Before I start this review, I have to admit, I didn’t expect to be reviewing Subnautica on my phone in 2025. This was one of those games I used to see on PC and console, always thinking, “yeah, one day.”
That day came, and not only did I get to play it on my Android, but it honestly felt like I was diving into the same oceanic nightmare I’d watched others stream years ago. Now that I’ve put in a good number of hours on my phone, I can safely say this mobile port is something special.
Well, let me put together all my thoughts in this Subnautica Review. Before I start, if you’re a thalassophobic like me, don’t worry, you can still play. Just maybe, keep your oxygen topped up and never, ever go deep-sea exploring at night.
Survival with style, and some stress
The gameplay part and experience will differ for different people, as we have four modes to experience the title. Survival, Freedom, Hardcore, and Creative are your four game modes, and I felt the first one was the best to provide a balanced experience, as you can continue from your previous checkpoint.
Subnautica keeps things exciting by making you juggle survival needs. Oxygen is your main currency, and it drains fast if you’re not careful. I spent a good chunk of my early time running out of breath while chasing fish, panic-swimming to the surface, and you can see how deep you are in the sea on your screen in the middle.
The core gameplay loop is addictively simple: explore, scavenge, craft, repeat. The crafting system is deep, pun intended. Sure, managing inventory space and remembering what ingredient makes what can get tedious, but that’s part of the grind.
You can, however, pin your crafting target when you access the fabricator. There’s also a story, but the beauty of Subnautica is how hands-off it is. You’re never told what to do next; you just go. You’ll receive radio messages now and then, but it’s mostly on you to piece together what went wrong and how to fix it.
A mobile port that doesn’t feel like one
Let me just start with the obvious: Subnautica on mobile doesn’t feel like a cut-down version of its PC counterparts. It’s the full experience, no missing features, no stripped mechanics, no freemium nonsense. The controls? Surprisingly well done and easy.
Movement is through a simple virtual joystick, and swimming up and down is just an arrow button tap away. I won’t say it’s perfect; scanning while adjusting the camera feels clunky at times, but it’s manageable. Also, controller support is there if that’s your thing. I stuck with touch just to see how far I could go without external help.
Also, performance-wise, I played this on my iQOO Neo 7 Pro, and it ran smoother than I expected. Only some frame drops here and there, and I did feel some minor heating when I maxed out the settings, but nothing too concerning; it could also be that my phone has a three-year-old processor.
Beautiful graphics make the experience the absolute best
Oh god, no words about these visuals. Just gorgeous. The ocean glows, there is this eerie feeling that is captured so well, and the deep-sea experience genuinely feels alien. I would say it’s one of those games where you’ll stop just to admire the view underwater.
I like the night visuals the most, the radiance underwater and the big moon staring at me; that was an eerie sight, but that didn’t stop me from loving it. When you swim underwater, there’s a feeling that you are lost, but slowly you start loving the glowing plants, especially the violet and green radiance.
UI and music tick the right boxes
The UI on mobile is clean and gets the job done, very simple to move around, like I mentioned earlier. However, I did feel it could have been better; the transitions weren’t smooth, and the inventory section, I did feel to was clustered.
The music is subtle, ambient, and does a great job building that eerie, underwater mood. There is good attention to detail, for example, like the gasp when you swim up to the surface or the satisfying sounds when picking up materials. Honestly, I’d push you to wear headphones to experience this.
No ads, no paywalls
Subnautica is a one-time purchase, with no ads popping up, no annoying microtransactions waiting to ambush you mid-dive. You pay once and get the full experience, just like it should be.
There’s even cloud save support, so you can pick up where you left off on another Android device. One bonus point I have to give, the port is fully offline, so you can play from your local saves as well.
Final Verdict
If I had to summarize this in one line, it’s Subnautica, but on mobile. That’s the best compliment I can give. The same fear, the same thrill, the same loop of getting lost, building tools, and discovering massive sea monsters in the distance, it’s all there.
Is it perfect? Not quite. But for a $9.99 price tag, no ads, no microtransactions, and full controller support, it’s easily one of the best survival games on mobile right now. So yeah, if you’ve never played Subnautica before, this is your chance. And if you already have? Play it again. The ocean’s still waiting.
Subnautica Review by GamingonPhone
Gameplay Mechanics - 9
Storytelling - 9
Graphics and Music - 9
Controls and UI - 8
Value for Money - 10
9
Good
Subnautica is a beautiful, immersive, and surprisingly complete title for mobile. It nails the survival-exploration vibe while staying faithful to the original. If you're even slightly curious, it's absolutely worth the dive.
That’s all from us for the Subnautica Review! Did you find my Subnautica review helpful? Let me know in the comments below!
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