I got Stranded Deep (SD) a while ago and I liked it quite a lot. I have to say I knew about Subnautica way before SD but since Subnautica was windows only on Steam (game shop) I ended up getting SD, and actually now that I have both I realize that they are REALLY similar.

The overall story is that, during a trip from LA to Japan the plane you are on (which only carried four people) explodes and goes down. You manage to escape onto a life raft, and drift to a nearby archipelago. You must survive while scavenging rusted shipwrecks and avoiding aggressive creatures like sharks. 

Many of the challenges experienced in SD are sharks (which are SUPER-aggressive from day 2 and on), drowning in shipwrecks, having low food and water, breaking bones, and even trying to flag passing vessels (which will actually never see the player due to programming). 

There are A LOT of easter eggs* in SD like a scavenge-able ALIEN UFO! You can find a ‘Wilson’ (a volleyball with a face, from the movie Castaway), a diver slate with writing on it, a ‘DeadEx’ box with the address ‘nowhere in particular’ on it, a hidden AK-47, and ocean mines, those spike balls with chains.

Most of the items you use in SD are sticks and rocks, but it IS possible to find axes, knives, hammers, and other items found in shipwrecks. BeamTeam games are considering adding alien tech into the UFO. I really want to know what they might add. I want to use a laser gun!

I really like SD, but, unfortunately not as much as Subnautica. That’s because Subnautica has tons of different creatures, plants, biomes, and it even has an element of mystery. SD, unfortunately, has a pretty straightforward storyline, no deep sea diving, and shows no sign of possible contemporary human life. I mean it’s quite hopeless to find another human, BUT the possibility of rescue is real, unlike Subnautica, where you actually colonize the planet. Also, another major difference is that SD is in 2010-2020 while Subnautica is in the 2600’s! But in the end Subnautica and SD are the same idea, a castaway story with a lonely idea. Can’t wait for multiplayer!

*a secret/hidden ‘gift’ from the creators of the game, something that is simply for a laugh, or a surprise.