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This will be the second time I'm discussing Subnautica for this project, and it's not just because I'm getting lazy. This game is not only a terrific example of worldbuilding and familiar design, however, it is also a perfect example of how you can subtly hide aspects of cosmic horror into an otherwise unassuming video game. I actually did a project all about the effect Subnautica has on its viewer from a terror perspective, which was handed in as a short video essay; I have linked this to the right.
I will still be referring to my three previously outlined topics: how this game utilises the fear of the unknown, how it is embedded into the aesthetics/story, and the other types of fear and horror used alongside the cosmic horror aspects.
Biome Design
Biome Design
The Dunes
The Dunes
A huge asset in building the player's fear of the unknown is taking away their senses. We can see this in The Colour Out of Space, for example, as the narrator is unable to even describe the horrors we see, preserving the terror even after it's revealed. In literature this is more difficult to do, however in video games it is a common strategy for keeping players on edge. I have mentioned this biome before, in my worldbuilding subpage, however I believe it is important to touch on it again — The Dunes utilises this uneasiness and capturing of the unknown in its emptiness, and its foggy waters. The visibility is low, and as the wiki states “even in the daytime, the Dunes are quite dark and murky, making it difficult to see threats”. This was, of course, done intentionally, to increase the feeling of aloneness and uncertainty.
Agoraphobia is defined as “extreme or irrational fear of entering open or crowded places, […] or of being in places from which escape is difficult.” This is mostly applied in the modern day as being a form of social anxiety; for example, someone might be afraid to go into a crowded city, or on public transport. However, people forget that this form of phobia can also apply to unfathomably empty spaces, where there's nowhere to hide. Of course, when you put this in the ocean it's usually referred to as thalassophobia, which is really baked into the entire game, however biomes like these are perfect examples of just how scary wide open spaces can be. The murky, but seemingly endless, water creates for a terrifying aesthetic.
The Lost River
The Lost River
This biome is another dangerous one, however is more aesthetically pleasing than some other more scary biomes. The wiki describes it as “a vast, gloomy biome, possessing a distinct greenish tint in the water that is mostly illuminated by the alkaline brine pools. It has an eerie atmosphere amplified by the abundance of hostile fauna, ghostly flora, and the many hazardous environmental features.”
What you see to the left is only concept art, however I truly believe it captures the stunning and yet chilling essence of this biome — one of the most memorable experiences in the whole game is coming across the gargantuan leviathan skeleton in the bone fields, and realising what might be out there. Unfathomably large, this creature's PDA entry calls it “an extinct super predator”, and the player is around the size of its back teeth, and seeing something this ancient and this large is chilling.
The entire aesthetic of this biome is based around two things; ghosts, and decay. These are both things that link back to a general theme of dead things, which gives the whole biome a distinctive, eerie vibe.
Phasmaphobia is the fear of ghosts (and the name of a very fun video game, unrelated). Necrophobia is the fear of dead things, and things associated with death — cartilogenophobia is the more specific fear of bones. These are all themes we can see in the lost river, alongside the cosmic horror aspects regarding the fact that this biome is unfathomably deep, with unfathomably large skeletons and creatures. I will expand upon this when I talk about the large creatures that live down in this biome, however there are many horror aspects this biome displays.
Creature Design
Creature Design
Reaper Leviathan
Reaper Leviathan
I mentioned the reaper in my worldbuilding section; this is one of the move fear-evoking creatures in the entire game. Its audio design, its colour scheme, its AI, and the environments this creature is naturally found in all contribute to the feeling of unrest and terror. While the reaper doesn't have many themes of cosmic horror, it is a terror unknown to the player when they first encounter it, and so has aspects of the unknown to it.
Mostly, this creature's aesthetic is all about relating it to its real-world influences, which you can see if you look at the Subnautica worldbuilding subpage. The reaper leviathan is meant to resemble a snake, as I have mentioned before, and therefore correlates with ophidiophobia, the phobia of snakes.
Ghost Leviathan
Ghost Leviathan
This is the leviathan that dwells in the Lost River — based around the biome's ghostly theme, it resembles a bioluminescent jellyfish or squid, especially with regard to its see-through exterior. The wiki describes it as having “a soft, bioluminescent, transparent outer membrane covering a muscular, blue, inner body which features many darker blue stripes”.
The noises this creature makes helps cement its connection with phasmaphobia; many people have related it to demonic screeching, or to the sounds of ghosts. The terror of this creature, which is so unfamiliar and unknown, mostly comes from its connection with the supernatural. A few of these also spawn in the Crater Edge biome, which is an endless void of deep, deep water. This makes it more unnerving, and a lot of the time all the player sees is a ghostly figure emerging from beneath the waves.
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