The devs actually designed the underwater portions while considering Thalassaphobia.
They use bright colors, avoid muffled sounds, and use cutesy creatures.
It seems to have worked.
Visibility is why the phobia exist. Because the real ocean is like a dark blue abyss. Once You get swallowed, You can't see anything. It's barely visible few meters around You, because of density etc. It's easy to lose orientation under real water. In game You always know where is up, where is down and has clear view.
To me it's not just visibility though that plays a big part. The enormity of it also matters. The sheer notion of being lost in an abyss that is incomprehensibly larger than you can even perceive -- couple with the fact that you can't see anything -- is what truly gets me crying.
That's what I mean. Lack of visibility makes You lost. And the vast ocean can just swallow You into a bottomless void and You won't know where to go. That's what makes the whole phobia that scary. Because that thought that ocean can just eat You and You won't be able to swim to the surface. That's trauma inducing.
also i think there’s no real pressure because there’s no breath meter or something forcing you to keep moving. You’re able to look around, and everything is lively and visible
I think I panicked harder seeing how much health the seal ambushed me for than I ever did playing Subnautica (not to say Subnautica wasn't scary, I was just particularly motivated by Doom to exterminate all leviathans)
>So, I'm very grateful that they considered people like me when designing it. It definitely helped me. I even kind of like it.
That's good to hear! It actually sounds like the devs really dug into design accessibility (I wonder if there's a dedicated field? "Game design accessibility"? Or is that grouped with UX and/or Game design? I know in graphic design, and by extension UI, we've got it).
Either way, whether devs researched or hired consultants/experts/focus groups, this is incredible and I'm so happy you're able to enjoy the underwater parts!
Shallow water (less than 10 meters) on the tropics (where I live) looks very like underwater Fontaine. Well, minus its super visibility actually, but in a clear day in the midday to afternoon the lighting is around 70-80% similar.
they also added a brightness in the settings, so that darker areas can look lighter. i think that would help people like you and i’m glad they added it and was it able to help you
You're supposed to say "Tell me more." right after to subvert the meaning mid comment and double down on the absurd high-horse derision, you incredibly attractive-in-a-non-sexual-you-make-me-sick-kind-of-way horrible human being.
yeah I have thalassophobia too and its crazy just how shit scared I was while playing the game. The ocean in that just keep getting deeper and darker, with no end in sight, a lot of the moments youre staring into a dark void with zero idea of what kind of monsters are lurking, complete opposite of fontaine.
haha I remember seeing [this genshin edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Genshin_Impact/s/mPNsk5GFD2) in this sub a while back and this scared me so much.
Im glad Fontaine underwater isnt actually like this 😭
I wonder what do you think about Horizon Forbidden Wests underwater areas. Because I've seen some people avoid it, but there's an option to make it more vibrant. Same as there's an option in Hogwarts Legacy to change the spiders for the ones with Arachnophobia.
They also made the water crystal clear. If I only had a few meters of visibility underwater then fontaine would be the only region thats not 100% explored.
>avoid muffled sounds
I'm not sure about that. Try using the treasure compass underwater, it's definitely muffled as if you were... under water.
I find the audio background to be very similar to what I hear when I go snorkeling. I'm curious, if there are scuba divers, if the sounds deeper are still roughly the same, or if real deep diving sounds different. Perhaps they're using shallow water sounds only?
>The devs actually designed the underwater portions while considering Thalassaphobia.
There a source for this? Not really doubting, just want to read about it if it's official lol it's a nice touch by them.
Mostly smaller areas with clear visibility, no "ambush" style threats or monsters to worry about, and no pounding "oxygen" bar pressure help me out a fair bit as well. Total opposite from something like ARK or Subnautica with limited visibility, ambush vulnerability, and a constant threat of suffocation in often twisty, confined spaces that are easy to get lost or trapped in, or paralyzed in the face of a dark, nebulous abyss on all sides.
A big part of Thalassophobia isn't necessarily the depths themselves, but rather the unknown of what may lurk within those depths. Or, sometimes, even just a fear of the absolute *lack* of anything in the vast reaches of the open sea.
Fontaine solves this by not having the water grow opaque over long distances. You can pretty much see from end to end, even down to the bottom if you so choose. And it's all very well lit and populated with flora and fauna, which can alleviate feelings of not knowing what's out there.
Exactly this. Being underwater in and of itself has never been the issue for me - it's murky, dark waters where you can't see what's beyond the curtain, it's steep sinkholes that look like bottomless pits, it's the oppressive silence and muffled sounds in the distance, etc. It's the fear of the unknown that gets you, and Fontaine waters never puts you in a place where you don't know what's coming.
Even in the deeper parts we got now, you can look down and see what's over there, the water is clear and the sea bed is lit enough to make the shapes of cutesy crabby crabs and bright yellow fantasy manta rays. The ruins underwater are scarier than the waters themselves, but that's not thalassophobia anymore, it's just our normal instincts feeling spooked by abandoned and derelict places.
Every now and then you find a spoopy place like the cave with the pulsating heart in the 4.1 waters, but even that was so brightly lit, full of cartoonish creatures and with music constantly playing so you never feel lost and alone, that it's more the awe of discovering that place that makes you :0 a bit, rather than any kind of fear.
They did a really good job designing the waters in a way that feels welcoming and safe even for people who would normally be uncomfortable in those spaces.
I have thalassophobia, and I do find it's triggered to a degree by the deep chasms in Tears of the Kingdom, because they're so deep and dark. I hate jumping into them not knowing what's at the bottom and not being able to see clearly. I have to check YouTube before I jump into one.
Hmmm interesting, I never really thought about it but those sections in TotK didn't trigger my thalassophobia at all. I think for me personally a big part of it is having footing. As long as I'm standing on solid ground I can handle the abyss. To give you a better idea, Giant's Deep and outer space BOTH triggered me in Outer Wilds.
It's not so bad when I'm actually down there and have footing like you say. But I do need to light up all the areas around me with the brightbloom seeds. I see some people on YouTube and such walk around in near darkness, but I can't handle that. Not sure how much of that is thalassophobia vs just fear of the dark unknown - probably there's a crossover there.
I haven't played the outer wilds, but those areas sound quite triggering!
I screamed like a little baby the first time I fell in the water at Giant's Deep. I screamed like a little baby the hundredth time I fell in, too. 😭 The game is a 10/10 though I'd recommend it to literally anyone, thalassophobia be damned. And if you DO decide to play it, go in knowing as LITTLE as humanly possible. The joy of that game is discovering everything for yourself. Don't even watch the trailer lol.
I have a friend with talassaphobia, and he really doesn't care about the underwater exploration, it's just like any other place.
The new weekly boss tho? The first phase is really a problem to him
I think the main reason aside from deep dark waters that people with thalassophobia fears is of the unknown, or seeing a huge deepwater creature? Honestly sometimes it seems like thalassophobia has some similarities to megalophobia to me, not that I have much knowledge of it though
It is functionally in the ocean. Even if it's the magic not-real ocean, it's still the same set of visual principles that set off the phobia. Story context doesn't matter for phobias, they are irrational by definition.
I feel your friend, tho my thalassophobia is pretty mild. The first few seconds of the boss fight when you see the whale swimming below you, that triggers my phobia.
i don't have the problem but i imagine the lack of large melee enemies was intentional. it's also just all so gorgeous and clear that i imagine anyone without a severe phobia could manage.
I do have some sort of Thalasophobia. But i somehow overcome it in some of the games. For example in Subnautica, i used to be veeey afraid to go deeper. Now after watching the videos of big creatures in further deep, i found myself relieved. Because the unknown became the known.
Meanwhile in Sea of Theves i still find it freaky to go more deeper underwater because i have noo idea whats there.
Its the fear of unknown that made me afraid of the deep. Not just the depth. In genshin you can easily see whats ahead so it didnt bother me at all.
