Subnautica Game Settings guide screenshot

Game Settings

Game Settings Guide



This guide covers every setting in Subnautica, from graphics and audio to controls and gameplay. Adjusting these options correctly can greatly improve performance, visual quality, and accessibility. Below you'll find recommended settings for low-end, mid-range, and high-end PCs, as well as console-specific notes.

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Graphics Settings



Access: Main Menu → Options → Graphics

#### Display Mode
  • Fullscreen: Best performance, least input lag.

  • Borderless Windowed: Useful for alt-tabbing; slightly more input lag.

  • Windowed: Lower performance; use if troubleshooting.


    • Recommendation: Fullscreen for all hardware levels.

    #### Resolution
  • Match your monitor's native resolution for clarity.

  • For low-end PCs, drop to 720p or 900p if necessary.


    • #### VSync
  • Off: Reduces input lag but may cause screen tearing.

  • On: Smooths tearing but can induce stutter if frame rate drops.


    • Recommendation: Off for competitive responsiveness; On if tearing is bothersome. Consider using Adaptive VSync via graphics driver.

    #### Field of View (FOV)
  • Default: 70. Increases by up to 90 (PC) or 80 (console).

  • Higher FOV improves spatial awareness underwater but reduces performance slightly.


    • Recommendation: 80–85 for a comfortable balance.

    #### Quality Presets
  • Low / Medium / High / Ultra – adjust global quality.


    • Per-setting tweaks for performance (listed below):

    ##### Texture Quality
  • Controls sharpness of textures on creatures, flora, and wrecks.

  • Low: blurry but saves VRAM (1–2 GB). High: crisp but requires ~4 GB VRAM.


Table: VRAM Usage by Texture Quality
SettingVRAM Needed
Low~1.5 GB
Medium~2.5 GB
High~4 GB
Ultra~6+ GB
Recommendation: Set to Medium if you have 4 GB VRAM; Low for 2 GB.

##### Shadow Quality
  • Affects dynamic shadows from creatures and player light.

  • Low: blocky shadows, some flickering. Ultra: soft, detailed shadows.


    • Performance impact: High on CPU/GPU. For mid-range, set to Medium.

    ##### Water Quality
  • Low: simplified water surface (no reflections). Ultra: realistic caustics, full reflections.

  • Major performance hog, especially in open biomes (Safe Shallows, Grand Reef).


    • Recommendation: Low for low-end; Medium for mid; High/Ultra for high-end. Note: Ultra can cause frame drops in Warper zones.

    ##### Anti-Aliasing
  • Options: Off / FXAA / TAA / SMAA

  • FXAA: Fast, blurry edges. TAA: Good quality but small ghosting. SMAA: Sharpest but heavier.


    • Recommendation: TAA for most systems; SMAA if you have 6+ GB VRAM and good GPU.

    ##### Ambient Occlusion
  • Adds shadow depth around objects. Slight performance hit.

  • Off / Low / High


    • Recommendation: On for visual depth; Low for mid-range.

    ##### Bloom
  • Adds glow to bright objects (sun, Aurora bioluminescence). Minimal performance impact.


    • Recommendation: On for immersion. Off if you dislike the effect.

    ##### Motion Blur
  • Blurs screen during fast movement. Some find it nauseating.


    • Recommendation: Off for clarity and to reduce motion sickness.

    ##### Depth of Field
  • Blurs distant objects. Can hide pop-in but reduces clarity.


    • Recommendation: Off for better visibility when scanning for resources.

    ##### Fog
  • Low / Medium / High – controls distance fog density.

  • Higher fog obscures far scenery, can improve performance.


Recommendation: Medium; High if you struggle with pop-in.

#### Recommended Graphics Settings by Hardware Tier

Hardware TierExample GPUResolutionPresetImportant Tweaks
Low-EndGTX 1050 / RX 560720p / 900pLowWater: Low, Shadows: Low, Textures: Low
Mid-RangeGTX 1660 / RX 5801080pMediumWater: Medium, Shadows: Low, Textures: Medium
High-EndRTX 3060 / RX 6600 XT1440pHighWater: High, Shadows: Medium, Textures: High
UltraRTX 3080 / RX 6800 XT4KUltra MaxAll Ultra, TAA, ambient occlusion on
Special Attention: Water Quality is the #1 performance killer. On low-end hardware, always set to Low. On mid-range, Medium is usually fine but can drop in kelp forests; consider dropping to Low if you experience stutter.

