Unknown Worlds Entertainment developed Subnautica, an open-world survival action-adventure game, in 2014. After its release, the game amassed a following on PC and Mac, selling over 8 million copies worldwide. It won multiple industry awards, including PC Game of the Year. Later released on the PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series X/S, and the Nintendo Switch, the series grew, which allowed them to release their much-anticipated sequel Subnuatica: Below Zero.
Subnautica Premise
Inspired by Minecraft and the filmography of James Cameron, Subnautica gives players the tools to create their own adventures. Players spend their time building their base, crafting tools, hunting, fighting enemies, or just exploring. However, players will fall into the story and plot, intentionally or not. Certain locations and items enable access to different areas and reveal new information.
The story follows Ryley Robinson on planet 4546B in the Andromeda Galaxy. While surviving a crash landing, he unexpectedly encounters alien species actively searching for a cure for a mysterious illness that he unknowingly carries. Ryley plans on getting off the planet alive, but he will have to cure himself first with the help of his sharp intellect and an interesting telepathic friend. Along the way, players will unravel mysteries, complete quests, and solve once and for all how to escape back home.
The biggest draw to the game is that players don’t have to follow a set course. They are free to roam and advance at their own pace. Much like Minecraft, there is endless replayability; the only limitation is your own imagination. Players can also challenge themselves with Hardcore mode, proving that death is not a requirement. Or settle back into Creative mode to explore and build to your heart’s content.
Subnautica Main Characters
Ryley Robinson: Ryley is the protagonist of Subnuatica. The game begins with Ryley ejecting from his ship, the Aurora, during an emergency evacuation. After waking up from his crash landing, he discovers that he is stranded on the ocean planet 4546B. Ryley now faces the challenge of surviving on his own, necessitating equipment repairs, food hunting, and navigating through various dangers that he encounters.
Avery Quinn: Avery is the captain of the Sunbeam. He intercepts Ryley’s distress call and informs him that he and his crew are coming to rescue Ryley. However, depending on the player’s actions and decisions, the Sunbeam cannot rescue Ryley, forcing him to continue surviving alone.
Sea Emperor Leviathan: The Sea Emperor Leviathan is a non-aggressive sapient Leviathan that telepathically communicates with Ryley throughout the game. She urges Ryley to help free her from her captivity and save her eggs, which contain a cure for a mysterious illness.
Subnautica Titles in the Series
Subnautica is one of the most popular and successful indie games that cater to both hardcore and casual gamers. The series has been an inspiration to the indie development world as well as open-world games. In 2019, Unknown Worlds Entertainment released the sequel Subnuatica: Below Zero, which gained critical and commercial success. The development team has also announced a third title in the series. However, there is no official release date at this time.
- Subnautica (2014)
- Subnautica: Below Zero (2019)
- Subnautica 3 (TBA)
Subnautica Cheat Codes
Players use cheat codes and console commands for a variety of reasons. Some players want to have fun; that is what video games are for. Others relish the freedom and creativity they experience when using cheat codes.
| Basics Command Keys | Function |
|---|---|
| [NAME] | Variable Text for Spawn IDs |
| [#] | Amount |
| [X] [Y] [Z] | Coordinates [x] East & West[y] Altitude[z] North & South |
| Events | Function |
|---|---|
| countdownship | Start countdown of the Aurora’s drive core |
| explodeship | Commences explosion of Aurora’s drive core |
| restoreship | Restores the Aurora to its original state |
| startsunbeamstoryevent | Starts the Sunbeam story event |
| sunbeamcountdownstart | Starts the Sunbeam countdown |
| precursorgunaim | Shows entire shooting down of the Sunbeam event |
| playsunbeamfx | Shows the second half of the Sunbeam shooting event |
| infectionreveal | Starts the animation of Ryley realizing he is infected |
| forcerocketready | Allows the Neptune Escape Rocket to be launched |
| General | Function |
|---|---|
| item [NAME] [#] | Adds a certain amount of an item to players inventory (Items with spaces in their name, make them one word). |
| clearinventory | Clears entire inventory |
| spawn [NAME] [#] | Adds a certain amount of an object in front of the player |
| cure [#] | Cures every creature and player from the Kharaa Bacterium within a range |
| infect [#] | Infects every creature and player with the Kharaa Bacterium within a range |
| lldetach | Detaches all lava larva from vechiles |
| playerinfection [#] | Alters the stage of the Kharaa Bacterium that the player suffers from (1-5; 5 being the cure) |
| sub cyclops | Spawns a Cyclops |
| sub aurora | Spawns the Aurora |
| sub escapepod | Spawns a new Lifepod 5 in the Safe Shallows with the plater inside |
| filterwater | Causes all Water Filtration Machines in the world to create a Large Filtered Water |
| filtersalt | Causes all Water Filtration Machines in the world to create Salt |
| vehicleupgrades | Gives every common vehicle module |
| cyclopsupgrades | Gives every Cyclops module |
| seamothupgrades | Gives every Seamoth module |
| exosuitupgrades | Gives every Prawn Suit module |
| exosuitarms | Gives every Prawn Suit arm |
| spawnloot | Spawns loot (Quartz, Copper Ore, Silver, Ore, Salt Deposit, Gold, and Metal Salvage.) |
| tools loot | Spawns tools (Repair tool, Seaglide, Flare, Transfuser, Propulsion Cannon, Stasis Rifle, and attempts to spawn a BuildBot) |
| madloot | Spawns loot and tools (Survival Knife, Habitat Builder, Batteries, Computer Chips, Creepvine Samples, Titanium, and Glass) |
| bobthebuilder | Enables fastbuild, unlockall, nocost, fastgrow, fasthatch, and radiation. Also adds Habitat Builder, Scanner, Survival Knife, and Repair Tool to inventory |
