A New Perspective on Thalassophobia | Subnautica Below Zero 

I was really surprised by Below Zero because it felt very uncomfortably familiar, at the start it was just explore around the life pod then I got brave enough to adventure out and realised how much different it was with the biomes and a few creatures and how scared I got the jukebox in the seatruck along with Alan definitely helped distract me and then seeing the frozen leviathan will always scare to point of paranoia and even more when I realised it was able to live on land but other than that the ending was phenomenal and amazing to see.

Funnily enough the sparse arctic got to me more than the leviathans did. I feel like open oceans weren't utilized enough in the first game, there's something deeply unsettling about swimming out past the lily pads and realizing there's just nothing but the occasional iceberg in every direction, it's the same vibe the void gave off before they put ghost leviathans there. One of the biggest jumpscares I had was when I went out into the sparse arctic and had the realization that I was just in this endless blue void, but when I exited my sea truck my entire screen was covered by the massive fin of a glow whale that managed to sneak up on me

The problem i have with the shadow leviathan was that it followed a set path that wasn’t too hard for me to recognize, which made it feel predictable and more of an annoyance than a scary monster you have to avoid. Another thing is the fact that they just grab you and do damage, and they are nearly impossible to avoid if you are deep in the caves, so if you saw one it wasn’t terrifying but more annoying since you would have to repair it.

It's really odd, I must have the opposite of thalassophobia. Both of the games made me feel cozy and safe, aside from areas crawling with reapers or chelicerates. The lilypads in particular were absolutely gorgeous and I had to build a massive base in the biome.

Like his last subnautica video, the production value is excellent. So satisfying to watch a video formatted like this about an interesting game. I will forever stand by the statement that James is one of the most underrated RU-vidrs ever. Banger video keep it up!

I'd say it felt like they were trying more to avoid fear like the first game was infamous for, which for a game that isn't meant as horror makes sense. Like there's less leviathans to encounter and aside from the crystal caves they're usually more spaced out and easy to avoid, I generally found it easier. And the Crystal caves is really the only part that I feel gets across that fear Subnautica could instill even if the devs didn't intend for it and seemingly want to avoid it, but unfortunately at least for me it got overshadowed by the broken ai and downright unfair aggression of the shadow Leviathans that frustrated so much I actually turned off creature aggression for the trek out of the crystal caves

Below Zero isn’t as scary as the first game imo, but there is one area that REALLY sets me off In the Tree Spires biome, if you go down by the second, lower adult Ventgarden, there’s an area that borders the World’s Edge. That area strikes so much dread into me. Seeing all the bright, colorful, vibrant plants and fauna slowly trail out into these empty, lifeless, gray hills that fade into the dark blue water gives such a horrible feeling So naturally, I built a base there. Even have an observation room that overlooks it lmao Asides from that, it is genuinely a good base location. Thermal vents everywhere, the beautiful Ventgarden, it’s great. Brute Sharks are kinda annoying though I really like the more hostile landscape in BZ, too. Having the Snow Stalkers and Ice Worms makes it a place to be weary of; unlike Subnautica, where the most danger you had were those little crab spiders that barely did any damage. I kinda miss the Reapers, but the Chelicerates can be pretty scary sometimes too. Especially the one near the crater, the dark water REALLY helps make it more intimidating

If you’re doing a video on Arachnophobia, then I’d love to see how you feel about “Kill it with Fire!” - it has you stomping and shooting at regular old spiders in a cramped house - but it also has a load of accessibility settings for people with arachnophobia, like you can turn off certain sounds and disable certain movements that trigger the phobia. Amazing.

Something about the subnautica games always brings me back to replay them. The one thing that I do wish to try is subnautica vr to see how it feels compared to the base game and sub zero.

Playing through Below Zero, I experienced fear of the ocean for the first time; I was exploring the waters around the island in the centre of the map when I saw that shipwreck slowly coming into view through the fog. The sight of it took me by surprise, but even more surprising to me was the intense, instinctual fear that took hold of me. Nothing I'd seen or experienced in either game shook me to my core quite like that, and it's a fear I didn't know I had until I experienced it for myself. Really enjoyed watching you stream this game, seeing those live reactions was an experience unique from the first video and I'm so glad you included them here. Good stuff as always!

