Sons Of The Forest vs Subnautica
Sons Of The Forest is an action-adventure horror game from Endnight Games Ltd (2024) while Subnautica is an action-adventure horror game from Unknown Worlds Entertainment (2014).
What each one is
Steam files Sons Of The Forest under Action-Adventure and Horror. In contrast, it files Subnautica under Action-Adventure and Horror.
Sent to find a missing billionaire on a remote island, you find yourself in a cannibal-infested hellscape. Craft, build, and struggle to survive, alone or with friends, in this terrifying new open-world survival horror simulator.
Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more - all while trying to survive.
At a glance
| Sons Of The Forest | Subnautica | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.2/10 | 8.4/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (88%, 318,107) | Overwhelmingly Positive (97%, 379,053) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | 87/100 |
| Price | $29.99 | $29.99 |
| Install size | 20 GB | 20 GB |
| Steam Deck | unsupported | verified |
| Released | 2024 | 2014 |
| Developer | Endnight Games Ltd | Unknown Worlds Entertainment |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Sons Of The Forest vs Subnautica, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Sons Of The ForestAction-adventure horror gameSubnauticaAction-adventure horror gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Sons Of The ForestSurvival, Open World, Co-opSubnauticaOpen World Survival Craft, Survival, HorrorThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Sons Of The ForestScore 8.2 · 88% on SteamSubnautica ✓Score 8.4 · 97% on Steam · 87 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Sons Of The Forest318,107 reviews · 20 GBSubnautica379,053 reviews · 1 add-on · 20 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Sons Of The Forest$29.99Subnautica$29.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Sons Of The ForestUnsupportedSubnautica ✓VerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Subnautica takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueSons Of The Forest and Subnautica on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Mobile
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Subnautica (GamingPickz Score 8.4)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Subnautica (verified)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
SurvivalOpen WorldMultiplayerSurvival HorrorBase-BuildingHorrorCraftingFirst-Person
Where they differ
Co-opBuildingAction-AdventureSimulationImmersive SimEarly Access
Open World Survival CraftUnderwaterSci-fiAliensVRIndie
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Sons Of The Forest is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Subnautica is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Sons Of The Forest | Subnautica | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB | Intel HD 4600 |
| Minimum CPU | INTEL CORE I5-8400 | Intel Haswell 2 cores / 4 threads @ 2.5Ghz |
| Minimum RAM | 12 GB | 4 GB |
| Install size | 20 GB | 20 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Sons Of The Forest · Subnautica.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Sons Of The Forest and 1 for Subnautica. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Sons Of The Forest and Subnautica in scope?
Sons Of The Forest has drawn 318,107 Steam reviews and installs in 20 GB. Subnautica has drawn 379,053 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 20 GB.
Is Sons Of The Forest or Subnautica better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Subnautica rates higher (8.4 to 8.2). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Sons Of The Forest or Subnautica?
Sons Of The Forest is cheaper right now at $29.99, against $29.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.