12 Games Like Subnautica for 2026 (Survival, Exploration, Underwater)
The best survival-exploration games like Subnautica in 2026. The Forest, Raft, Outer Wilds, and 9 more, sorted by what you loved most about Subnautica.
Subnautica works because the ocean is terrifying and you have to go in anyway. You crash on an alien water world with nothing, and the only way forward is down, into deeper, darker biomes where the resources you need sit next to creatures that could swallow you whole. The genius is the tension between curiosity and fear: you want to see what is down there, the game rewards you for looking, and every meter deeper raises the stakes. Crafting better gear, a bigger sub, a tool that lets you breathe longer, is how you earn the courage to keep descending.
That blend of survival-crafting and the pull of exploration, wrapped in a slow-unfolding mystery, is the template. Some players come for the build-and-survive loop, some for the wonder of discovery, some for the story hidden in the depths. The best alternatives each lean into one of those. Here are 12 games that capture different parts of that, organized by what you loved most about Subnautica.
If You Love the Survival and Crafting
These games nail the gather, craft, and build-to-survive loop that gives Subnautica its backbone.
Subnautica: Below Zero
The standalone sequel, set in an arctic region of the same alien planet. More underwater survival, new biomes, new creatures, and a more character-driven story.
Why Subnautica fans will like it: It is more Subnautica, with the same crafting, base-building, and descend-into-danger loop, now spanning both frozen surface and icy depths. If you finished the original and wanted another helping, this is the most direct way to get it.
The short version:
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch
- Vibe: More underwater survival in a frozen region
- Co-op: No
- Price: ~$30
Raft
A survival-crafting game where you start on a tiny raft adrift at sea, expanding it into a floating fortress while hooking debris, fending off sharks, and exploring islands.
Why Subnautica fans will like it: It keeps the ocean setting and the gather-craft-build loop, but on the surface instead of the depths. The progression from a flimsy raft to a sprawling base mirrors Subnautica's escalation, the shark threat provides Subnautica-style tension, and the exploration of mysterious islands gives you somewhere to aim. It also appears on our games like Valheim list.
The short version:
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
- Vibe: Ocean survival, building a raft into a floating base
- Co-op: Yes, online
- Price: ~$20
The Forest / Sons of the Forest
Survival-horror games where you crash in a wilderness full of cannibals and must build, craft, and explore caves to survive and uncover what happened.
Why Subnautica fans will like it: They share the crash-and-survive premise and the tension of exploring dangerous, secret-filled environments. The cave systems deliver Subnautica's same claustrophobic dread, and the build-to-survive loop is familiar. A land-based take on the same survival-exploration thrill. Both feature on our games like Valheim and games like Rust guides.
The short version:
- Platforms: PC, PS4 (The Forest), PC, PS5 (Sons of the Forest)
- Vibe: Survival horror with exploration and base-building
- Co-op: Yes, online
- Price: ~$20 to $30
Grounded
A survival game where you are shrunk to ant-size in a backyard, building bases from grass and pebbles, crafting from insect parts, and exploring a world that feels enormous at your scale.
Why Subnautica fans will like it: It captures the wonder of a familiar place turned alien and dangerous, with the same loop of crafting better gear to safely explore deeper. The pond areas even add underwater sections. The sense of charting an unknown world and conquering its threats is pure Subnautica energy, friendlier and co-op focused.
The short version:
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch
- Vibe: Survival crafting shrunk down to a backyard
- Co-op: Yes, up to 4 players
- Price: ~$40
If You Love the Exploration and Wonder
These games center the joy of discovery that pulls you ever deeper in Subnautica.
Outer Wilds
An open-world exploration game about a solar system trapped in a 22-minute time loop. You uncover its secrets through curiosity and observation, with no combat and no upgrades, just knowledge.
Why Subnautica fans will like it: If the thrill of discovery, of seeing something strange and needing to understand it, was your favorite part of Subnautica, Outer Wilds is the purest expression of that feeling ever made. Every loop reveals a new piece of an extraordinary mystery. Widely considered one of the best exploration games of all time.
The short version:
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch
- Vibe: A pure mystery of exploration and discovery
- Co-op: No
- Price: ~$25
No Man's Sky
A space-survival exploration game with a procedurally generated universe of billions of planets to discover, each with its own creatures, resources, and biomes to survive.
Why Subnautica fans will like it: It scales Subnautica's explore-and-survive loop to an entire galaxy. You scan creatures, gather resources, build bases, and craft tools to survive hostile worlds, including underwater sections on ocean planets. The sense of always having somewhere new to discover is endless. It also appears on our games like Palworld list.
The short version:
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch
- Vibe: Survival exploration across an infinite universe
- Co-op: Yes, online
- Price: ~$40
Abzu
A calm, story-free underwater adventure about a diver exploring a vibrant ocean teeming with sea life. No survival pressure, just the beauty of the deep.
Why Subnautica fans will like it: It captures the awe of Subnautica's underwater world without the danger. The ocean is gorgeous, the sea life is abundant, and the experience is meditative. A perfect pick if the beauty and serenity of the depths drew you in more than the threat.
The short version:
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
- Vibe: A serene underwater journey
- Co-op: No
- Price: ~$20
If You Want a Strong Story Underneath
These games hide a compelling narrative beneath the survival and exploration, as Subnautica does.
The Long Dark
A survival game set in the frozen Canadian wilderness after a geomagnetic disaster, with a deep survival simulation and an episodic story mode.