Very good essay! Really enjoyed this. Keep it up! RE: Arachnophobia - Both Grounded and Deep Rock Galactic have arachnophobia modes/sliders

Stellar video! I've never really experienced thalassophobia but I have always had megalohydrothalassophobia and I wasn't sure about the word for it until watching this. The three games that have triggered this fear in me the most are Subnautica, Iron Lung and Outer Wilds. Which I guess is just Megalophobia since the part of Outer Wilds I'm thinking about isn't actually underwater. It provides the same feeling though and in a way is actually worse than being underwater and caused me to piss and shit myself and uninstall the game immediately and it took me three years to work up the courage to return to DARK BRAMBLE. Apparently it's DLC is even worse in terms of horror. Anyway, I would love to see you stream and/or make a video on Outer Wilds at some point as I think it would fit the style of your Subnautica videos really well. Seriously looking forward to your upcoming projects. Keep doing what you're doing!

In the first game, Reapers weren’t always very interested in attacking you, and I don’t believe anything would kill you at full health. So when Chelicerates and Shadow Leviathans decide to make a beeline toward you and swallow you whole for swimming into their territory, it was quite scary. And then just very annoying, because only their head is scannable, and they swim faster than you directly away when they decide you aren’t worth the trouble of trying to eat.

When you talk about that area that you say Has to make your skin crawl I just think it looks pretty, I love the look of gloomy environment like that, the grey or dark clouds, storms and the rain. It's beautiful

I completely agree with your statement about the Oxygen Plants. I've heards A LOT of people say that they make the game too easy, while I for one am on the same page as you. I remember getting lost in the front half Mercury II wreck and spending a solid 5 minutes going around in circles and visiting the same 2 Oxygen Plants that restocked with BARELY enough oxygen to keep me going. I eventually found my way out, but those 5 minutes were stressful. I remember my oxygen reaching 2 and the oxygen plant restocked JUST IN TIME before I drowned.

Intro clip of the reaper coming over the sand dune is terrifying

I've always had thalassophobia, megolohydrothalassophobia and submechanophobia, but very few things terrified me in below zero, but the wrecks of Mercury II and the shadow leviathans were highlights. The warning of your PDA about a leviathan class creature being near as you hover through the murky waters of purple spikes reaching out towards you instantly put me on edge. The cyan glow of the shadow leviathans mouth in the distance caused me to panic and slam into the crystals above, desperately trying to reach the surface. Overall I thought the original was a better game and hit harder but I also really loved the story and atmosphere of below zero.

Just found your video on the first Subnautica and it showed a really interesting perspective. It's interesting how below zero triggers the same fears in different ways. Ps, that story about the Nigerian cook was really interesting. Have you heard of Chris Lemons? He went right back down 3 weeks after his accident

I have beat the original subnautica over 5 times now and i didnt think that it would be able to scare me anymore but on a recent playthrough i was out in the dark and suddenly there was a reaper leviathan which scared the crap outta me and i just pressed W in my seamoth to escape and didnt think of the direction. Everything around me was black i couldnt see a think and i felt fear creeping up on me. When i dove a bit deeper, i realised that i was at the crater edge and my fear turned into full on panick as i drove as fast as i could back to my base, hearing the screams of the ghost leviathans behind me but not being able to turn around out of fear. What an incredible game

The shadow leviathans were fearsome but I don’t think anything will top the ice worm. Period. It’s honestly the scariest leviathan in either game imo it’s fucking intense. Despite it being on land they manage to capture a lot of thalassaphobic feelings with the use of fog and snow drift. Another thing that really elevates the ice worm is if you played with controller like me. You see controllers have rumble so often you’ll not hear the ice worm, you’ll not see the ice worm, but you’ll _feel_ it which makes it feel sooo much more real. You’ll feel this massive thing burrowing beneath you and because they burrow through ice you’ll never know when they’ll strike or where they’ll strike. Really puts you on edge. Honestly think I prefer below zero at times it’s a hell of a lot more polished than the first and I honestly dig the Arctic aesthetic more than the tropical. Always been a fan of snow environments so that’s a big player of it.

