We need killable fish.

This is my feedback as a veteran diehard fan of Subnautica

1) Yes you are in their world.
Without fish being killable, there’s nothing to suggest that it’s even a real ecosystem and that the fish are not anything but plastic. Ecosystems should be balanced with squishy animals to complete the underwater simulation and let the player feel they can meaningfully impact the environment.

2) Unkillable fish breaks immersion for numerous players.
Every encounter puts a demand on players that these game assets cannot be killed. Most people have a basic understanding of nature, and that demand makes it harder to suspend disbelief. This is amplified the strongest when the creatures are smaller and more typical of game cannon fodder.

3) Player agency.
The ‘no killing fish’ design was lifted from games like Silent Hill where a lack of player agency added to the experience. Subnautica is not that kind of game. The lack of any combat at all, or wildlife that can take damage, limits the scope of options the player has for improving tools, using objects from the environment, and deploying them offensively or defensively.

4) Consistency and unnecessary reduction of scope.
There is an issue with consistency between fish being food (and thus mortal) and some checkpoints requiring enemies to be defeated and destroyed. There is no coherent design principle here. Fish are made immortal with the stated intention of creating player tension, but then players are given mitigation tools that simply eliminate that tension.

These problems would simply be solved by making the design of SN2 consistent with the previous Subnautica titles and this making fish mortal again.

Players don’t want to enjoy killing; we just want to interact with living beings as living beings.

I never ever killed the Sea Emperor in SN1, despite having that agency as a player, even though it was possible.

Players should have the agency to deal with the local fauna in ways that allows them to have the best game experience possible, and preserve their immersion.

Yo i see what ur saying, (the amount of times ive gone hitting those sandspears after they jump scare me and do 5 damage) But sub 1’s leviathans (particularly the seadragon and ghost) are so easy to kill with thermo knife or those poo bombs and torpedoes…..and then i lost all fear of those guys. If the developers would give us back the ability to kill, the leviathans should have a ridiculous amount of health and maybe even immortal in some cases………. but i need my revenge on those cocky sandspears

I wouldn’t ask that something like the Stasis Rifle be reintroduced. You’re limited by the tools you have available.