Subnautica 2 players are losing their minds because they can't punch fish

Subnautica 2 has officially entered early access, and while Unknown Worlds is busy dealing with the controversy of its surprise launch, a passionate subset of the community has found a new hill to die on - and ironically, they're dying on it because they refuse to fight back.

As reported by Eurogamer, the game continues the series' long-standing tradition of pacifism. Rather than handing players a harpoon and saying 'go wild,' Subnautica 2 equips divers with tools to distract, evade, and avoid aggressive sea creatures. No killing. No fish murder. Just vibes and running away.

The great fish combat debate

Now, veteran players of the original Subnautica will know this is not exactly breaking news. The franchise has always leaned hard into the 'you are not the apex predator here' fantasy, and honestly? That's terrifying in the best way. The ocean is scary. You are soft. Everything wants to eat you. That's the point.

But a chunk of the new playerbase is apparently not vibing with the whole 'be a pacifist snack' design philosophy. The frustration makes a certain amount of gamer-brain sense - we are literally hardwired by decades of gaming to fight back. Your health is dropping? Shoot something. Big monster? Bigger gun. It's practically instinct at this point.

Touch grass, or rather, touch seagrass

Here's the thing though - Subnautica's entire identity is built around that helpless, vulnerable feeling. Stripping that away would be like removing the horror from a horror game and replacing it with a spa day. The tension comes from NOT being able to fight. Every tool in your inventory is basically just a very elaborate 'please don't eat me' device, and that's genuinely brilliant game design.

Whether Unknown Worlds will bend to community pressure and add some form of self-defence remains to be seen. Given that the game is in early access, anything could theoretically change - but messing with the core pacifist identity of the series would be a bold move that risks alienating the fanbase that made Subnautica a beloved cult classic in the first place.

For now, it seems like players will just have to get good at swimming very, very fast.