A survival knife is among the first tools that a player can craft, and they can use it to stab wildlife in self-defense. No wounds are ever visible, and the only indication of injury is a cloud of yellowish blood in the water.
Nearly all of the game's named characters are dead by the time the player learns of these people, and the only traces left of them are audio logs recorded prior to their deaths. No bodies are ever discovered by the player.
A creature called the gasopod is known for defending itself by releasing clouds of noxious gas from pods on its tail, which is accompanied by something like a farting sound effect and the creature making a call that sounds like giggling. Encountering the creatures and/or dealing with their defense mechanism is not required for progression.
There are two "shark" enemies- Sand Sharks and Bonesharks, both of which are aggressive and will attack the player if they get too close. Stalkers are also somewhat sharklike, being large aquatic creatures with a mouthful of sharp teeth. While dealing with them is not strictly necessary for progression, it is hard to avoid encountering them at least once.
Dependant on the player's actions, but if you hatch a cuddlefish and move them to open water, there is no way to pick them back up to them home with you.
Not only are there many predatory fish in the ocean, but as the story progresses, your character intercepts some garbled messages from one "agent" to another, which imply that they are hunting you.
You can find empty bottles of alcohol (beer? vodka? i cant tell) in abandoned bases but it doesnt get mentioned in the story or show alcohol at all other than that
Various creatures throughout the game can be found with green pustules on their skin.
Later in the story after the player character reaches a certain location, the same green pustules appear on the PC's hands for a cutscene, but these can be covered by wearing gloves.
This can happen and it’s mentioned in the second game which proves canonically people have been fatally injured from dropping off of flying animals or falling off literal mountains. Which are both ways you can die in-game.
At least one of the Sea Emperor’s children is stillborn after being forced to hatch. Its preserved corpse can be found on a surgical table in the Primary Containment Facility. The death is not on-screen, but the corpse is.
Some creatures (mostly the leviathans) can get close to you if you’re not careful and are very loud/aggressive. Warpers can teleport you to them. Also there is a scene where the sea emperor leviathan speaks to you telepathically with no warning.
There is no outright possession, but there is a fish that can hypnotise you, which forces you to slow down and stare at it. This can result in it killing you, or you drowning.
There is no misophonia in the game, but people with misophonia could be disturbed by the eating/drinking sound effects whenever you eat or drink food or water.
This one is probably based on the player's comfort levels, but there are a few small pods and ship corridors that might feel claustrophobic to some, so I'm voting yes just in case
The Mesmer hypnotizes you with flashing lights like it’s real world terrestrial counterpart, the cuttlefish. A similar effect happens when you teleport or are communicated to via telepathy.
There used to be a sex joke in the game where if you enter and exit the seamoth vehicle enough times it would say "I like it when you go inside me", but it was removed.
The player character, Ryley Robinson, temporarily acquires a fictional disease called Kharaa. They survive though and manage to find a cure for the infection. Many creatures also have this disease.
not exactly, you can hit creatures with underwater vehicles, and you can potentially die from a glitch of getting out of the "seamoth" vehicle, running it into yourself and getting damaged. but aside from that, no.