[GodOfReader: Eh... Sorry for the delay and uploading the wrong chapter yesterday so i thought that i'll just upload both of them at the same time. So here is it!]
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In less than a day, the videos spread overseas. players jumped in with the same feverish energy, and a worldwide speedrunning race began, records tumbling one after another.
Competitions inside Subnautica were not limited to this one. Long before Jenny ever stepped aboard the Aurora, someone had already uploaded a full clear video of Dinosaur Arcade.
The creator was Jacksepticeye, a veteran player and popular game content creator with more than eight million subscribers on YouTube.
In the video he spoke with barely contained excitement.
"Everyone, I bet you've all been playing Subnautica lately. Most of you have probably found the easter egg, you can play Dinosaur game on the arcade machine in the Aurora's entertainment area."
"I've always loved arcade games, so I decided to dig into this one."
"What shocked me was that this is no ordinary easter egg!"
"It has four playable characters, each with completely different stats and special moves. The combat feedback feels unique depending on who you choose."
"Eight stages, dozens of enemy types, twenty different items and power-ups, a boss every stage, and the setting is perfectly realized!"
"In my opinion this is already an outstanding arcade game on its own. It could be released standalone and no one would complain!"
"What really blew my mind was this: New World Studio had the audacity to hide such a polished arcade title inside an already excellent game."
Jacksepticeye grew more animated by the second, spittle flying as he addressed the camera. "And that's not all, this game supports co-op! Yeah, you heard right. Co-op mode. After nonstop testing I finally figured out how it works!"
"You just stand completely still in front of the arcade machine for ten seconds without touching any buttons. After ten seconds you can link up with anyone else playing Dinosaur Arcade at that exact moment. You can join their session, and the game supports up to three players!"
"So the next time the Reaper Leviathan has you too scared to leave the Aurora, boot up Dinosaur Fighter and relax for a while."
The video exploded across the globe. Once players learned Dinosaur Fighter had co-op, interest surged.
More and more people began playing Dinosaur Fighter inside Subnautica.
Some arcade gods even stood in front of the machine all day, waiting for others to join so they could carry them through the game and soak up the admiration.
Speedrun videos started flooding out one after another.
The record had already dropped from thirty minutes to eighteen.
But Subnautica content was far from limited to this.
On YouTube and every other platform, strategy videos filled the results. Many appeared on the front page without anyone even searching.
Content creators worldwide were getting wildly inventive inside the game. Some focused entirely on building they gathered ores nonstop and stacked floors upward from the seafloor into the sky, eventually raising an ultimate skyscraper that nearly rivaled the alien cannon tower in height. Netizens watched in stunned awe.
Others were bolder, piloting the Sea Shrimp straight at the Reaper Leviathan near the Aurora.
They quickly learned they had underestimated the creature. The Sea Shrimp was torn apart in seconds. The creator then brought out the Impact Cannon and Stasis Gun, the two legendary weapons.
The Impact Cannon proved useless against the Reaper Leviathan, and the Stasis Gun could only freeze it for five or six seconds—nowhere near enough time to kill something that massive.
Without exception, every one of them was soloed by the Reaper Leviathan.
Still, brave players kept challenging it. Someone even started an online "Kill the Reaper Leviathan" event.
After all, slaying a monster dozens of times your size was the ultimate achievement.
Under the challenge post, players commented freely.
[Reaper Leviathan? Please. I slid right under it, sliced its belly open with a knife, and watched the guts spill out. Or I froze it with the Stasis Gun and finished it with a few pistol shots. Too bad I didn't record the kill otherwise I'd post it for everyone to see!]
↳ [Heh]
↳ [You don't believe me?]
↳ [I dont even believe in myself, why should i believe you?]
↳ [Kekekekeeke!]
[The Reaper Leviathan eats so many players every day it could circle the entire planet!]
[I'm not brave enough. It looks way too terrifying. If this was a regular game maybe, but VR is just too realistic!]
