game. In addition to its teased story about an underwater welder trying to support his partner and child, Weldiver wears its stakes on its sleeve, which combined with its realistic gameplay may potentially increase the game’s tension in its life-or-death situations. Both it and Subnautica 2 slated to be released sometime during 2025.

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