my most memorable fearful experience in below zero was getting lost in the area with the ice worm. i actually could not find my way there and the freezing cold + blizzards caused me to look for caves constantly, while of course having to run from snow stalkers and the worm. once i finally found a tunnel, thinking i'd be safe and warm there, it turned out to be the freaking ice worm tunnel and it also turned out that the ice worm can make an appearance underground 😭 it was so scary because i didn't think it would do that since it took me so long to see it for the first time. i was so scared all the time, lmao, so much that the water just felt safe after all of that. i was also overjoyed when i finally found all the places i was looking for (i was running on foot) and then found my way out as well. an absolutely amazing experience! i also felt the true fear of diving in claustrophobic places. in subnautica, i only got a fraction of what i had in below zero. the bz shipwrecks are remarkable. i got lost and i panicked and swam around in circles 😂 i dread knowing i have to go back in there, but that is exactly why i love it so much. only the safe shallow area and the red crystal cave reminded me of the original game, so my experience with bz was extremely fresh and magical. the fascination with the visuals is very important to me in games and bz caters to that craving perfectly. then on top of that we have AL-AN who acted as a source of fear at first but then turned out to be a source of comfort, a companion who i didn't want to part with. that is why the ending of the game made me extremely satisfied. edit: perhaps i need to still add that i also got super lost in the purple crystal caves due to the fog and crystals. it was so difficult to find my way, i ended up diving in circles again and going back and forth and not finding my way out and finally when i got out, ending up in different exits every time. caves not being intuitive to explore is very different from the base game, which also adds to the fear.

I totally agree how this game really gives an edge on that claustrophobia more than thalassophobia, because I got trapped, feeling scared, and being chased by Shadow Leviathan only to die because I could never find the exit. I had to make sure I deployed a beacon on the opening to the entry/exit point of every cave in BZ. It really got to me especially when I was in the Arctic Kelp Caves. Very closed spaces and I held my breath playing there, even though there were bunch of oxygen plants, because knowing there were crashfish all over the place ready to blow up on you while looking for the exit is terrifying and some caves led to nowhere or dead-end.

I think it got attacked by the shadow leviathan thirty times or so. I’ve gotten numb to it. And rarely ever got attacked by the reaper in the original subnautica.

I don’t have thalassophobia and I was going well until I found the crystal caverns, I couldn’t play for ages, I had to take a break just so I could actually play. Those shadow leviathan are terrifying. Killing one didn’t even help. I do have arachnophobia though.

James, your production, your writing, it's fucking amazing! Seriously! I've been watching you for years, and you've helped me to discover my own passion for writing. I don't think I can properly express how absolutely INCREDIBLE the works you put out, are! Props to you, man! Amazing!

Ay bruh.. big up to you for playing this monstrous game set in a monstrous environment and Davy Jones Locker on the horizon. Megalohydrothalassophbia is my main issue with the oceans and seas. Even when I'm at a beach I don't even go ankle deep nor dip my toes in the water. It's an unexplored world of it's own which probably hold all the secrets of the Earth and it's long history, and I for one am scared shitless of the leviathan's swimming below just waiting to drag me to it's dark depths. I've been contemplating whether I should play this game for a Whole year now, as well as the other survival game where your plane crashed into the ocean and you must survive on a deserted island. I've watched a few reviews and seconds of gameplay here and there, but my courage leaves me every time. Imma get through this video first, then I'll finally decide whether or not I wanna self torture myself with underwater activities and the sight of a giant underwater beast obscured I the distance looming ever closer. *Gulp*

I think I can trace my Thalassaphobia et al from the Titanic film. Open, deep water, man made structures underneath you - I used to have inexplicable fears of my feet touching the mast of a ship when swimming, which is weird thing to possibly come across in a community pool.

I've stumbled upon your channel a while ago, and although I'm was choking on work your videos made me start replaying the Subnautica games again- and I must agree on you with the points of Thalassophobia on Below Zero. I started the game just as you, dead confident and dove in blind, I had played the original so much that I knew the map like the back of my hand, i knew the creatures sounds and how to avoid them with expertise, and at the beginning it did felt like that. I felt comforted by the game but at the same time there was this itching fear that something isn't right. While I was exploring the vents and laughing on how funny the Cryptosuchus are I was caught by surprise by the Chelicerate, had to pause my game to regain my composure because how could I just lie my guard down on freaking Subnautica? After that i remained wary but again, learned how to avoid them, did more exploring and went down on the crystal caves- at that point again I had no idea of the shadow's leviathan existence or how it looked, i remained low to the ground and well, all i saw was a straight red dotted line that looked like some ai fish- and bam, that thing grabbed me screeching, haven't heard any sounds of it before getting attacked Overall I was terrified but so happy that they've still managed to hit those horror spots that made me fall in love with the first game This is a great video, my friend, thank you for bringing this perspective out to public so professionally too ^^

man, i love your story telling. its just so enticing and im so amazed of how you make this game sound so fucking terrifying and intriguing.