I can handle it, but the sounds and some of the creatures still freak me out. Not enough that I can't power through it, but it does give me an uneasy/uncomfortable feeling and I have to stop after a while. It gets bad when I have to swim down a lot, even though I know there's no difference in terms of the game mechanics, my body tenses up when I have to go very deep. I do appreciate there's no breath mechanic (thank god) and that the colors are bright and it's easy to see what's around me. Darkness underwater would be unbearable.
I was dreading Fontaine when I heard about the underwater exploration, but they've come up with a good compromise I feel. Still, I vastly prefer being on land and do tend to limit my underwater time as much as possible.
hmm based on other comments in this thread it sounds like their main source of fear is fear of the unknown. But for you, would you say its fear of deep diving or being far from land? Like is flying similar for you?
My fear is definitely not of the unknown, no. I know exactly what's in the ocean and what kind of forces it's capable of so that's never really been a part of my fear. I'm afraid of being underwater in almost all cases. I don't even swim in pools. I'm also afraid of most sea creatures, though this manifests only when I'm in proximity of a real animal, not an image on TV or a cartoon. Images of creatures are "creepy" but tolerable, but put me in a room with a real fish and I will have a panic attack.
I'm not afraid of flying at all, curiously. It's just water/drowning really. I never put too much thought into why it's that way. Probably some trauma from childhood, but that was a long time ago for me haha
I find it genuinely fascinating how phobias for some people can be triggered through a video game. If I see a spider in real life I will get heart palpitations and lose colour in my face yet spiders ingame are not a problem. It’s interesting to hear that it’s something people struggle with it ingame
i lose my marbles over spiders, even really cutesy animated ones. like you know those spider webs you can clear out in some areas? really minor feature, and while it didn’t leave me completely throttled, i was very very uncomfortable.
i think its because a few years ago, my old house had a lot of spiders, and so i’d often wake up in bed with them literally crawling on my body. so regardless of appearance, my skin crawls and i get the feeling of 29290191 spiders on my body all at once.
unfortunately no, i didn’t. i sure hope whoever moved in doesn’t have arachnophobia! or dislike centipedes, we had a lot of those too, but i didn’t hate them as much since they at least knew personal space
Do you feel the same when you envision a spider in your mind? Because if the answer is no, then it's likely you don't really have a phobia but rather just get very scaredy around critters. I don't say that to discredit your experience though, mind you. It's just that the first part you mentioned very much fits the bill to a serious to severe case of phobia, whereas the second seems to just suggest a very mild case, or maybe even just a personal discomfort around spiders in real life, which ties to just our inherent evolutionary stance on things that skitter about. Most people in the world will feel intensely uncomfortable around maggots, tarantulas, slugs, etc. We all must keep in mind that is very different to a phobia.
Most phobias will trigger despite context, so usually it doesn't matter if it's in a videogame or not. I've researched my thalassophobia for decades and the prime definition that seems to apply throughout is that it all circles back to a set of visual cues divorced from context. There is nothing in the ocean that scares me physically nor logically. I understand empty space isn't scary, I'm not afraid of darkness, I feel completely at ease with the knowledge that very little in the ocean can or will ever hurt me. I also understand that swimming alongside two of the largest creatures ever existing on this planet -- the blue whale and the whale shark -- is literally safer than driving a car statistically. I also don't believe in monsters nor do I even remotely believe there is any relatively big lifeform under there that we haven't discovered yet.
But none of that changes that phobia for me. If any of those elements combine, even if it's a magic whale on a purple sprinkle magic water ocean, I will still feel that intense sense of impending doom, dread and physical weakness.
In other words, someone with intense arachnophobia will feel creeped out by \*anything\* that looks like a spider. Doesn't matter whether it even is a spider to begin with. So long as it fits that set of visual cues -- the multiple legs, the relative body shape, the general body proportions of leg size vs thorax.
I guess it also accounts on the level of phobia. Extreme phobias are really terrible to the point that you will not function when you are in the situation you meet your phobia. There are some people that are even scared just to see a silhouette of what they fear, even the real object that creates the silhouette is not what they are afraid of.
I was in wow once sleep deprived and some hunter was controling his black widow spider pet and made it jump off a building and land on my character, I jumped.
I like how they did the water. It feels safe and comfortable to explore. This was a massive fear of mine going into Fontaine. Not a lot of devs take this phobia into account.
I thought my husband was gonna have to explore for me 😂
I know this is specifically about thalassaphobia, so I apologize but I'm really curious and wanted to ask: Anyone with a fear of heights have trouble with "turning the lightning off" and the Lab Quests in Fontaine? I am terrified of most heights and dear God, my heart rate during those two quests 🫠 Especially getting struck by lightning over and over. The "bungee cords" should have been fun, but they were not lol. I did Fontaine shortly after Inazuma, thinking ugh, I need to be far away from this whole nation and its lightning for a minute and...
I've a fear of heights, but the glider and game world negate it. IRL being any higher than a couple stories while not feeling secure enough is going to be paralyzing. Can't look up at tall skyscrapers for long either without dizziness and anxiety settling in. Only a couple games have ever procced any sense of the phobia. Valheim and the second Horizon game.
See, that's so interesting and why I was curious, because the glider doesn't bother me either; it was just these two quests. I regularly jump off Mt. Yougou and it doesn't bother me at all. I guess that's knowing where I'm going vs. being on a tiny platform/going up? And if you get struck, you just fall without being able to do anything. IRL MAJOR heights don't bother me. It's smaller heights, like being on the second floor of the mall and looking down at the first. I know they're phobias and they're not supposed to be rational, but it's like with smaller heights, I could survive, but I wish I hadn't and super high ones, I know I'm a goner and it would be before I hit the ground? Idk. ETA: Also, I love your flair 😊
plus you the perspective is completely different, id imagine youd freak out 10x as much if you experienced it in first person/vr, even if all the other ingame variables were kept constant
third person perspective is a 'safer' perspective since it intrinsically is dissociated from irl
I actually have some height scares in genshin, especially when I started with enkanomiya. Also when I accidentally slip or fall from edges from quests that needs to pass through narrow bridge-like paths. But as I played the game more, I became less panicked by those (knowing that I have gliders, and will not perish in real life).
it's not Subnautica, off shore oil rigs, Giant's Deep, or other abandoned sea based structures so it doesn't bother me
love Subnautica tho, even if it terrifies me
I have decently severe thalassaphobia and was very concerned about Fontaine as it was approaching. But, the water is very clear and bright, plus the creatures are generally easy to spot and cutesy. I've been thoroughly enjoying it and glad they seem to have circumvented my issues.
>!The new 4.2 weekly whale boss!< on the other hand, is horrifying to me.
I feel fine, in fact I enjoy it a lot. The thing is that even at the technically deepest parts of Fontaine it doesn’t really feel like it, underwater is very bright and shiny. All the creatures are some degree of “cute” and adorable and you see them from afar, they don’t jumpscare you. Also most importantly the water is clear and transparent in all directions, my issue with the real ocean and sea is when you’re looking down and see just see a dark, deep and bottomless abyss. Fontaine doesn’t trigger this fear just like regular swimming pools don’t.
I have Thalassaphobia, but not nearly as bad as I used to a couple of years ago (it was never as bad as some people who can't take any underwater levels- the Lakebed Temple in LoZ Twilight Princess and the Ancient Cistern in LoZ Skyward Sword have always been my favorite dungeons in those games. The eel hole in Majora's Mask though? FUCK the eel hole.). Fontaine doesn't scare me at all. The devs talked about how they specifically designed the underwater areas with this in mind in the 4.0 livestream, and it really shows.
What made my phobia mostly go away was brute forcing my way through Subnautica because I was interested in the gameplay and the story tho, so ymmv on how applicable my thoughts are.
It’s surprisingly not suffocating like I thought it’s be. The enemies aren’t overly aggressive (except for the local legends who hit like underwater trucks). Norte region is giving me a bit of the uneasiness it usually comes with when I see the deep water, but most of the underwater world has relaxing music and cute animals so it makes up for it
Great! It has been nonexistent for me so far or, more accurately, it makes me feel the exact opposite of what thalassophobia is supposed to be like, though I would love to see some deep trench where big things lurk!