| resourcesfor [NAME] | Gives resources for any specific craftable items |
| ency [NAME] | Unlocks a specific data base entry |
| damage [#]<1/code> | Sets damage multiplier |
| takedamage [#] | Damages the player for % equal to their max health |
| instagib | Allows players to kill a creature instantly. (Players will die from damage as well; activate invisible) |
| invisible | Creatures will ignore the player, environmental hazards have no effect, and vehicles take no damage. Oxygen/Hunger/Thirst all function normally on Survival and Hardcore mode. |
| filterfast | Reduce water filtration time |
| fastscan | Reduce scanning time |
| fastgrow | Plantable flora will grow quickly after being placed in a planter |
| fasthatch | Eggs will hatch quickly after being placed in an Alien Containment |
| fastbuild | Build modules instantly with the Habitat Builder. |
| nocost | Allows players to use Fabricator, Habitat Builder, Mobile Vehicle Bay, Vehicle Upgrade Console, and Modification Station without required materials |
| nodamage | All creatures become invincible |
| noenergy | Enables or disables power usage for vehicles, tools, and Seabases |
| nosurvival | Disables food and water requirements |
| oxygen | Enables or disables oxygen requirements underwater |
| nitrogen | Allows players to stay underwater longer but at the risk of a higher chance of decompression sickness |
| radiation | Negates all radiation damage |
| fixleaks | Fixes all radiations leaks in the Aurora generator room |
| flood | Floods every Cyclops on the map |
| damagesub | Damages every Cyclops on the map |
| destroycyclops | Destroys every Cyclops on the map |
| restorecyclops | Fixes every destroyed Cyclops ship on the map |
| vfx cyclopssmokeeffect (value) | Generates smoke effect for the Cyclops (value 0-1) |
| bubbles | Spawns air bubbles around the player |
| seaglide | Spawns a seaglide in front of the player |
| dig [#] | Destroys terrain around the player (# is the diameter; max value: 100) |
| unlock [NAME] | Unlocks a blueprint for your choice |
| unlock all | Unlocks all blueprints |
| unlockdoors | Unlocks all doors in the Arura and Alien Bases |
| Technical | Function |
|---|---|
| freedom | Changes game mode to freedom |
| creative | Changes game mode to creative |
| survival | Changes game mode to survival |
| hardcore | Changes game mode to hardcore |
| day | Sets the in-game time to day |
| night | Sets the in-game time to night |
| daynight [#] | Sets a specific time (# goes from 0-1; use decimal points. “0.5” is midday) |
| daynightspeed [#] | Changes the speed of the day and night cycle (3 would make the cycle three times as fast while decimals will make it slower) |
| schedule | Shows upcoming events along with the time remaining |
| debugstartmap | Shows all Lifepod locations on the map |
| debugrendermode [mode/#] | Cycle through eleven debug render layers (1-11) |
| cinematics | Enables or disables animations in-game |
| debugsound | Enables or disables all sound in-game |
| entreset | Reloads the game except for terrain |
| gamereset | Resets the game to the last save point (will reset inventory and position on map) |
| farplane [#] | Changes the players viewing distance (1000 is the default) |
| fog | Enables in-game fog |
| fov [#] | Changes the players camera zoom (60 is the default) |
| freecam | Allows you to leave your character and roam around the map, including going through solid objects; will return to character once entered again |
| ghost | Allows you to leave your character and roam around the map, including going through solid objects; the player will jump to the camera location |
| fly | Allows the player to fly on land |
| fps | Shows FPS on screen |
| nobloom | Removes bloom |
| noshadows | Removes Shadows |
| printbiome | Shows current biome the player is in |
| resetachievements | Resets all achievements (Steam only) |
| spawnperf [NAME] [#] | Teleports the player to 0, -5, 0 |
| speed [#] | Changes the game speed (1 is default) |
| target | Enables or disables target debug |
| schoolfishai | Enables or disables Shoal of Fish AI |
| vsync | Enables or disables VSync |
| vr | Enables vr on eligible systems |
| Teleport | Function |
|---|---|
| biome [NAME] | Teleports the player to a biome of their choice |
| warp [x] [y] [z] | Teleports the player to the coordinates of their choice |
| warpforward [#] | Teleports the player forward by the given amount of meters |
| batch [x] [y] [z] | Teleports the player to a batch of their choice |
| warpme | Teleports the player to the Cyclops, Seabase, or Lifepod 5 depending on which one was used last |
| goto [NAME] | Teleports a player to a specific location of their choosing |
| spawnnearby | Respawns the player at a random location nearby |
| randomstart | Teleports the player to Lifepod 5 and respawns at a random location |
| kill | Teleports the player to the Cyclops, Seabase, or Lifepod 5, depending on which one was used last |
Subnautica Cheat Codes FAQs
How do you enable cheats in Subnautica?
Players need to access the developer console to input commands. To access the developer console on Xbox, press LB+RB+Start simultaneously. For PlayStation, press L1+R1+Options at the same time. For Nintendo Switch, press and hold A+L1+R1. This should show a menu option titled ‘Developer.’
For PC and Mac, players will need to press F3, F8, then uncheck the “Disable Console” box. You can back out by clicking F8 and F3. Once done, you can open the console with the tilde key (~) or Shift+Enter.
Can I still get achievements while using cheats?
Unfortunately, once you use cheat codes, they will disable achievements. Turning them off will not reset this; restarting the game from the beginning will be required to unlock them. If you are an achievement hunter, it’s best to avoid these entirely.
Can I use cheat codes in multiplayer
Subnautica does not have multiplayer. However, the community has built a mod if you wish to play with a friend, but it can be buggy, and some things do not always work properly.