Subnautica 2 makes leviathans invincible to preserve tension

Previous Subnautica games let you take down the ocean's biggest predators if you were willing to spend enough resources and firepower on the job, but Subnautica 2 makes them effectively invincible. Game design lead Anthony Gallegos says that decision ties into Unknown Worlds' desire to create less violent games, and that the team wanted to be "a little less Silent Hill 2 and a little more like Alien: Isolation." Unknown Worlds co-founder and Subnautica director Charlie Cleveland has made similar points about the series' direction.

He recalled that the idea for the original game coincided with the tragic Sandy Hook shooting in 2013 and that, as a result, "we have to make a non-violent [game]. You know, we have to make a new game with no guns." Gallegos insists the change wasn't meant to turn the studio into a pacifist brand: "That was not some decision made because we're a game about pacifism or we're a non-violent studio," he says, noting people misunderstand the intent.

subnautica 2, leviathans, unknown worlds, anthony gallegos, charlie cleveland, non-violent, alien isolation, silent hill, game design, sandy hook