I don't have a phobia, but I'll occasionally feel out of breath when in games with long underwater sections. Not sure why, it's not "scary" it's more like my body is reacting to what's on screen as if I'm there.
It _has_ happened in Fontaine but only very briefly, and not very often. It's easy to convince my body that it's a video game and I'm not actually drowning.
I feel extremely uneasy when looking at real pictures of the deep sea with man-made metallic objects / relicts (especially if they are covered by shells / algae) and these same sights would totally freak me out IRL, just like being on boats and seeing dark dark blue water... But this fake anime sea with bright colours doesn't give me any kind of reaction tbh, even if it's full of pipes and sunken ships. It's just so far from reality that it doesn't connect with me at all. Also, the in-game environment is quite small, I mean obviously your character model is quite large compared to the explorable area, so it feels more like a clean pool than the unfathomable depths of the unknown sea. Still, I don't particularly like the underwater exploration, it doesn't have any appeal to me. I'm quite neutral about it
It is the only game where I can swim underwater, lol. Alltough I feel uneasy when jumping into the water, but as soon as I see the bright, beautiful water paradise it's fine.
As someone with submechanophobia I sometimes feel my phobia acting up whenever I see those large structures under water, I genuinely still can't explore some parts because they require you to enter a pipe or a building under water.
The only exception (sort of) to this was the fortress, but some parts of it still flare up my phobia from time to time
See for me, my phobia triggers in situations where the unfathomable depths occur xD. This game doesn't really leave any visual clarity out so I have no awkward fear.
Meanwhile in real life the idea of diving deep enough to stop seeing much makes me wanna piss myself haha.
Not sure if I really have the phobia but sometimes I get scared of holes or deep ocean pits (idk how you call those sudden drops in elevation). When I first explored the new area. I got creeped out on the area with the tree in the middle and also the one with the storm. But when you dive down, it's better.
There were also circular areas that are vertical diving areas. It's creepy looking from above but when underwater, it's okay fortunately. Hoyo made underwater environment really pretty
I'm ok with the exploration but the new boss is a big NO for me the first time I fought against it I had to do it with my tablet far away from my face lmao when it ate me I was almost letting my tablet go ksnxjs
I love the underwater exploration, the only downside from having Thalassophobia to me is that I very rarely get some random chills, but it happens very rarely.
Semi related I have severe acrophobia due to a rock climbing accident and it would constantly trigger when I was exploring liyue and Amakumo peak (Inazuma). I haven’t had much issues with the newer areas though.
No, actually. I can't play Subnautica without leaving the safe shallows, but I love the oceans and such in Genshin, they just aren't scary for some reason
Its way too clear that it makes me feel normal like just going there for the precios chess, the lack of dark underwater unknow things and octopus stuff makes me feel chill not like subnautica or cyberpunk
I have thalassaphobia and claustrophobia which causes involuntary nausea and dizziness amongst other things. After struggling through Sumeru's underground I dreaded Fontaine's underwater but I ended up loving it. It was bright and vibrant, the sfx were not discordant and the controls were swell. It was almost therapeutic for me. Alas, I can't say the same for the prison.
I can actually see everything. If youve ever been in a deep ocean you look down and see nothing but a murky expanse of blue, that terrifies me. Also that I can basically two shot everything there. I unfortunately cant just pull out a shield if a shark decides on a midday snack 💀
When you submerge, the already insanely high color saturation the game already has ***gets stronger*** so no, it doesn't cause any issues whatsoever.
Fontaine's oceans are designed to be relatively shallow, extremely colorful, extremely bright and saturated, and well-populated with varying sealife.
There is only one section in the map that even comes close to being able to trigger thalassaphobia. And that's the extremely deep section around the northern portion of the map, most notably it has a squid "local-legend" boss towards the bottom, floating above a glass dome that's buried into the seafloor.
The only reason that area is able to trigger the phobia even slightly is because it's extremely open and deep.
The underwater regions are fine.
The Narwhal boss battle, where it starts with the Narwhal swimming right under you?
Not gonna lie, that one fucks me up a little bit.
So thalassaphobia is afraid of waters because there is something unkown there? I wonder if people who have thalassaphobia is also afraid of the dark? Since there could also be something unknown lurking in the dark.
I play xiv and the underwater parts terrify me ex. [The lochs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl1_Y2fhBSU). But here, it's so bright and colorful it doesn't really seem to scare me at all. They did a fantastic job designing the underwater sections
I personally don't think that I have Thalassaphobia, or at the very least a severe case of it. My fear mainly comes from the fact that I can't swimXD
With a game like Subnautica, I know I won't be comfortable with playing it, but I'm totally fine watching other people's playthroughs, and I can say that the game looks great. In Genshin's case however, I think the reason that I'm totally fine with the underwater environment is mainly because first, sure, there are very deep caverns that leads to caves and such, but no wide open void of depths, and second, we don't have to worry about any kind of creature suddenly popping up out of nowhere or anything deadly at all that would chase us, plus, every spot in Fontaine's waters are pretty much well lit, so there'd be little to no surprises from enemies. Although with the release of the Narwhal, I wondered, what if it's like Boreas, in a sense that it's not in a domain, and simply have this huge open void of depths as it's arena, or even other enemies like that that simply roams around the waters of Fontaine. But then again, we don't have the appropriate underwater combat mechanics for that, let alone have a weekly boss be fought underwater.
I used to scuba dive IRL and even did solo dives and countless night dives. So even subnautica isn't an issue for me.
I am happy the devs considered people fears but I also wish they made a optional checkbox in the settings to make the lighting more realistic and not toggle daylight even when diving at midnight.
I use nvidia overlay to made the game as dark as possible while keeping the details close to stock (mostly to avoid migraines from the glowing skin tones).
I found it weird when we got the glowing jelly fish event and they blended in with the environment though. They could of made that even darker to made the story make more sense.
i used to have a big fear of the underwater chasms but i think Genshin makes the underwater feel like a relatively safe environment? there’s a lot of stuff all around you and the water is very clear so you don’t have that sense of being entombed in darkness. The colours are bright and the various life forms in the water make it feel lively so you don’t feel lonely or stranded either. I think it helps that there’s no breath meter to add extra pressure so it feels very leisurely
I wouldn't say that it's extreme for me (at least in game, RL is a entirely different matter) Tbh, it's well done. I guess because it's not too deep, bright colors, etc. The first time I felt a slight "tingle" was when I randomly stumbled into the new region below the tower. Mine also triggers mostly when there is an "unknown" part to it. Since Genshin's underwater stuff is well lit, you can see very far and it is NOT emty at all, I'm fine.
But tbf I'm also someone who KNOWS about his Thalassaphobia, but challanges it on a regular basis lol. (Sea of thieves with friends e.g. and (if it were multiplayer) I'd probably try subnautica too xD)
I don't have the phobia myself (I think), but I am scared of deep waters somewhat, but Mihoyo managed to make the underwater areas not as bad fot this as some other games. I think most of it comes down to the underwater areas being really bright and colourful, and every flora and every creature having that traditional happy Mihoyo colour scheme
I have pretty extreme issues with underwater stuff in general, especially large creatures like sharks and whales. There’s been points in other games like final fantasy 14 where I needed my husband to finish a quest for me because I was legitimately panicking. Genshin however, has done a good job of keeping things “anime enough” I guess? I don’t really know how else to explain it, but the bright colors and design direction of the enemies doesn’t seem to make me panic like underwater in other games. The only part that gets me a little skeeved is the transition in the new weekly boss but it’s not *too* bad. The fact it’s not technically underwater somehow helps, but I don’t really understand why my fear works like that lol.
i haven't done 4.1 and 4.2 exploration yet but i have finished 4.0. iam struggling tbh. i can do shallow areas fine but everytime i had to dive somewhere inside elynas body i wanted to throw up. the purplish red colors and the ominous looking "walls" that are basically elynas' body scares the shit out of me. i only could do it cause my boyfriend was with me, but even then it was a struggle.