Subnautica and of course Below Zero are firmly entrenched in my mind as 2 of the most memorable gaming experiences I've ever had. Before I started Subnautica I didn't even realise that I had thalassophobia. I've never played a game that has caused such a horrible cold pit in my stomach and I had to force myself to traverse into the deeper areas in the game. The only thing moving me forward was a morbid sense of curiosity. What an experience it was!

whats amazing about subnautica is its not using jumpscares which are cheap, but its using ambience and actual gameplay to instill a sense of uncertainty which is brilliant

awesome :) a review that explores more what the devs have done right on below zero, more free than the OG-game-expectation-clouded whine other few below zero reviews were

The bit that really freaked me out was the Deep Bridges. You kind of need to go there to get an important vehicle module, but the whole place is deep purple, dotted with red plants that make the whole thing feel like a slasher's lair in a horror movie. And then there are those trap plants that just grab you out of nowhere if you come close to them and then EAT YOU, making you scared to move--but you have to move to search the area and refresh your oxygen. To make it worse, they look almost exactly like the harmless red plants that are scattered everywhere.

The ice and the feeling of being trapped that you bring up were probably why I loved Below Zero just as much as the original, along with just how damn *murky* the water is (which, yeah, the inclement weather supported, too). I honestly found the chelicerates more frightening than the reapers. The reapers' real terror advantage is that they're the only living threat in the game that doesn't bioluminesce. Outside of hardcore difficulty, where they made me ping sonar every five seconds or so, I found them too cartoony-looking to be all that scary (certainly compared to the less-numerous but more terrifying and alien ghost leviathans). The chelicerates, though? Scaly, spiny, non-bioluminescent, unhinged toothy beaks for mouths, popping up WAY too close to "safe" zones, and no level of pareidolia can make those faces look like anything other than hungry monsters. And there's goddamn _zombie-looking_ versions in the open ocean.

I love seeing the sight of somebody with that fear and playing through a game mainly focuses on that

I can't wait for their third game ( Im pretty sure their doing another) and for you to go over it and how it does with the phobias.

Fantastic video. I appreciate your thoughts on BZ because I’ve really struggled with the game. I agree with all your points, but what I loved about the original is that it didn’t hold your hand and force you to feel a certain way. Subnautica was freedom in every sense of the word, freedom to feel fear and freedom to feel awe. The caves and twisty nature of BZ only made me aware that I was no longer immersed in a new world, but I was alas just playing a video game. Instead of soaking in every biome, I was extremely frustrated and annoyed with how lost and unfocused I was with small creatures making loud noises, Al-an, and your own character dialogue interrupting any sense of loneliness and isolation. Again, I really appreciate your video, I’m just mourning BZ and what I thought I would get from it. We’ll always have the original.

Subnautica and Outer Wilds are the most underrated beautiful and fantastic games ever. The experience this games gives you refreshing and mind-blowing at the same time.

Very cool, homie, great video. Loved the last Subnautica video, loved this one, excited to see where you go from here

Seems strange you didn’t mention that massive jellyfish with the garden inside that was the scariest part for me I thought that I would die if I went inside and it took me half an hour of debating myself before I eventually went in

I played and finished Below Zero just last week and I also stumbled across your original Subnautica video a few days ago. Amusing how you made this video just at this time.

