The best survival games are about conquering fear. Last year, when I first splashed about in Subnautica s alien ocean, I was wary of leaving the shallow reef in which you first crash land. I eyed the hazy green water of the nearby kelp forests with fear, knowing it was full of Stalkers, an aggressive fish whose body is mostly one long croc-like jaw. Today, I swim among these beasts, collecting vines and seed pods as they impotently pursue me through the weeds. I ve become a proficient scavenger, making the journey from trouserless idiot to Tom Hanks in Castaway s third act. But even now there are places I do not like to go. (more…)