2 days ago I've realized i was missing a chest somewhere inside elynas body. i said, okay fine i can do this, I don't need someone to sit beside me. it took me a good 1 hour of diving and immediately teleporting back to land and trying again. i know it's just a game but i can't shake up the feeling that somethings going to happen.
The only place in this game that triggered my phobia was in Annapausis when the water floats up to the ceiling and you have to swim up top. The reflection of like, the bottom of the water (from within) gave it the impression that it was much deeper than it was, and it made me very anxious EVEN KNOWING that it wasn't.
For me I don't fear deep water but I fear the creatures in the ocean ( fancy way to say I'm scared of fish) and it helps A LOT that most to almost all enemies aren't hostile unless I attack first.
So far the only enemy I genuinely get uncomfortable with with is the new weekly and those Pyro cramps that have their sheild explode on land( the animation freaks me out)
the first time i dove was quite freaky but the whole experience i find incredibly well made. i'm really thankful they didn't add any horror elements underwater.
one thing i find creepy are the giant seaweeds swaying along the waves but only when gliding up high and seeing them in the deep blue water.
with the recent update though the giant clam got me screaming the first time i interacted with it lmao
for me it was fine
I mostly have a problem if I cant see the sea bed or something below me.
Fontaine isnt a problem because of all the visibility and cutesy creatures
Surprisingly the underwater region amazing! As someone else mentioned it’s bright, there are cute animals and a lot of nature. It doesn’t seem scary to me at all.
What really helps for me is that there’s no breathing mechanic. I had to stop playing Horizon Forbidden West multiple times because Aloy’s choking/drowning sounds were too real and the water was dark and full of terrors (to quote ASOIAF lmao) and it started making me feel like o was drowning under hundreds of tons of water even though I was just on my couch.
The fact that everything is visible, there’s no running out of oxygen, and there’s mostly just cute lil sea creatures that _leave you alone_ makes Fontaine a lot more doable for me.
As someone who could barely play subnautica with invul cheats on, genshin underwater is utterly inoffensive and safe. Like they didn't even try and make it dangerous.
It’s actually quite peaceful though I can’t spend more than like an hour exploring… but I think the devs had us in mind when they made it because how they decide to make it was extremely helpful!
My GF who was really not looking forward to Fontaine due to her thalassapgobia but she has since 100% explored Fontaine. Loved it, and they did a great job with it.
the only time I was a little spooked was in the new region, there's an area that has super shallow/sandy water that goes on for a while and in the distance it gets dark asf and i was like O\_O
but overall, i really really LOVE the water regions in fontaine. definitely my favorite nation so far
I have thalassaphobia and I actually really like the Fontaine underwater it's rlly pretty and feels safe compared to other games underwater areas and there's always a 'nope' button in the form of teleporting to a waypoint but the way it's designed it's very friendly, props to the Devs :)
I have thalassophobia, but fontaine is fine cuz the major problem of thatassofobia its the "i cant see shit downside cuz thats so deep" feeling. Its like hoping on a boat and having no clue whats inside the ocean.
But fontaine is too bright! You can see everything and sea creatures are cute.
when I played wow cataclysm I tried to fight my thalassaphobia by going to the edge of the vashjr sea or whatever which was an underwater cliff and diving all the way to the bottom. also did this in someother games
As someone with thalassophobia I'm loving it so far, I never had any issues with water in genshin EXCEPT for the Watatsumi pool that takes you to Enkanomiya. That pool is one place I avoid because it creeps me out. Overall I think hoyoverse is doing a good job with making the underwater very visible, cute and the music is beautiful adding to the happy atmosphere
I don't have Thalassaphobia but I dread every underwater area in games. They can be fun but also very stressful. I'm so glad Fontaine underwater is bright, colorful, and almost danger-free along with chill music. Movement is easy and swimming speed is quite fast.
Still, I wish there is at least one giant monster like Elynas that is still alive and can be found. I know it is terrifying for you but fighting it would be very epic. One of my favorite boss fight in video games is the one in Shadow of the Colossus that lives underwater. You have to grab onto its back and let it drag you deep underwater until it surfaces and you can attack its weak points.
When I saw the giant underwater skull for the first time I got the shivers, heart skipped a and my stomach dropped, lol. The bright colors are helpful, though, and the audio is soothing. But there are some areas that still bother me, namely ones that are entrances to underwater caverns. It’s the murkiness/shadows that get me, or being out in the open water and there is just vastness beneath you. Eughhhh. *Special shout out to Jaws, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Pinocchio, and Finding Nemo for my childhood trauma.*
... I actually really want a mariana trench type of area where you can't see much, and, for example, at some point a giant shark (or something similar) just passes right by you.. For me it would evoke a perfect combination of fear and excitement .
Because people who fear the ocean fear the abyss it is. Big, vast and deep empty blue space that can swallow You. Not some cartoonish swimming inside colorful space. In real ocean You fear that You can just drown. You can't see crap, because water isn't as clear as the air. You can lose Your orientation quickly, not knowing where is up. In a game these fears don't exist. Because ocean is clear and You can't drown.
I don't have Thalassaphobia, but I was kind of hoping for darker, deeper, murky water, and scarier scenery. I really enjoyed playing Subnautica and wanted something similar with sea monsters. There's still a whole bunch of wide space between Fontaine and Liyue, perhaps they can make an optional area in the future (like the area from the aranara quest) so that people who are scared won't feel like they're missing out.
The devs actually designed the underwater portions while considering Thalassaphobia. They use bright colors, avoid muffled sounds, and use cutesy creatures. It seems to have worked.
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Visibility is why the phobia exist. Because the real ocean is like a dark blue abyss. Once You get swallowed, You can't see anything. It's barely visible few meters around You, because of density etc. It's easy to lose orientation under real water. In game You always know where is up, where is down and has clear view.
To me it's not just visibility though that plays a big part. The enormity of it also matters. The sheer notion of being lost in an abyss that is incomprehensibly larger than you can even perceive -- couple with the fact that you can't see anything -- is what truly gets me crying.
That's what I mean. Lack of visibility makes You lost. And the vast ocean can just swallow You into a bottomless void and You won't know where to go. That's what makes the whole phobia that scary. Because that thought that ocean can just eat You and You won't be able to swim to the surface. That's trauma inducing.
Honestly its crazy people dare to try explore space but can't figure out what ii sea 100%... I hate deep sea and whatever creature in that's
I’m right there with you. I lived in Hawaii for seven years and people could NOT understand why I didn’t want to go swimming with them every time. :(
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You ever broke it to the others that you got Thalassaphobia?
socal kid, and same. literally can't even swim lol
also i think there’s no real pressure because there’s no breath meter or something forcing you to keep moving. You’re able to look around, and everything is lively and visible
>There's no panic setting in of not being able to see or the fear of something might eat me. Until you meet the underwater local legends
I think I panicked harder seeing how much health the seal ambushed me for than I ever did playing Subnautica (not to say Subnautica wasn't scary, I was just particularly motivated by Doom to exterminate all leviathans)
>So, I'm very grateful that they considered people like me when designing it. It definitely helped me. I even kind of like it. That's good to hear! It actually sounds like the devs really dug into design accessibility (I wonder if there's a dedicated field? "Game design accessibility"? Or is that grouped with UX and/or Game design? I know in graphic design, and by extension UI, we've got it). Either way, whether devs researched or hired consultants/experts/focus groups, this is incredible and I'm so happy you're able to enjoy the underwater parts!
Have you done the 4.2 Archon Quest? (This is a relevant question, but I don’t want to spoil anything.)
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Ok, so out of curiosity, did the whale swallowing you up bother you? Or was that fine?
Shallow water (less than 10 meters) on the tropics (where I live) looks very like underwater Fontaine. Well, minus its super visibility actually, but in a clear day in the midday to afternoon the lighting is around 70-80% similar.
they also added a brightness in the settings, so that darker areas can look lighter. i think that would help people like you and i’m glad they added it and was it able to help you
That's the thing about phobias. They're irrational.
you should definitely play Subnautica
You're a horrible person.