[Same. I still haven't gone near the Aurora because I know that cursed place has the Reaper Leviathan!]
Plenty insisted it was impossible. Others bragged about successful slide attacks. But so far, no verified solo-kill video had appeared anywhere online.
None of these clips, however, were the current hottest Subnautica content. That title belonged to a video by a Youtuber named Luke Nichols (Outdoor Boys).
This guy had a completely different approach. After unlocking the aquarium blueprint he abandoned everything else and devoted himself entirely to fish keeping. After careful research he posted a detailed fish-raising guide on Reddit, enthusiastically explaining how to care for each species and what to feed them.
He even thoughtfully listed the exact sea zones where each fish's eggs could be found so players could hunt for the ones they wanted. It was incredibly considerate.
The comments under his video were uniformly positive.
[OP is a legend!]
[Jarvis, my karma is low!]
[Thanks for sharing, Luke.]
Such polite language felt like a breath of fresh air online. Anyone stumbling across it might have mistaken the section for some wholesome SubReddit.
For a while Subnautica was filled with builders, drivers, monster hunters, and fish farmers, every kind of playstyle imaginable.
Players were looking forward to bright futures. You could say Subnautica was single-handedly supporting an entire generation of content creators.
While these off-meta players had their fun, most people were still following the main story, building shelters and submarines beneath the waves.
Over the past week celebrities such as Megan Fox, Keanu Reeves had all posted screenshots of their in-game shelters, sparking heated discussions.
One star, however, stood out completely.
[Today really got to me. I never expected that alien building to be a cannon tower. My Firework Ship, the one I've been waiting for this whole time gone just like that!] Nicholas Cage ranted on X.
His comment section exploded with laughter.
[This is killing me. When we were getting destroyed by devs, Cage was living the peaceful life. Now we're all relaxed and he's the one breaking down!]
[Cage, why are you still crying over the Firework Ship? That was hundreds of years ago!]
Right after the first post, someone rushed out a second one.
[So, is there any way to save the Firework Ship?]
His stubborn streak had flared up again. He was determined to find a way to rescue it.
[Uhm, drop the idea. There's probably no way to save the Firework Ship right now!]
[Exactly. To save it you'd need to shut down the alien cannon tower first, but that requires clearing the infection, and no one's managed that yet.]
[Yeah, attempting something like that without a save... you can only do it in New Game Plus.]
Reading the replies, Cage felt unwilling but had no choice. He would have to carry the regret into his next playthrough.
At the same time he felt quietly relieved. Thank goodness this was just a game and not real life. He still had the chance to start over.
During this period the global frenzy was not limited to Subnautica. Something else was heating up alongside it.
The English language.
Yes. Outside America, the number of people learning English in other nations had seen a sudden, explosive jump.
From Japan's and Korea's to Philippines and France, young people everywhere were suddenly eager to study English.
University departments saw enrollment numbers rise noticeably, and language training centers were packed.
In any random Asian Countries, English classes were overflowing. Teachers stood at the front passionately lecturing while students of every ethnicity sat below, notebooks and pens ready, listening intently.
It was an unprecedented phenomenon.
The story quickly made international headlines. U.S own media noticed and excitedly joined in.
Plenty of netizens also felt New World was getting shortchanged.
[These domestic reports are something else. They've really gone overboard. The biggest hero, New World, doesn't even get a single shoutout?!]
[I refuse to believe the media doesn't know what's really going on. They're straight-up pretending to be clueless!]
[If this game had come from Valves or Ubisoft, the media would've been singing its praises to the heavens!]
Deep down, the media knew exactly why the English languange fever had erupted in Asian Countries.
But they had bills to pay. Valves and Ubisoft slipped them cash to promote their titles, so of course they hyped them up. New World wasn't giving any checks, and on top of that this was a video game. In U.S, games had long been treated like the plague, so promoting one was out of the question.
That's why not a single news piece dared mention Subnautica by name.
[Bruh, read 30 advanced chapter at patreon .com/EdgyReader]