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Audio Settings



Access: Main Menu → Options → Audio

#### Master Volume
  • Controls all game sounds. Default 100.

  • Adjust to your comfort; note that sudden roars (e.g., Reaper) can be startling.


    • #### Music Volume
  • Affects ambient/tense music tracks.


    • Recommendation: Leave at 100 for full atmosphere.

    #### SFX Volume
  • Sound effects: footsteps, tools, creature noises.

  • Crucial for survival: Creature roars, warnings (e.g., radiation suit low durability).


    • Recommendation: Keep above 70 so you never miss audio cues.

    #### Voice Volume
  • Controls lifepod radio messages and PDAs.


    • Recommendation: 100 to catch story hints.

    #### Ambient Volume
  • Ocean ambience, reefback calls, etc. Setting to 0 makes the world eerily quiet.


    • Recommendation: 100 for immersion.

    #### Tinnitus Volume (Hidden Setting?)
  • Not directly in menu; controlled via SFX volume. Explosions cause temporary ringing. Lower SFX to reduce tinnitus effect.


    • ---

    Controls Settings



    Access: Main Menu → Options → Controls

    Subnautica supports keyboard/mouse, gamepad (Xbox/PS4), and hybrid. Defaults are sensible but several adjustments improve quality of life.

    #### Mouse Sensitivity
  • Default: 50. Adjust for comfortable camera movement underwater. Higher sensitivity helps quick 180s to evade threats.


    • Recommendation: 60–70 for PC; 40–50 for console.

    #### Invert Y-axis
  • Piloting Seamoth/Prawn with inverted controls is uncommon; most players leave off.


    • #### Controller Vibration
  • Console only. Adds immersion (e.g., bumps when hitting terrain).


    • Recommendation: On; turn off if it causes hand fatigue.

    #### Key Bindings (PC)
  • Important to rebind:

    • - Scan (Default: F) - rebind to mouse thumb button for quicker scanning.
    - Open PDA (Default: Tab) - rebind to a side key if you keep hitting it by accident.
    - Toggle Headlights (Default: L) - rebind to a thumb mouse button for easy toggling.
  • Menu binds: Save, Quick Save (F5), Load Quick Save (F9) - consider rebinding to avoid accidental overwrites.


    • Special Attention: The game does not support quick save on hardcore mode; don't rely on F5.

    #### Gamepad Button Mapping
  • Not customizable in-game on console. However, on PC you can use Steam Input to remap.


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    Accessibility Settings



    Access: Main Menu → Options → Accessibility (some settings are under Gameplay or Controls)

    #### Subtitles
  • Toggle on/off. Subtitles include creature sounds and environmental noises.


    • Recommendation: ON for hearing-impaired players or loud environment.

    #### Colorblind Mode
  • Subnautica does not have a dedicated colorblind mode. However, you can adjust UI colors via console commands (not recommended for regular play).

  • Workaround: Use your graphics card's color filters (Nvidia Freestyle, AMD Adrenalin) to enhance contrast.


    • #### Difficulty Mode
  • Freedom: No hunger/thirst; focus on exploration.

  • Survival (default): Hunger/thirst/oxygen/health.

  • Hardcore: Permadeath.

  • Creative: Unlimited resources, no damage.


    • Accessibility Note: Choose Freedom if managing O₂ and health is comfortable but hunger/thirst is overwhelming.

    #### UI Scale
  • Not adjustable in vanilla game. On PC, consider using UI scaling mods (Nexus Mods).


    • #### Movement Options
  • Auto-Walk: Not present in vanilla. Use keybind mods.

  • Toggle Sprint? No; hold Shift (PC).


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    Language Settings



    Access: Main Menu → Options → Language

  • Subnautica supports: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Portuguese (Brazil), Turkish.

