Can You Kill Creatures in Subnautica 2? This Mod Has Players Split

Subnautica 2 has been drawing debate on PC over one specific limitation: you cannot kill hostile creatures in the base game. Now modder jibotron has released the Killable Creatures mod, and PC Gamer says it does exactly what the name promises. Once installed, the player’s built-in survival multi-tool hammer deals 20 damage, while the sonic resonator deals 50 damage. In theory, that makes every sea creature killable.

What this argument really exposes, though, is not just whether players should be allowed to fight back. It is what kind of relationship Subnautica 2 is trying to build between the player and its world. The game’s core idea has consistently leaned toward reverence for nature and coexistence with its creatures. In that context, the developers’ stance has always been fairly plain: this is not a killing game. For players who specifically want to slaughter monsters, the team has even suggested Sons of the Forest instead.

I can still understand why some players are immediately drawn to this mod. The ocean is full of small creatures that repeatedly startle you, and that irritation builds up over time. That is especially true for those little blue fish that keep lunging into your space. Once or twice, it feels like a prank. After that, it becomes genuinely annoying. Being able to kill one yourself delivers a very direct sense of release, and that emotional appeal is real.

What stands out to me, though, is how restrained the mod’s design actually is. It does not add new weapons or force the game into full hunting mode. Instead, it simply gives damage values to tools you already carry: 20 for the hammer, 50 for the resonator. That makes the mod feel less like a total rewrite of the game’s identity and more like an extra layer of player choice.

The problem is that, according to PC Gamer’s hands-on test, the feature is more cathartic than useful. Even the relatively low-threat Mango Biter still takes time to bring down. You have to chase it around and hit it repeatedly with the resonator, turning the whole thing into a tedious process. It does not really feel like hunting. It feels more like an exhausting back-and-forth that burns through your patience faster than your target’s health.

That is why, to me, the core of this debate is not "should you be allowed to kill things?" It is "what experience is Subnautica 2 actually trying to create?" The official version wants you to feel uncertainty, vulnerability, and restraint under the sea. That is a coherent design vision. Mod players, meanwhile, are arguing for sandbox freedom: if something bites you, you should at least be allowed to retaliate. Both positions make sense. They are just speaking to different needs.

What feels off is when some of that discussion jumps straight from "you cannot kill creatures" to "therefore the game is less fun." That is too blunt a reading, and it misses what makes Subnautica 2 appealing in the first place. Its strength is not efficient combat cleanup. It is the tension of keeping your distance, testing boundaries, and gradually learning how this ecosystem works. That emotional texture matters more than whether every encounter ends with a corpse.

So if you are here mainly for combat satisfaction, the developers pointing you toward Sons of the Forest may sound blunt, but the logic is sound. If you are here for exploration, atmosphere, and ecological interaction, the base game’s approach is the more complete one. As for whether PC players should install this mod, my answer is simple: treat it as a venting tool if you want, but not as the real way to play Subnautica 2.