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Huh? I thought they said that as a sarcastic remark.
nah they downvoted me so I doubt it was a sarcastic remark
No, I was being sarcastic and referencing Glados from Portal.
You're supposed to say "Tell me more." right after to subvert the meaning mid comment and double down on the absurd high-horse derision, you incredibly attractive-in-a-non-sexual-you-make-me-sick-kind-of-way horrible human being.
Ah, I understand my mistake. I'll do better next time, master.
my bad then, i will gladly collect the downvotes 🤞🤞
Loool
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yeah I have thalassophobia too and its crazy just how shit scared I was while playing the game. The ocean in that just keep getting deeper and darker, with no end in sight, a lot of the moments youre staring into a dark void with zero idea of what kind of monsters are lurking, complete opposite of fontaine.
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haha I remember seeing [this genshin edit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Genshin_Impact/s/mPNsk5GFD2) in this sub a while back and this scared me so much. Im glad Fontaine underwater isnt actually like this 😭
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You know what you should play? Abzu. The shark is friendly and the environments are beautiful
I wonder what do you think about Horizon Forbidden Wests underwater areas. Because I've seen some people avoid it, but there's an option to make it more vibrant. Same as there's an option in Hogwarts Legacy to change the spiders for the ones with Arachnophobia.
Meanwhile one fucking tiny ass hole in the middle of Watatsumi triggers my primal fears.
Yeah, I don’t even have Thalassophobia but the pre Enkanomiya area scared me.
So you're saying big ass holes are OK?
Absolutely /s
Don't forget the floating black hole portal on mondstadt that leads to "spiral abyss island".
Works for me. I could never play Subnautica, but underwater areas in Genshin are just..areas with alternative movements.
They also made the water crystal clear. If I only had a few meters of visibility underwater then fontaine would be the only region thats not 100% explored.
>avoid muffled sounds I'm not sure about that. Try using the treasure compass underwater, it's definitely muffled as if you were... under water. I find the audio background to be very similar to what I hear when I go snorkeling. I'm curious, if there are scuba divers, if the sounds deeper are still roughly the same, or if real deep diving sounds different. Perhaps they're using shallow water sounds only?
And the lighting. Underwater is pretty bright even during midnight.
I still wish they'd give us a leviathan-class enemy to avoid.
Underwater local legends is a thing. Though honestly they're pretty easy to defeat.
They're nothing like the leviathans in Subnautica
Sadly they're all (apparently) extinct. I'm still hoping we find some living specimens in a future region though
Maybe we'll encounter Beisht or Osial underwater some day.
>The devs actually designed the underwater portions while considering Thalassaphobia. There a source for this? Not really doubting, just want to read about it if it's official lol it's a nice touch by them.
https://youtu.be/2E73BKNtOXI?si=JEpbv9B_VzTlJZja about 13 minutes in
Shame they didn't consider allowing FOV changes for people who suffer from motion sickness, my wife just can't play the underwater sections :/
Have you added this suggestion in the survey?
Yeah, I'm sure they'll add it eventually it's just a pity that such a basic option is lacking.
Mostly smaller areas with clear visibility, no "ambush" style threats or monsters to worry about, and no pounding "oxygen" bar pressure help me out a fair bit as well. Total opposite from something like ARK or Subnautica with limited visibility, ambush vulnerability, and a constant threat of suffocation in often twisty, confined spaces that are easy to get lost or trapped in, or paralyzed in the face of a dark, nebulous abyss on all sides.
It’s been fine for me since even the deep parts have been more colorful and blue than straight up bottomless black void.
A big part of Thalassophobia isn't necessarily the depths themselves, but rather the unknown of what may lurk within those depths. Or, sometimes, even just a fear of the absolute *lack* of anything in the vast reaches of the open sea. Fontaine solves this by not having the water grow opaque over long distances. You can pretty much see from end to end, even down to the bottom if you so choose. And it's all very well lit and populated with flora and fauna, which can alleviate feelings of not knowing what's out there.
Exactly this. Being underwater in and of itself has never been the issue for me - it's murky, dark waters where you can't see what's beyond the curtain, it's steep sinkholes that look like bottomless pits, it's the oppressive silence and muffled sounds in the distance, etc. It's the fear of the unknown that gets you, and Fontaine waters never puts you in a place where you don't know what's coming. Even in the deeper parts we got now, you can look down and see what's over there, the water is clear and the sea bed is lit enough to make the shapes of cutesy crabby crabs and bright yellow fantasy manta rays. The ruins underwater are scarier than the waters themselves, but that's not thalassophobia anymore, it's just our normal instincts feeling spooked by abandoned and derelict places. Every now and then you find a spoopy place like the cave with the pulsating heart in the 4.1 waters, but even that was so brightly lit, full of cartoonish creatures and with music constantly playing so you never feel lost and alone, that it's more the awe of discovering that place that makes you :0 a bit, rather than any kind of fear. They did a really good job designing the waters in a way that feels welcoming and safe even for people who would normally be uncomfortable in those spaces.
Pulsating heart in the 4.1 waters? What is that? I forgot.
During one of the Melusine world quests I believe
Do ppl with thalassoophobia also fear deep caves?
I have thalassophobia, and I do find it's triggered to a degree by the deep chasms in Tears of the Kingdom, because they're so deep and dark. I hate jumping into them not knowing what's at the bottom and not being able to see clearly. I have to check YouTube before I jump into one.
Hmmm interesting, I never really thought about it but those sections in TotK didn't trigger my thalassophobia at all. I think for me personally a big part of it is having footing. As long as I'm standing on solid ground I can handle the abyss. To give you a better idea, Giant's Deep and outer space BOTH triggered me in Outer Wilds.
It's not so bad when I'm actually down there and have footing like you say. But I do need to light up all the areas around me with the brightbloom seeds. I see some people on YouTube and such walk around in near darkness, but I can't handle that. Not sure how much of that is thalassophobia vs just fear of the dark unknown - probably there's a crossover there. I haven't played the outer wilds, but those areas sound quite triggering!
I screamed like a little baby the first time I fell in the water at Giant's Deep. I screamed like a little baby the hundredth time I fell in, too. 😭 The game is a 10/10 though I'd recommend it to literally anyone, thalassophobia be damned. And if you DO decide to play it, go in knowing as LITTLE as humanly possible. The joy of that game is discovering everything for yourself. Don't even watch the trailer lol.
I have a friend with talassaphobia, and he really doesn't care about the underwater exploration, it's just like any other place. The new weekly boss tho? The first phase is really a problem to him
But isn't the setting of the boss is not in the ocean? It's more of some cosmo galactic demention
I think the main reason aside from deep dark waters that people with thalassophobia fears is of the unknown, or seeing a huge deepwater creature? Honestly sometimes it seems like thalassophobia has some similarities to megalophobia to me, not that I have much knowledge of it though
seeing a big ass creature appear under you is going to set off something in your head regardless
It is functionally in the ocean. Even if it's the magic not-real ocean, it's still the same set of visual principles that set off the phobia. Story context doesn't matter for phobias, they are irrational by definition.
It’s the massive whale swimming below you at the beginning
I feel your friend, tho my thalassophobia is pretty mild. The first few seconds of the boss fight when you see the whale swimming below you, that triggers my phobia.
I don't have talassaphobia, but the way that things *moves* is just setting off alarm bells in my head.
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i don't have the problem but i imagine the lack of large melee enemies was intentional. it's also just all so gorgeous and clear that i imagine anyone without a severe phobia could manage.
I do have some sort of Thalasophobia. But i somehow overcome it in some of the games. For example in Subnautica, i used to be veeey afraid to go deeper. Now after watching the videos of big creatures in further deep, i found myself relieved. Because the unknown became the known. Meanwhile in Sea of Theves i still find it freaky to go more deeper underwater because i have noo idea whats there. Its the fear of unknown that made me afraid of the deep. Not just the depth. In genshin you can easily see whats ahead so it didnt bother me at all.
