🌊 Submerged: A Subnautica Survival Diary — Log 4: Extinction Prevention (Mostly)

“Turns out nuclear safety training is optional when you’re the only one left alive.”

Mode: Survival | Platform: Steam Deck

Post-Reaper Priorities

After my last close encounter with the Reaper Leviathan, I decide that maybe, just maybe, going silver-hunting anywhere near them is a bad idea. I still need that silver for my Propulsion Cannon, but I’d rather not earn another traumatic underwater flashback. I remember some sandstone outcrops near Lifepod 17, so I head there instead.

Luck is finally on my side. I find the silver pretty quickly, head back to my lifepod, and get to work. A few crafted materials later, I’m officially armed with a Propulsion Cannon. I briefly consider testing it on the Reaper — just to see what happens — but deep down, I know it would end poorly for me and hilariously for the Reaper.

Back to the Aurora

Feeling brave (or foolish), I head back to the Aurora. Naturally, my Seaglide’s battery dies halfway there, because Subnautica loves timing like that. After swapping it out, I make my way inside and retrace my previous steps. The crates that blocked me before? One satisfying Propulsion Cannon blast later, and I’m through.

I’m not sure what I expected — treasure, danger, maybe another PDA full of corporate nonsense — but what I definitely didn’t expect was a locked door with a keypad. For a moment, I almost give up. Then I remember my PDA might know something I don’t (which is most things), and there it is — a door code: 1454. It takes a few attempts — because typing underwater is hard — but eventually, the door slides open.

The Reactor Room

Behind it lies the reactor room, complete with glowing warnings telling me not to enter without training. Fortunately, no one’s around to stop me — and the ship is literally falling apart — so I take that as an invitation.

Radiation warning blaring, I dive in. The place is crawling with those little aggressive sea pests who’ve apparently decided this nuclear chamber is home sweet home. I’m too focused on repairing breaches to care. Twelve welds later, the Aurora’s no longer in danger of turning the ocean into a radioactive soup. One crisis averted, and I didn’t even vaporise myself. I’ll take that as a win.

Lifepod 4 and the Sunbeam

On my way back to Lifepod 5, I spot something bobbing on the surface. It’s an upside-down lifepod — number 4, to be exact. Curiosity wins, and I investigate. Inside, I find a PDA and a Creature Decoy blueprint. Probably not a coincidence that this pod didn’t make it.

Back at my base of operations, I reward myself with some cooked fish and clean water before checking the latest radio transmission. It’s from the Sunbeam — they’ve heard my signals and are getting closer. They just need to find somewhere to land.

Awaiting Rescue

Not sure what I’ll do while I wait. I’ve got Seamoth blueprints now, but no sign of the Mobile Vehicle Bay fragments I need to actually build one. So for the time being, it’s just me, my Seaglide, and the ever-expanding ocean of things trying to eat me.

I didn’t expect preventing an extinction-level event to be this quick — though I suspect the planet has plenty more chaos in store. For now, I’ll gather resources, explore nearby wrecks, and keep an eye out for those fragments. And maybe go swimming, just… not too deep.

Continue the journey:
Log 3: The Reaper’s Warning |
Log 5: Scanners, Stalkers & The Elusive Bay

🩸 Derailed & Doomed: A Choo Choo Survival Diary Epilogue: The Train That Didn’t

🩸 Derailed & Doomed — Epilogue: The Train That Didn’t

“Somehow, I lived. Charles didn’t. And yes, I’m framing that sentence.”

Series complete — one survivor, one destroyed monster, zero refunds for train tickets.

Final Whistle: What Victory Looked Like

The last chase was part boss fight, part scrap economy, part improvised flamethrower cookout.
I juggled weapons, patched a screaming locomotive with spare metal like a field surgeon with duct tape,
and learned that momentum beats panic nine times out of ten. On the tenth time, you just pray your train is pointing the right way.

Charles tried the usual: ambush, vanish, reappear somewhere inconvenient. I answered with speed upgrades,
a trigger-happy finger, and the stubborn belief that if I kept the train moving, fate would have to jog to keep up.
When the smoke cleared, only one of us was still on the tracks. Spoiler: it was me.

Why This Game? (And Why Now?)

I first saw Choo Choo Charles on TikTok while it was still in development — one of those “this shouldn’t work, but it absolutely does” moments.
It stuck with me. When I started Survivor Incognito, Charles rolled back onto my radar like a bad idea with great marketing.
This run was me finally cashing that ticket: a strange, scrappy, horror-tinged road trip that fit my brand of portable chaos a little too well.