Why Subnautica fans will like it: It pairs careful survival (managing warmth, hunger, and fatigue) with a slowly unfolding story and a haunting, beautiful world. The tension of venturing out into the cold for resources echoes Subnautica's dives into the dark. A meditative, atmospheric survival experience.
The short version:
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch
- Vibe: Atmospheric wilderness survival with a story
- Co-op: No
- Price: ~$25
Stranded Deep
A survival game where you are stranded in the Pacific after a plane crash, surviving across a procedurally generated archipelago by crafting, building, and exploring shipwrecks and reefs.
Why Subnautica fans will like it: It is the closest pure survival match to Subnautica's island-and-ocean setting, with diving, crafting, and base-building. You explore underwater wrecks and reefs, manage thirst and hunger, and slowly build the means to escape. A more grounded, less story-driven cousin.
The short version:
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch
- Vibe: Island survival with diving and exploration
- Co-op: Yes, online
- Price: ~$20
Breathedge
A comedic space-survival game, often called "Subnautica in space," where you craft, build, and explore the wreckage of a destroyed spaceship while a sarcastic AI narrates.
Why Subnautica fans will like it: It openly mimics Subnautica's structure, swapping the ocean for the vacuum of space. Oxygen management, crafting, vehicle-building, and exploration of a hostile environment are all here, with a heavy dose of humor. The most direct Subnautica-clone on this list, and a fun one.
The short version:
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
- Vibe: Subnautica in space, with jokes
- Co-op: No
- Price: ~$25
Planet Crafter
A survival game where you terraform a hostile planet, building machines that gradually transform a barren world into one with oxygen, water, and life, while surviving and exploring.
Why Subnautica fans will like it: It blends survival, crafting, and exploration with a satisfying terraforming progression that gives every action a visible long-term payoff. The sense of slowly conquering an alien world, and exploring it for secrets and resources, is squarely in Subnautica's wheelhouse.
The short version:
- Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
- Vibe: Survival crafting with planet-wide terraforming
- Co-op: Yes, online
- Price: ~$25
Quick Reference: All 12 Games at a Glance
| Game | Platforms | Co-op | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subnautica: Below Zero | PC, PS, Xbox, Switch | No | Closest, the sequel |
| Raft | PC, PS, Xbox | Yes | Ocean survival on the surface |
| The Forest / Sons of the Forest | PC, PS | Yes | Survival horror exploration |
| Grounded | PC, PS, Xbox, Switch | Yes (4p) | Co-op survival, friendly scale |
| Outer Wilds | PC, PS, Xbox, Switch | No | Pure exploration and mystery |
| No Man's Sky | PC, PS, Xbox, Switch | Yes | Endless universe to explore |
| Abzu | PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch | No | Serene underwater beauty |
| The Long Dark | PC, PS, Xbox, Switch | No | Atmospheric survival with story |
| Stranded Deep | PC, PS, Xbox, Switch | Yes | Island and diving survival |
| Breathedge | PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch | No | Subnautica in space, comedic |
| Planet Crafter | PC, PS5, Xbox Series | Yes | Survival plus terraforming |
Build Your Own Survival-Exploration Game
If these games make you want to build a world worth exploring, that is a great instinct, because the survival-exploration genre rewards a clear loop more than raw scale. The pieces are well understood: a gathering and crafting system, oxygen or hunger meters that create pressure, tools or vehicles that unlock new areas, and a world structured so curiosity is always rewarded with resources or story.
You do not need an entire ocean to start. A single biome where the player scans a resource, crafts a tool, and uses it to reach a deeper area already captures the core thrill. Summer Engine is compatible with Godot 4 and lets you build through conversation, so you can describe a material the player gathers and crafts with, a gate that opens once they build the right device, or a creature that lurks just out of sight, and iterate on it together. The crafting-survival template handles the foundational gathering and crafting systems so you can focus on the exploration and atmosphere that make a world like Subnautica's worth diving into.
For a step-by-step look, read how to make games with AI. Browse the full template library or download Summer Engine to start building.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the closest game to Subnautica?
Subnautica: Below Zero, the standalone sequel, is the closest, offering more of the same underwater survival with new biomes and a tighter story. Outside the franchise, Raft is the closest in spirit on the surface, blending ocean exploration with crafting and base-building.
- Which games like Subnautica are about exploration?
Outer Wilds, No Man's Sky, and Subnautica itself center the joy of discovery. Outer Wilds focuses on uncovering a mystery, No Man's Sky on endless planets to explore, and the survival-crafting picks here reward curiosity with new biomes and secrets.
- Are there underwater games like Subnautica?
Underwater survival is a small niche, so Subnautica and Below Zero stand somewhat alone. Games like Raft keep you on the ocean surface, and titles like Abzu offer a calm, story-free underwater experience without the survival pressure.
- Which games like Subnautica work on console or Switch?
Subnautica and Below Zero are on PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch. Raft, No Man's Sky, and Outer Wilds are broadly available across PlayStation and Xbox, with several also on Switch.
- What should I play if I have never played Subnautica?
Play Subnautica first, and avoid spoilers, because the dread and wonder of exploring the unknown depths is the whole experience. Once you know whether you loved the survival-crafting, the exploration, or the story most, this list points you toward games that go deeper on that pillar.
- Can I make my own game like Subnautica?
Yes. The genre combines clear systems: a gathering and crafting loop, oxygen or hunger meters, vehicles or tools that unlock new areas, and a world structured to reward exploration with story and resources. Summer Engine lets you build through conversation and is compatible with Godot 4, so you can describe a resource you scan and craft with, a biome that opens up once you build the right tool, or a creature that lurks in the dark, and iterate on it together.
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