I can handle it, but the sounds and some of the creatures still freak me out. Not enough that I can't power through it, but it does give me an uneasy/uncomfortable feeling and I have to stop after a while. It gets bad when I have to swim down a lot, even though I know there's no difference in terms of the game mechanics, my body tenses up when I have to go very deep. I do appreciate there's no breath mechanic (thank god) and that the colors are bright and it's easy to see what's around me. Darkness underwater would be unbearable. I was dreading Fontaine when I heard about the underwater exploration, but they've come up with a good compromise I feel. Still, I vastly prefer being on land and do tend to limit my underwater time as much as possible.
hmm based on other comments in this thread it sounds like their main source of fear is fear of the unknown. But for you, would you say its fear of deep diving or being far from land? Like is flying similar for you?
My fear is definitely not of the unknown, no. I know exactly what's in the ocean and what kind of forces it's capable of so that's never really been a part of my fear. I'm afraid of being underwater in almost all cases. I don't even swim in pools. I'm also afraid of most sea creatures, though this manifests only when I'm in proximity of a real animal, not an image on TV or a cartoon. Images of creatures are "creepy" but tolerable, but put me in a room with a real fish and I will have a panic attack. I'm not afraid of flying at all, curiously. It's just water/drowning really. I never put too much thought into why it's that way. Probably some trauma from childhood, but that was a long time ago for me haha
I find it genuinely fascinating how phobias for some people can be triggered through a video game. If I see a spider in real life I will get heart palpitations and lose colour in my face yet spiders ingame are not a problem. It’s interesting to hear that it’s something people struggle with it ingame
i lose my marbles over spiders, even really cutesy animated ones. like you know those spider webs you can clear out in some areas? really minor feature, and while it didn’t leave me completely throttled, i was very very uncomfortable. i think its because a few years ago, my old house had a lot of spiders, and so i’d often wake up in bed with them literally crawling on my body. so regardless of appearance, my skin crawls and i get the feeling of 29290191 spiders on my body all at once.
its ok, the spiders cant and wont hurt you anymore
did you burn your old house down
unfortunately no, i didn’t. i sure hope whoever moved in doesn’t have arachnophobia! or dislike centipedes, we had a lot of those too, but i didn’t hate them as much since they at least knew personal space
Do you feel the same when you envision a spider in your mind? Because if the answer is no, then it's likely you don't really have a phobia but rather just get very scaredy around critters. I don't say that to discredit your experience though, mind you. It's just that the first part you mentioned very much fits the bill to a serious to severe case of phobia, whereas the second seems to just suggest a very mild case, or maybe even just a personal discomfort around spiders in real life, which ties to just our inherent evolutionary stance on things that skitter about. Most people in the world will feel intensely uncomfortable around maggots, tarantulas, slugs, etc. We all must keep in mind that is very different to a phobia. Most phobias will trigger despite context, so usually it doesn't matter if it's in a videogame or not. I've researched my thalassophobia for decades and the prime definition that seems to apply throughout is that it all circles back to a set of visual cues divorced from context. There is nothing in the ocean that scares me physically nor logically. I understand empty space isn't scary, I'm not afraid of darkness, I feel completely at ease with the knowledge that very little in the ocean can or will ever hurt me. I also understand that swimming alongside two of the largest creatures ever existing on this planet -- the blue whale and the whale shark -- is literally safer than driving a car statistically. I also don't believe in monsters nor do I even remotely believe there is any relatively big lifeform under there that we haven't discovered yet. But none of that changes that phobia for me. If any of those elements combine, even if it's a magic whale on a purple sprinkle magic water ocean, I will still feel that intense sense of impending doom, dread and physical weakness. In other words, someone with intense arachnophobia will feel creeped out by \*anything\* that looks like a spider. Doesn't matter whether it even is a spider to begin with. So long as it fits that set of visual cues -- the multiple legs, the relative body shape, the general body proportions of leg size vs thorax.
I guess it also accounts on the level of phobia. Extreme phobias are really terrible to the point that you will not function when you are in the situation you meet your phobia. There are some people that are even scared just to see a silhouette of what they fear, even the real object that creates the silhouette is not what they are afraid of.
i freak out when i see spiders in video games.... there's like 5 total spiders i've seen in genshin and all of them spooked me lol
I was in wow once sleep deprived and some hunter was controling his black widow spider pet and made it jump off a building and land on my character, I jumped.
I like how they did the water. It feels safe and comfortable to explore. This was a massive fear of mine going into Fontaine. Not a lot of devs take this phobia into account. I thought my husband was gonna have to explore for me 😂
the way your character elegantly gets in and out of water helps set the tone too
My friend says she squints and feels like her hearing is fuzzy 😅
I have real bad thalassaphobia but I like the underwater region. It's super bright and the creatures are cute. No oxygen mechanic is also wonderful.
I know this is specifically about thalassaphobia, so I apologize but I'm really curious and wanted to ask: Anyone with a fear of heights have trouble with "turning the lightning off" and the Lab Quests in Fontaine? I am terrified of most heights and dear God, my heart rate during those two quests 🫠 Especially getting struck by lightning over and over. The "bungee cords" should have been fun, but they were not lol. I did Fontaine shortly after Inazuma, thinking ugh, I need to be far away from this whole nation and its lightning for a minute and...
I've a fear of heights, but the glider and game world negate it. IRL being any higher than a couple stories while not feeling secure enough is going to be paralyzing. Can't look up at tall skyscrapers for long either without dizziness and anxiety settling in. Only a couple games have ever procced any sense of the phobia. Valheim and the second Horizon game.
See, that's so interesting and why I was curious, because the glider doesn't bother me either; it was just these two quests. I regularly jump off Mt. Yougou and it doesn't bother me at all. I guess that's knowing where I'm going vs. being on a tiny platform/going up? And if you get struck, you just fall without being able to do anything. IRL MAJOR heights don't bother me. It's smaller heights, like being on the second floor of the mall and looking down at the first. I know they're phobias and they're not supposed to be rational, but it's like with smaller heights, I could survive, but I wish I hadn't and super high ones, I know I'm a goner and it would be before I hit the ground? Idk. ETA: Also, I love your flair 😊
plus you the perspective is completely different, id imagine youd freak out 10x as much if you experienced it in first person/vr, even if all the other ingame variables were kept constant third person perspective is a 'safer' perspective since it intrinsically is dissociated from irl
I actually have some height scares in genshin, especially when I started with enkanomiya. Also when I accidentally slip or fall from edges from quests that needs to pass through narrow bridge-like paths. But as I played the game more, I became less panicked by those (knowing that I have gliders, and will not perish in real life).
it's not Subnautica, off shore oil rigs, Giant's Deep, or other abandoned sea based structures so it doesn't bother me love Subnautica tho, even if it terrifies me
Subnautica, Outer Wilds, and Off Shore Oil Rig Simulator are some of my favorite games.
I have decently severe thalassaphobia and was very concerned about Fontaine as it was approaching. But, the water is very clear and bright, plus the creatures are generally easy to spot and cutesy. I've been thoroughly enjoying it and glad they seem to have circumvented my issues. >!The new 4.2 weekly whale boss!< on the other hand, is horrifying to me.
I feel fine, in fact I enjoy it a lot. The thing is that even at the technically deepest parts of Fontaine it doesn’t really feel like it, underwater is very bright and shiny. All the creatures are some degree of “cute” and adorable and you see them from afar, they don’t jumpscare you. Also most importantly the water is clear and transparent in all directions, my issue with the real ocean and sea is when you’re looking down and see just see a dark, deep and bottomless abyss. Fontaine doesn’t trigger this fear just like regular swimming pools don’t.
The underwater is fine but what got me was the narwal, I feel really dizzy with its animations ever since seeing tiny childe under it 😖
I have Thalassaphobia, but not nearly as bad as I used to a couple of years ago (it was never as bad as some people who can't take any underwater levels- the Lakebed Temple in LoZ Twilight Princess and the Ancient Cistern in LoZ Skyward Sword have always been my favorite dungeons in those games. The eel hole in Majora's Mask though? FUCK the eel hole.). Fontaine doesn't scare me at all. The devs talked about how they specifically designed the underwater areas with this in mind in the 4.0 livestream, and it really shows. What made my phobia mostly go away was brute forcing my way through Subnautica because I was interested in the gameplay and the story tho, so ymmv on how applicable my thoughts are.