Triumph, But Make It Practical: What I’d Tell Future Me

  • Speed first, always. You can’t out-tank what you can outrun.
  • The bug spray is your friend. It doesn’t just slow Charles down — it buys you breathing room, literally.
  • Scrap is a second health bar. Hoard it like snacks before a boss rush.
  • Plan your egg route. Less sightseeing, more line-of-best-fit between objectives.
  • Permadeath rule kept me honest. Every choice mattered because strikes mattered.

Lore-ish Debrief: Aftermath on the Island

With Charles gone, the island felt louder in a different way — wind in the trees instead of whistles in the dark.
The tracks creaked like they’d finally exhaled. People came out of their houses and stopped pretending the storm was “just weather.”
It’s not a fairy-tale ending. It’s a train line with fewer teeth marks.

What the Run Meant (to Me and the Blog)

This wasn’t just a boss fight; it was my first proper win added to the blog’s record — proof that I don’t just curate chaos,
I occasionally navigate it. It’s also a reminder that Survivor Incognito isn’t about masochistic difficulty;
it’s about tension you can feel and choices you can live with (even if some of them involve flaming arachnid locomotives).

Supercut: Coming Soon

I’m assembling a full-series supercut — the whole journey from first toot to final kaboom — so you can watch the story unfold without jumping between posts.
It’ll land here when it’s ready.

Credits, Thanks, & Tracks Ahead

Thanks for riding along — in comments, on the blog, and across the socials. Next up: more survival, more diaries, and definitely more poor decisions told with a straight face.
If you’re new here, the hub has everything in one place.

Continue the Journey

🔙 Read the Final Battle Log |
🗂️ Derailed & Doomed — Series Hub |
👀 Survivor’s Dread — Horror Series Hub

🧭 Survivor’s Log — October 2025

Half a year of portable chaos, a quiet Ko-fi launch, major page refreshes, and — finally — a win.

Log Date: November 1, 2025 · Filed By: Survivor Incognito

Six Months in the Wild

Somehow, Survivor Incognito is now over six months old — which feels equal parts surreal and chaotic. What started as a single The Long Dark diary has grown into a sprawling survival archive spanning frozen coastlines, haunted train tracks, and alien oceans. October wasn’t just another month of posts — it marked the blog’s first real milestone: half a year of surviving, thriving, and occasionally panicking.

Maintenance Mode (and Quiet Upgrades)

This month, the site’s foundation got some love. The FAQ, About Me, Rules of Survival, and Surviving, Not Suffering: The Survivor Incognito Philosophy pages all received major updates — cleaner structure, clearer links, and a touch more snark. Not glamorous, but it keeps the camp running smoothly.

Ko-fi: Quietly Deployed

I’ve quietly launched a Ko-fi — no trumpet fanfare, just a small “support the chaos” button. As always, it’s entirely optional; look after yourself first. If you do choose to support, thank you — that caffeine powers a surprising amount of near-misses.

🚂 Victory at Last — Choo Choo Charles

After months of near-misses, permadeath heartbreaks, and wolf-related tragedies, Derailed & Doomed: A Choo Choo Charles Survival Diary ended with something rare: a win. Charles was fast, angry, and deeply cursed — but the train met its match. It’s the first official victory on the blog, wrapped up neatly in time for Halloween. A proper milestone — and a satisfying clang of the bell.

What’s Next?

November marks the return of ongoing stories that took a brief hiatus during the Charles showdown — including Isolation Protocol (claustrophobic corridors), Submerged (alien depths), and 7 Days to Survive (undead neighbours and suspiciously flimsy doors). Each will pick up where they left off — with the usual measured chaos.

And yes — there’s more chaos coming.

Continue the Journey

🎥 Survivor’s Shorts – The Reaper Leviathan Found Me


“I saw it. It saw me. I screamed louder.”

You know that moment in Subnautica when you realise the ocean doesn’t just want you gone — it wants to make a spectacle out of it? This was mine.

Recorded on Steam Deck, this short captures my first (and very unwanted) close encounter with a Reaper Leviathan. Let’s just say I left the area faster than the PDA could update my vitals — and somehow survived with a sliver of health left.

From: Submerged: A Subnautica Survival Diary – Log 3
Platform: Steam Deck
Series: Survivor’s Shorts

Sometimes survival isn’t about bravery. It’s about panic-swimming in the opposite direction and hoping the monster gets bored first.

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