I think something that Subnautica did VERY well was the concept of "being exposed" something I think Below Zero tried to crank up and do again but with more contrast and just didn't quiet satisfy me enough. This is typified in the visual difference between the games (which may have also just been a budgtery accident as well)...almost all of the Subnautica biomes are desert adjacent, not dense, and don't obscure vision. The only one that doesn't it the Kelp Forests and those are pretty much safe zones. The feeling of being exposed, for me, was most absolutely showcased in the Dunes...the area I MOST feared. All you had to get away was pure speed, you couldn't hide, there was nowhere to hide. There is nowhere to hide around the wreck but ON the wreck of the ship. The floating island base is surrounded in an exposed empty ocean. Below Zero's biomes are lush, many places to hide and use as obstacles for monsters...so even against the largest creatures...I knew I was fine. HOWEVER this worked in FAVOR of the final boss the was the Shadow Leviathan. It felt like a culmination of the franchise as you hide behind crystals and ravines as the monster snapped at you and then eventually left. I think in Below Zero they tried to play with exposure but failed, and imo, the places they could have REALLY used it was in the glacial areas. Just having some vast open waste with ice worms would have done WONDERS (granted I feel the ice worm design was a failure, the spike on the face ruined it). Overall, I think Subnautica can do better when it comes to the land. Glaciers felt like disney-esque railroads. They didn't feel like glaciers nor did they feel scary. They SHOULD have had the glaciers just be flatland, like irl, and the vastness of the distance inducing a sense of anxiety. No food, no shelter, no safety...THEN when you see the ice worm THAT'S when the horror kicks in. Overall, I also think the improvements on the Prawn suit ended up undermining the game. The prawn suit immediately undermined most horror in the game, near indestructible, fast, can go anywhere, and so I'm just kind of using it as a crutch throughout. When I got down to the depths and saw the Shadow Leviathan I immediately got my prawn suit to go mine down there for resources...eventually got caught out in the open...screamed...and then....oh....this isn't as scary as I thought. I then proceeded to crush the rest of the game. End of the day, I think if Below Zero was your first game it would be as scary as Subnautica. The problem is that Subnautica popped all those cherries. So they tried to do something different but that different thing just isn't as scary. Overall, I think Below Zero is a better game, I think Subnautica is a scarier game. For their next entry, I think they can do a better job of what Subnautica did well..."feeling exposed" and reducing the disneyland element of Below Zero, while also including the Below Zero element of 'thing that doesn't look dangerous actually being hella fuckin dangerous'...which is what I think they tried and failed to do with the crystal caverns...but did successfully with the trippy little light creatures and the other creatures. If they could have given me a Leviathan that had that multi-color light show trippy seduction situation it would have been WAY more scary than the shrimp giant or really ANYTHING they've introduced so far. Below Zero for me, was GORGEOUS....and there is nothing wrong with making a beautiful game. However when you're in a beautiful crystal cavern, it's just not that scary and feels fantastical. No different for the blue arches or the multicolor geysers, etc. This all wouldn't be an issue, for me, if they ALSO mixed in some desert landscapes. Hopefully the third one syngergizes what made both work. I'd love a Subnautica set in an ACTUAL desert instead of glaciers. Unstable land to walk on, sink holes, drowning in sand, as well as heat and exhaustion and hallucination effects that happen above and below water...mirages, trickery, etc. I think they tapped into SOMETHING in Below Zero it just got lost in all the pomp and spectacle. I think the third title should REALLY do what BOTH titles did well instead of trying to carve something new. Why can't we get deserts, and dark ravines, and trippy monsters, and bait and switch good guy creatures, and land that feels more like a vast empty waste and less like a disneyland rollercoaster you have one way to go through.

You should look into the project called “The return of the ancients” for subnautica since you have thalassophobia as well. I love the idea of giant “leviathans” or giant creatures roaming around our oceans and The return of the ancients really captivated my thalassophobia in a great way that it makes me more fascinating about my fear of the water. Also great video about submautica below zero. Just earned a sub

You make such a good point toward the end, that you never feel like you beat anything. You absolutely don't win or beat Subnautica - you escape it. Curiousity will bring us back, especially if they release more titles, but the fear will always be there because there's no way we can fight the leviathans. It's very clear from the start that we're foreigners on an alien planet, ill-equipped for survival. Every single mission in this game is dangerous and makes you want to escape, knowing that there's no way to best your enemies.

Makes me think it would make for an interesting mechanic to include fear-based reactions from your character. Initial thoughts: increasing the "noise" created by your character and increasing oxygen depletion rates based on distance to ocean floor, distance from surface, visibility in the water, etc. Add to it occasional remarks like: "That looks pretty deep..." "Where's the exit?" "Umm... not liking the looks of this." etc.

I remember being in a part of one of the streams and when you got trapped for a bit the fear you felt more than just streamer fear for the twitch highlight reel it felt so genuine, banger video james this and the other subnautica video are incredibly well put together projects like this show your strength as a youtuber I can't wait for more!!!!