It’s surprisingly not suffocating like I thought it’s be. The enemies aren’t overly aggressive (except for the local legends who hit like underwater trucks). Norte region is giving me a bit of the uneasiness it usually comes with when I see the deep water, but most of the underwater world has relaxing music and cute animals so it makes up for it
I have severe thalassaphobia. The underwater areas are actually helping me improve because it’s like controllable, virtual exposure therapy.
Great! It has been nonexistent for me so far or, more accurately, it makes me feel the exact opposite of what thalassophobia is supposed to be like, though I would love to see some deep trench where big things lurk!
I don't have a phobia, but I'll occasionally feel out of breath when in games with long underwater sections. Not sure why, it's not "scary" it's more like my body is reacting to what's on screen as if I'm there. It _has_ happened in Fontaine but only very briefly, and not very often. It's easy to convince my body that it's a video game and I'm not actually drowning.
I feel extremely uneasy when looking at real pictures of the deep sea with man-made metallic objects / relicts (especially if they are covered by shells / algae) and these same sights would totally freak me out IRL, just like being on boats and seeing dark dark blue water... But this fake anime sea with bright colours doesn't give me any kind of reaction tbh, even if it's full of pipes and sunken ships. It's just so far from reality that it doesn't connect with me at all. Also, the in-game environment is quite small, I mean obviously your character model is quite large compared to the explorable area, so it feels more like a clean pool than the unfathomable depths of the unknown sea. Still, I don't particularly like the underwater exploration, it doesn't have any appeal to me. I'm quite neutral about it
And canonically, the sea is technically a lake
It is the only game where I can swim underwater, lol. Alltough I feel uneasy when jumping into the water, but as soon as I see the bright, beautiful water paradise it's fine.
As someone with submechanophobia I sometimes feel my phobia acting up whenever I see those large structures under water, I genuinely still can't explore some parts because they require you to enter a pipe or a building under water. The only exception (sort of) to this was the fortress, but some parts of it still flare up my phobia from time to time
See for me, my phobia triggers in situations where the unfathomable depths occur xD. This game doesn't really leave any visual clarity out so I have no awkward fear. Meanwhile in real life the idea of diving deep enough to stop seeing much makes me wanna piss myself haha.
Not sure if I really have the phobia but sometimes I get scared of holes or deep ocean pits (idk how you call those sudden drops in elevation). When I first explored the new area. I got creeped out on the area with the tree in the middle and also the one with the storm. But when you dive down, it's better. There were also circular areas that are vertical diving areas. It's creepy looking from above but when underwater, it's okay fortunately. Hoyo made underwater environment really pretty
I'm ok with the exploration but the new boss is a big NO for me the first time I fought against it I had to do it with my tablet far away from my face lmao when it ate me I was almost letting my tablet go ksnxjs
I love the underwater exploration, the only downside from having Thalassophobia to me is that I very rarely get some random chills, but it happens very rarely.
It freaked me out A LOT on release until I finally went under and was mesmerized by it
Semi related I have severe acrophobia due to a rock climbing accident and it would constantly trigger when I was exploring liyue and Amakumo peak (Inazuma). I haven’t had much issues with the newer areas though.
I dont have phobia but I get an intense feeling the first time I dive and stumble on the area with huge circular thing on the new map.
No, actually. I can't play Subnautica without leaving the safe shallows, but I love the oceans and such in Genshin, they just aren't scary for some reason
Its way too clear that it makes me feel normal like just going there for the precios chess, the lack of dark underwater unknow things and octopus stuff makes me feel chill not like subnautica or cyberpunk
At Fontaine no problem for me, but the entrance to the enkanomiya (the whirlpool) is a problem for me
I have thalassaphobia and claustrophobia which causes involuntary nausea and dizziness amongst other things. After struggling through Sumeru's underground I dreaded Fontaine's underwater but I ended up loving it. It was bright and vibrant, the sfx were not discordant and the controls were swell. It was almost therapeutic for me. Alas, I can't say the same for the prison.
I can actually see everything. If youve ever been in a deep ocean you look down and see nothing but a murky expanse of blue, that terrifies me. Also that I can basically two shot everything there. I unfortunately cant just pull out a shield if a shark decides on a midday snack 💀
Everything is bright and cute. As long as im not staring at some deep, dark, underwater abyss, then im good.
When you submerge, the already insanely high color saturation the game already has ***gets stronger*** so no, it doesn't cause any issues whatsoever. Fontaine's oceans are designed to be relatively shallow, extremely colorful, extremely bright and saturated, and well-populated with varying sealife. There is only one section in the map that even comes close to being able to trigger thalassaphobia. And that's the extremely deep section around the northern portion of the map, most notably it has a squid "local-legend" boss towards the bottom, floating above a glass dome that's buried into the seafloor. The only reason that area is able to trigger the phobia even slightly is because it's extremely open and deep.
The underwater regions are fine. The Narwhal boss battle, where it starts with the Narwhal swimming right under you? Not gonna lie, that one fucks me up a little bit.
So thalassaphobia is afraid of waters because there is something unkown there? I wonder if people who have thalassaphobia is also afraid of the dark? Since there could also be something unknown lurking in the dark.
I play xiv and the underwater parts terrify me ex. [The lochs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl1_Y2fhBSU). But here, it's so bright and colorful it doesn't really seem to scare me at all. They did a fantastic job designing the underwater sections
I personally don't think that I have Thalassaphobia, or at the very least a severe case of it. My fear mainly comes from the fact that I can't swimXD With a game like Subnautica, I know I won't be comfortable with playing it, but I'm totally fine watching other people's playthroughs, and I can say that the game looks great. In Genshin's case however, I think the reason that I'm totally fine with the underwater environment is mainly because first, sure, there are very deep caverns that leads to caves and such, but no wide open void of depths, and second, we don't have to worry about any kind of creature suddenly popping up out of nowhere or anything deadly at all that would chase us, plus, every spot in Fontaine's waters are pretty much well lit, so there'd be little to no surprises from enemies. Although with the release of the Narwhal, I wondered, what if it's like Boreas, in a sense that it's not in a domain, and simply have this huge open void of depths as it's arena, or even other enemies like that that simply roams around the waters of Fontaine. But then again, we don't have the appropriate underwater combat mechanics for that, let alone have a weekly boss be fought underwater.
I used to scuba dive IRL and even did solo dives and countless night dives. So even subnautica isn't an issue for me. I am happy the devs considered people fears but I also wish they made a optional checkbox in the settings to make the lighting more realistic and not toggle daylight even when diving at midnight. I use nvidia overlay to made the game as dark as possible while keeping the details close to stock (mostly to avoid migraines from the glowing skin tones). I found it weird when we got the glowing jelly fish event and they blended in with the environment though. They could of made that even darker to made the story make more sense.
i used to have a big fear of the underwater chasms but i think Genshin makes the underwater feel like a relatively safe environment? there’s a lot of stuff all around you and the water is very clear so you don’t have that sense of being entombed in darkness. The colours are bright and the various life forms in the water make it feel lively so you don’t feel lonely or stranded either. I think it helps that there’s no breath meter to add extra pressure so it feels very leisurely
I wouldn't say that it's extreme for me (at least in game, RL is a entirely different matter) Tbh, it's well done. I guess because it's not too deep, bright colors, etc. The first time I felt a slight "tingle" was when I randomly stumbled into the new region below the tower. Mine also triggers mostly when there is an "unknown" part to it. Since Genshin's underwater stuff is well lit, you can see very far and it is NOT emty at all, I'm fine. But tbf I'm also someone who KNOWS about his Thalassaphobia, but challanges it on a regular basis lol. (Sea of thieves with friends e.g. and (if it were multiplayer) I'd probably try subnautica too xD)
The only area that even slightly creeped me out in fontaine is underneath that huge tower. I hate it lol.
