Game Modes

Subnautica currently features four different Game Modes.

Freedom Mode

Oxygen and health are the only resources the player needs to manage to stay alive. Energy is consumed by all electric Tools such as the Flashlight, vehicles such as the Seamoth have their own energy, and appliances such as the Fabricator use energy stored by Lifepod 5 and Seabases.

Survival Mode

Similar to Freedom mode with the addition of needing to maintain Food & Water levels as well as oxygen and health. If the player drowns or their health reaches zero percent, they will lose all of the items in their inventory that were collected since the last time they secured them, which is done by entering the lifepod, a seabase, or a Cyclops. Items in storage containers aboard a Cyclops are not lost.

Hardcore Mode

Although similar to Survival Mode, Hardcore Mode restricts the player to a single life; if they drown or their health reaches zero percent the game ends, forcing them to completely start over from the beginning. In addition to this, the PDA will not warn the player when they have low levels of oxygen.

Creative Mode

In Creative Mode, death, story, hunger, thirst, and oxygen are disabled, materials and Blueprints are not required for crafting, and vehicles have no energy requirements and cannot be damaged. This is a sandbox mode for if the player wants to freely explore and build.