Great video! Loved both Subnautica videos. The first being one of my favorite underwater games. Would love for you to explore and check out The Iron Lung next 😁

I always though the shadow leviathan looked like a horseshoe crab, it was also the first thing that actually terrified me in the game

Amazing video James, your previous subnautica video was one of my favourites and this one is just as good in my book.

In below zero I had hoped to see something like REALLY big, that appears out of nowhere from the deepest, murkiest and most vast parts of the ocean and swallows you entirely.

This is the first video of yours I've seen, the production value is amazing and I very much have enjoyed watching you describe these same fears i have with this game franchise, they play on it very well without making it too much.

Sub nautica kinda helped with my submecha phobea and thalassaphobia I almost drowned 2 times 1 when I was 7 and 2nd time when I 13 or 12 so thank you for making these video it feels nice knowing that I don't only have a fear of the ocean so thanks

I love how Charlie has at this point become the "Internet news" anchorman. He's become my go to source for any internet related news and its awesome.

What made Below Zero scarier for me than the original was the absence of the Stasis Rifle. I had a lot of fun in the original going behind the Aurora to get scrap and casually freezing all the reapers which were no longer a threat. But in Below Zero you feel much more powerless. Though Prawn Suit still makes the ice worm a non-issue.

He's talking about how the shipwrecks are better because they have more rust and algae on them, but Subnauticas' shipwrecks crashed like, a week ago

Great video James, you brought up some amazing points I never even considered when playing this game myself!

There is this animation movie on netflix for kids called „the sea beast“. At the timestamp 40:30 there is this scene, where the two main protagonists fall into the ocean and come face to face with the „beast“. Inreally recommend checking these few seconds out, It triggered my thalassophobia so bad😅

I would design a darkzone leviathan that has two side facing and two front facing pale white eyes that creeps around the edge of the darkness and tries to slowly drift behind you for an ambush. Imagine turning around to see two beady eyes in the darkness open up into a giant maw

An interesting case for arachniphobia is Satisfactory which has a setting that replaces the spider-like creatures in the game with cat photo cutouts which are almost more unsettling somehow.

I feel the exact same as you dude! I have a fear of deep ocean, so much so that I don’t like going on boats or flying over water… I hate going to Hawaii XD… but I had heard of below zero and decided to play it, and it made me terrified. That’s what made it so amazing! Granted I played Below Zero and NOT the original subnautica, so I don’t know how the two games compare, but I do know that below zero at least is super scary and super fun! 😁

Imo both games are just as good as eachother, I can’t pick a favorite, but they’re both also unique and special in their own ways

I definitely have a bad case of submechanophobia, but the actual ocean and its life inexplicably puts me at ease. For this reason, I fell in love with the Lily Pad area and built my home there. The green ambience and the music choices were relaxing, and it was a soothing backdrop for when I returned from the scarier zones. Interestingly, the region's overgrowth made the crashed bow more tolerable for me. Unlike the stern segment further up...

Oh hey it's Arthur. I caught that shadow leviathan and made it a pet down there. Call me crazy but I'm firmly in the mindset of if you feed them enough you'll be fine. It applies to Arthur too, you just need multiple fish. They're just far creepier than a Reaper.... and far harder to dodge

On phobias one thing that really gets me in videogames is gore. I have a phobia of blood which isn't as interesting or as common as thalassophobia or arachnophobia, but it has been with me since school from personal experiences to dissecting hearts in science classes. I refused to take part in dissecting because the chills, feeling faint the fear I have of blood is unlike anything I have ever experienced. Of course, I cannot explain this since it's a phobia but when I play a game that has an unexpected scene with gore in it, I have to stop playing. There's something about it that is so terrifying to me that I cannot go on. Great video as always

Great review. Inspiring writing. Can't wait for your AC1 Retrospective to see you share your passion for that game. Just in case, make sure you mention the death of Adha from Altair's Chronicles likely playing a role in Altair's brash nature and disregard/disillusionment with the Creed in the beginning of the game, which then serves as the proper baseline to begin Altair's transformation into a fully-realized Assassin who understands the full meaning of the Assassin's Creed.