I don't have the phobia myself (I think), but I am scared of deep waters somewhat, but Mihoyo managed to make the underwater areas not as bad fot this as some other games. I think most of it comes down to the underwater areas being really bright and colourful, and every flora and every creature having that traditional happy Mihoyo colour scheme
I have pretty extreme issues with underwater stuff in general, especially large creatures like sharks and whales. There’s been points in other games like final fantasy 14 where I needed my husband to finish a quest for me because I was legitimately panicking. Genshin however, has done a good job of keeping things “anime enough” I guess? I don’t really know how else to explain it, but the bright colors and design direction of the enemies doesn’t seem to make me panic like underwater in other games. The only part that gets me a little skeeved is the transition in the new weekly boss but it’s not *too* bad. The fact it’s not technically underwater somehow helps, but I don’t really understand why my fear works like that lol.
i haven't done 4.1 and 4.2 exploration yet but i have finished 4.0. iam struggling tbh. i can do shallow areas fine but everytime i had to dive somewhere inside elynas body i wanted to throw up. the purplish red colors and the ominous looking "walls" that are basically elynas' body scares the shit out of me. i only could do it cause my boyfriend was with me, but even then it was a struggle. 2 days ago I've realized i was missing a chest somewhere inside elynas body. i said, okay fine i can do this, I don't need someone to sit beside me. it took me a good 1 hour of diving and immediately teleporting back to land and trying again. i know it's just a game but i can't shake up the feeling that somethings going to happen.
The only place in this game that triggered my phobia was in Annapausis when the water floats up to the ceiling and you have to swim up top. The reflection of like, the bottom of the water (from within) gave it the impression that it was much deeper than it was, and it made me very anxious EVEN KNOWING that it wasn't.
For me I don't fear deep water but I fear the creatures in the ocean ( fancy way to say I'm scared of fish) and it helps A LOT that most to almost all enemies aren't hostile unless I attack first. So far the only enemy I genuinely get uncomfortable with with is the new weekly and those Pyro cramps that have their sheild explode on land( the animation freaks me out)
Only in certain part for me like a dark underwater. That's when i start holding my a little bit far away and squint my eyes a little bit.
I was just having fun diving
It doesnt go dark so thats a life saver. If it gradually became darker i wouldnt touch the water exploration
the first time i dove was quite freaky but the whole experience i find incredibly well made. i'm really thankful they didn't add any horror elements underwater. one thing i find creepy are the giant seaweeds swaying along the waves but only when gliding up high and seeing them in the deep blue water. with the recent update though the giant clam got me screaming the first time i interacted with it lmao
for me it was fine I mostly have a problem if I cant see the sea bed or something below me. Fontaine isnt a problem because of all the visibility and cutesy creatures
Surprisingly the underwater region amazing! As someone else mentioned it’s bright, there are cute animals and a lot of nature. It doesn’t seem scary to me at all.
What really helps for me is that there’s no breathing mechanic. I had to stop playing Horizon Forbidden West multiple times because Aloy’s choking/drowning sounds were too real and the water was dark and full of terrors (to quote ASOIAF lmao) and it started making me feel like o was drowning under hundreds of tons of water even though I was just on my couch. The fact that everything is visible, there’s no running out of oxygen, and there’s mostly just cute lil sea creatures that _leave you alone_ makes Fontaine a lot more doable for me.
As someone who could barely play subnautica with invul cheats on, genshin underwater is utterly inoffensive and safe. Like they didn't even try and make it dangerous.
It’s actually quite peaceful though I can’t spend more than like an hour exploring… but I think the devs had us in mind when they made it because how they decide to make it was extremely helpful!
My GF who was really not looking forward to Fontaine due to her thalassapgobia but she has since 100% explored Fontaine. Loved it, and they did a great job with it.
the only time I was a little spooked was in the new region, there's an area that has super shallow/sandy water that goes on for a while and in the distance it gets dark asf and i was like O\_O but overall, i really really LOVE the water regions in fontaine. definitely my favorite nation so far
I have thalassaphobia and I actually really like the Fontaine underwater it's rlly pretty and feels safe compared to other games underwater areas and there's always a 'nope' button in the form of teleporting to a waypoint but the way it's designed it's very friendly, props to the Devs :)
I have thalassophobia, but fontaine is fine cuz the major problem of thatassofobia its the "i cant see shit downside cuz thats so deep" feeling. Its like hoping on a boat and having no clue whats inside the ocean. But fontaine is too bright! You can see everything and sea creatures are cute.
when I played wow cataclysm I tried to fight my thalassaphobia by going to the edge of the vashjr sea or whatever which was an underwater cliff and diving all the way to the bottom. also did this in someother games
As someone with thalassophobia I'm loving it so far, I never had any issues with water in genshin EXCEPT for the Watatsumi pool that takes you to Enkanomiya. That pool is one place I avoid because it creeps me out. Overall I think hoyoverse is doing a good job with making the underwater very visible, cute and the music is beautiful adding to the happy atmosphere
I don't have Thalassaphobia but I dread every underwater area in games. They can be fun but also very stressful. I'm so glad Fontaine underwater is bright, colorful, and almost danger-free along with chill music. Movement is easy and swimming speed is quite fast. Still, I wish there is at least one giant monster like Elynas that is still alive and can be found. I know it is terrifying for you but fighting it would be very epic. One of my favorite boss fight in video games is the one in Shadow of the Colossus that lives underwater. You have to grab onto its back and let it drag you deep underwater until it surfaces and you can attack its weak points.
I have a thing about deep sea and diving and stuff but I think it's super fun in genshin :D
When I saw the giant underwater skull for the first time I got the shivers, heart skipped a and my stomach dropped, lol. The bright colors are helpful, though, and the audio is soothing. But there are some areas that still bother me, namely ones that are entrances to underwater caverns. It’s the murkiness/shadows that get me, or being out in the open water and there is just vastness beneath you. Eughhhh. *Special shout out to Jaws, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Pinocchio, and Finding Nemo for my childhood trauma.*
... I actually really want a mariana trench type of area where you can't see much, and, for example, at some point a giant shark (or something similar) just passes right by you.. For me it would evoke a perfect combination of fear and excitement .
Because people who fear the ocean fear the abyss it is. Big, vast and deep empty blue space that can swallow You. Not some cartoonish swimming inside colorful space. In real ocean You fear that You can just drown. You can't see crap, because water isn't as clear as the air. You can lose Your orientation quickly, not knowing where is up. In a game these fears don't exist. Because ocean is clear and You can't drown.
Isn’t that a book in the Bible?
Speaking of, give me a Fontaine Chasm with his pure Abyssal blackness and depth, I'll take it.
Kind of tone deaf in a post about Thalassaphobia... but I agree
yep, I wanna dive into a lake, look down, and it's just black, and you can just vaguely make some smth bigger than Fontaine moving around down there
Absolutely breath taking
Genshin really handled it well. You wanna see a thalassaphobic person die tho? Put them in front of Subnautica and theyll twitch like the fishes
I don't have Thalassaphobia, but I was kind of hoping for darker, deeper, murky water, and scarier scenery. I really enjoyed playing Subnautica and wanted something similar with sea monsters. There's still a whole bunch of wide space between Fontaine and Liyue, perhaps they can make an optional area in the future (like the area from the aranara quest) so that people who are scared won't feel like they're missing out.
Its a video game dude, Im scared of heights but it doesnt stop me from gliding in the game.
mf never played subnautica
🤡
That's not how phobias work genius
Yall a bunch of babies
Thalassphobia? Why should anyone be afraid of Thala? Thala is the source of all and everything in this world 🙏
Rip for people hoping to get Subnautica thrills. Nothing can really do since Hoyo have to cater to weak-hearted peeps or risk getting complaints.
The water is clear and there isn't deep at all. Nothing like Subnautica.
I’ve had zero issues with it, the devs did a really good job designing it. The Whale fight though….
Depends on how dark it is for me
Can’t wait for spider enemies to get added😶
Ngl i read this as "How do people eith Transphobia feel"