  • Note: Language change affects all text (menus, PDA, subtitles) but NOT voice acting (English only).

  • Special Attention: Some translations are machine-translated and may be inaccurate; stick with English for precise crafting recipes.


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    Network Settings



    Access: Main Menu → Options → Network (only relevant if using multiplayer mods like Nitrox Mod).

  • Server IP / Port: For custom servers.

  • Auto-Connect: Disable for vanilla singleplayer.

  • Network Mode: Off by default. Only toggle if you have Nitrox installed.


    • Important: Subnautica is a singleplayer game. Network settings are vestigial from development tools. Do not change unless you specifically use multiplayer mods.

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    Gameplay Settings



    Access: Main Menu → Options → Gameplay (or controls-menu subsets)

    #### Auto-Pause on PDA
  • Default: On. When you open PDA, game pauses.

  • Recommendation: Keep ON for reading scans mid-swim without danger.


    • #### View Bobbing
  • Simulates head movement while swimming.

  • On: Immersive but may cause motion sickness.

  • Recommendation: OFF if you feel queasy.


    • #### Lock Crosshair to Center
  • On: Crosshair stays centered (standard FPS). Off: crosshair moves free.

  • Recommendation: ON for precision scanning.


    • #### Show Tooltips / Hints
  • Controls pop-up messages (e.g., "Use Fabricator to craft...").

  • Recommendation: Keep ON for first playthrough; turn OFF later to clear screen.


    • #### Ping System
  • Not a setting but a feature: Press F9 (PC) to drop a beacon. Only available in-game.


    • #### Storage Container Labels
  • You can rename containers by pointing and pressing E (PC). This helps organization.


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Special Attention Points During Setup



1. Water Quality Overrides: Even if you set a preset to Low, some biomes (Lava Castle) have forced high-detail water. Use mods to override if necessary.

2. Save Slot Overwriting: Subnautica saves automatically every 5 minutes (Survival/Hardcore). Do not manually save during critical moments (e.g., entering dangerous cave) to avoid corruption. The game creates backup saves (slot name_Backup.sav).

3. Hardcore Mode Disables Quick Save: F5 and normal saving are absent. Only autosaves occur – and only one save file. If you die, it's gone. Do not experiment with graphic settings mid-game in Hardcore; restart if you need to change.

4. Console Commands Disable Achievements: Opening the debug console (F3, then ~) with any command prevents earning achievements for that session. Restart the game to re-enable.

5. FOV on Consoles: PS4/Xbox One cap FOV at 70. PS4 Pro / Xbox One X can reach 80. PS5/Series X|S allow 90. On last-gen consoles, keep FOV low to maintain stable 30 fps.

6. Anti-Aliasing on Console: Default TAA. On Xbox One S, consider leaving at default; no options menu.

7. Motion Sickness Mitigation: If you feel nauseous, disable View Bobbing, reduce FOV to 70, turn off Motion Blur and Depth of Field, and play in a well-lit room.

8. Audio Cues Are Critical: The Reaper Leviathan roar is bass-heavy; ensure your subwoofer or headphones reproduce low frequencies. Missing this audio cue often leads to sudden deaths.

9. Controller Layout Differences: On PC, an Xbox controller works natively; PS4/5 controllers require Steam Input or third-party programs. Button prompts may show Xbox icons regardless.

10. Graphics Driver Settings:** For Nvidia, set Power Management to "Prefer Maximum Performance"; for AMD, disable "Chill" to avoid input lag. Do not force anisotropic filtering above 4x (game default is 16x though; check in-game).

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Final Recommendations



Start with the hardware tier table above, then fine-tune based on your experience. If you encounter stutter, first lower Water Quality, then Shadows. For console, the only adjustable graphics option on PS4/Xbox One is difficulty; on newer consoles you can toggle VSync and HDR. Always play with a stable framerate – Subnautica's combat and traversal rely on smooth swimming.

Remember: the game is gorgeous even on Low settings. Prioritize performance over eye candy to fully enjoy the terrifying depths without frustrating frame drops.