I love your video essays. Needless to say this was an incredibly well made video just like your last one i really enjoyed this one keep up the great work! :D

"in below zero.... shrimp eat you" - a hopeful Chelicerate

ive never heard of this game but i loved this video. i genuinely was scared just from the analysis

Ok, I know I'm late, but I just watch the video and gotta say, Grounded might make for the perfect follow-up to this! It has everything - an underwater biome, 'giant' spiders, giant underwater spiders! It's brilliant :)

I have thalassophobia and these games scare the hell out of me. Like, I get clammy whenever I leave the safe shallows. Funny enough, I absolutely love Sea of Thieves, it being my favorite game to play with my friends. Anyways, that’s my take. Love you all, and have a good day!

It’s what you said the fabricator caverns are crammed and the only thing down there is something you don’t even know (maybe). I don’t even have thalsophpia and it scares me

A good game to tackle arachnophobia is, without a doubt, metro exodus. The way spiders hang on their cobwebs, you can hear their crawling in the tunnels, the ability to burn their cobwebs to get rid of them but... sometimes they fall onto your characters hand or even face, weighting you down and making a horrifying sound which makes me cry, i even tossed the gamepad across the room once because i almost felt that spider on me. And then there is a location fully infested by spiders, who mutated and there are both mutant spiders and normal spiders everywhere. This is where i stopped playing it, because i literally freak out. Highly recommend it.

Below Zero was worse than i wanted it to be but better than i expected. Subnautica will always be a gorgeous and beautiful game, and nothing will ever be able to beat it, but I absolutely enjoyed Below Zero a lot. it was still new and delightful. i don't feel thelassophobia or any of those fears, except claustrophobia (which i do think both games handle VERY well....(lookin at you, aurora))..... but i can absolutely see where you're coming from with both games. My partner can't play either due to his extremely strong fears. Water, the ocean, and everything around it fascinates me and i feel quite the opposite of fear, and even i had to turn off subnautica a few times because i was getting too anxious before bed. its really interesting to see how someone with that fear is effected by these games.... i loved your subnautica video, and this one was wonderful as well. Definitely subscribing lol.

I actually found the snow mountains all around me comforting the little I could play it. I'm forever conscious of the fact the Dead Zone exists in the first and I am constantly afraid of driving myself over it, no matter where I am. I know the map by heart, I know where most things are and what creatures are where. But still that Dead Zone stresses me out. So it was nice to feel like I was in a bowl. Everything that scares me is in that bowl and has its place in the bowl. But at the same time, I find Below Zero scarier. Just thinking about the things you have to dodge is stressful or being so close to the Frozen Leviathan. As soon as I reach the Lost River in the first and have to dodge Ghosts, my courage is completely gone. At least the few mandatory encounters with the Reapers, you have a lot of room to avoid. I have never been attacked by a Reaper. I can't deal with Leviathans in close quarters.

This intro has my heart beating and sweat rolling down my head within seconds

When I first got to the shadow leviathans area I spent so much time trying to find an exit. Eventually I found one but just when I was about to leave I saw not just the first leviathan but a second one charging towards my prawn suit

Nah man you were right in the last video mapping something saying oh yeah there’s a mountain there isn’t the same as exploring it, we have no clue what’s in the ocean

One thing I find weird is that I have pretty munch the opposite of submechanophobia. Shipwrecks and other sunken machines are fascinating to me, there's something about them that keeps pulling me towards them, wanting to see more of and explore more of it. I've never actually went to the ocean, the only serious boat I've taken was across the Fleuve Saint-Laurent (Translation is saint-Lawrence river, but I prefer the correct name), but if I one day get the chance to go dive to a shipwreck, I'll most likely take it.

Great video James. Top quality editing, and an excellent overall theme to the video. Loving your stuff bro. Hope this one pops off like the last one!

Below Zero was terrifying at first, but once i found the Perimeter Defense upgrade and i figured out that i can just ram into and kill any and all leviathans, all fear and terror was gone, i was hunting them now. They should have changed it that the 2 big leviathans would instantly destroy your sea truck, so you couldnt just ram them few times, then fall back to repeair and ram them again, till they die.

Wow, I just got a word for something I've always felt and nobody has understood, submechanophobia. Didn't know it was actually a thing. Small mind blown moment here.

I feel like the shadow leviathans are scarier than the reapers because the reapers ai wasn't the best but you always knew where a reaper was due to it's roar, so you always knew if one was nearby so it was easily avoidable. Another thing is the animations, the shadow leviathans animations are alot more fluid and natural than the reapers so it just feels more like a threat. And the last thing is the placement of them. The reaper encounters were in big open areas so you could easily run away but you were confined in the caverns, stuck with the shadow leviathan.

