The secret is moving sideways. Despite the pretense being that you're stranded in an alien environment that's fundamentally hostile to human life your character is perhaps the single most maneuverable and agile creature in the ocean. Leviathans are another story, but they're a (mostly) static threat to work around, and even there you can trivially take them down once you get a stasis rifle or torpedoes.
That said yes, it's a terrifying game that both keeps you functionally tethered to whatever your current lifeline is (whether that's a submarine, mech suit, or literally a breathing tube going up to the surface) and is constantly forcing you to stretch the bounds of where your comfortable being.
My only real complaint is (vague endgame spoilers)
Once you get the sub fully upgraded, which is basically necessary to enter the endgame areas, you no longer have any real reason to build a base. Like there's no incentive to build anything down in the river or [REDACTED] zone, which is a shame because those places are fucking beautiful and I'd have loved to have an excuse to set up a sustainable base in a scenic spot down there to facilitate something that the sub can't provide.
I could never find a way to bring my sub down into the really deep places, which meant that I used the mech suit and built a serious survival base down there, and until I had that base really built up, I was ferrying things back and forth through that entire area from my sub. I probably made 15-20 total two-way trips.
IIRC the mats for the biggest depth module were in the inactive lava zone. I built a little base by the tree as a staging ground before heading deeper, but got the mats I needed on the first voyage and only stopped back in a few more times when passing by, mostly because I also set up a little farm there and also because it was just so beautiful there, hanging over a dark void surrounded by all the glowing plants and fish.
yeah it wasnt the depth i had issues with, it was literally fitting my submarine down there. my entrance to that entire subterranean area was too narrow for the sub. but yeah, i also made my base near the tree, i never really felt the need to build any deeper than that. excursions staged from there seemed to do just fine.
The secret is moving sideways. Despite the pretense being that you're stranded in an alien environment that's fundamentally hostile to human life your character is perhaps the single most maneuverable and agile creature in the ocean. Leviathans are another story, but they're a (mostly) static threat to work around, and even there you can trivially take them down once you get a stasis rifle or torpedoes.
That said yes, it's a terrifying game that both keeps you functionally tethered to whatever your current lifeline is (whether that's a submarine, mech suit, or literally a breathing tube going up to the surface) and is constantly forcing you to stretch the bounds of where your comfortable being.
My only real complaint is (vague endgame spoilers)
Once you get the sub fully upgraded, which is basically necessary to enter the endgame areas, you no longer have any real reason to build a base. Like there's no incentive to build anything down in the river or [REDACTED] zone, which is a shame because those places are fucking beautiful and I'd have loved to have an excuse to set up a sustainable base in a scenic spot down there to facilitate something that the sub can't provide.
I could never find a way to bring my sub down into the really deep places, which meant that I used the mech suit and built a serious survival base down there, and until I had that base really built up, I was ferrying things back and forth through that entire area from my sub. I probably made 15-20 total two-way trips.
spoiler
IIRC the mats for the biggest depth module were in the inactive lava zone. I built a little base by the tree as a staging ground before heading deeper, but got the mats I needed on the first voyage and only stopped back in a few more times when passing by, mostly because I also set up a little farm there and also because it was just so beautiful there, hanging over a dark void surrounded by all the glowing plants and fish.
spoiler
yeah it wasnt the depth i had issues with, it was literally fitting my submarine down there. my entrance to that entire subterranean area was too narrow for the sub. but yeah, i also made my base near the tree, i never really felt the need to build any deeper than that. excursions staged from there seemed to do just fine.
spoiler
There is an entrance large enough for the sub in the north between the bulb zone and mountains.
spoiler
IIRC there are three entrances to the river and two are large enough to get the sub through, though one of those is a tight fit.