Great stuff! Well done! I would love to see more videos like this. More fear! The arachnophobia sounds like a good topic.

As to the differences in the shipwrecks, there is some thematic justification in the original game's wrecks being "worse". The Aurora and its wrecks are freshly submerged whereas the Mercury II had crashed decades before the event of BZ. It's not that they didn't have the care to make the wrecks feel more "wrecky", you can take a look at the Degasi bases to see that. Also, if you do an arachnophobia video, Grounded is definitely a game to look at if you weren't already. It's the only game I've seen with an arachnophobia slider in the settings.

I have thallasophobia, and I always struggled so much less with this game than the first one. I feel like it might have something to do with the fact that it’s fairly easy to kill the leviathans by bashing them with the sea truck. Bc of that, I’ve always loved this one a bit more, lol

I think you should try playing a game named Elite: Dangerous. It's a space simulator where you are a pilot in an expansive 1:1 recreation of the milky way galaxy and you can find it sometimes just as scary to play as subnautica, having an overaching story with news and events which which are sometimes revealed in in-game news articles

My guy has every phobia for the ocean XD

Me when I saw the thunderstorm for the first time: Wow how cool, I wish I can see it again when I get to the land part of the game =)

I really liked your first Video about Subnautica and this is at least exactly as good!

I wouldn't say that I have thalassophobia, because I do not dread the ocean and what it contains. What I will say is that being in the ocean in the ways you are in both of the subnautica games and in real life is a strangely humbling experience. I find it fascinating that despite the fact that we have these titanic ships that seem to almost command the sea, we still have to respect the power of the ocean.

small thing but bz isn't a spin off its a sequel this isn't a complant just a correction i hope this isn't taken wrong i really do enjoy these videos

5:11 “It acts as a tool to make you feel trapped, to make you feel ICEolated” 😁

I just wanted to say regarding oxygen plant, original subnautica had brain plants, which allowed you to FULLY replenish oxygen.

14:44 if you need a great example of a game that makes arachnophobia WORSE by trying to censor it, Satisfactory has an "arachnophobia" mode that just pastes a picture of a kitten (MS Paint-style) over the spiders and replaces their shrieks with meows. All it does it turn your arachnophobia into ailurophobia.

This video in a nutshell: "I saw a rock and was terrified, then I saw a plant and was terrified, after that I saw a fish and I was terrified, then I saw an iceberg an was *really* terrified, after which the weather changed which terrified me even more. But then when I opened the menu screen and saw the UI, that really triggered my fear of literally everything." Glad you had a good time tho 🙂

As always, awesome video my friend. Subscribed since 2014, still always happy to see you post!! Much love

thank you for this! two great videos amazing work

would definitely love to see your take on the spiders in Grounded. excellent subnautica videos!

For me having the afterburner in the sea truck so you can boost away..its OP and nulls the terror of the leviathan of the game. Its like 3-5 seconds of anxiety vs subnautica where you had to out maneuver them and couldn't just out right out run them. So for me it was not as scary once I got that and realized I could just speed past everything

I wasn't so blown away by Below Zero. The Map was a lot smaller than the previous game. Previous game has a lot more open spaces, lots of nothing at times, but you could always look and see and wonder. The caves were also a lot bigger and open than in BZ. I'm also very disappointment in the Ice Worm territory. If you ever managed to get on the restricted snow areas (You can actually just build your base over the invisible walls) You realize just how much space is not used. A lot of space that would be perfect for the Ice Worms not just spawning under you but actually crawling beneath the surface. And when it comes to the Iceworms just imagine if you could have walked through their tunnels. The absolute Terror. And the Shadow Leviathan. Fuck that. And to hell with it's biom. Ignoring the fact that I had to repair my vehicle every 5 minutes, I barely made any progress in it. Every corner looked the same, every Crystal formation familiar. And I really don't wanna talk about the "Story" Despite all the effort the Devs put into voice acting, animation, etc. it's worse than the first game. Take the Death of your sister. You search for clues to figure out what happens. In time you find another survivor mentioned in the first game ( I forgot her name) and after a while she straight up tells you that it was her who convinced your sister to do something stupid which resulted in her Death and Player Characters reaction was: Nothing. Not even a shocked gasping and angry response.