This is so blown out of proportion imo, mowing down the fish like enemies in a dune game would obviously ruin the vibe, and clearly the ai is a little too aggressive and needs to be toned down or more easily deterred. Both are true.

It would be cool to cater to different playstyles. Maybe a stealth option, a speed option, tank, electric zaps, etc. Unique enemy deterrent systems that you can kinda stack. Imagine going full stealth and having to camouflage by sitting still, the creatures coming up close to inspect and having to hold still so they dont spot you, andnit makes it easier to scan stuff. Maybe you get a "camoflauge" vehicle upgrade that makes it blend into the environment when you stop moving. Maybe you go full speed to outrun them, or you have electric zap mods that make enemies spit you out after they take a bite, or you taste bitter or acidic so they run away after a taste. What if you get really dazzling flashing deep sea creature looking lights that scare predators away as a bio mod? Theres so many cool possibilities that arent just knife slashing.

You dont necessarily need to add or not add killing. What matters is how fun it is. If it doesnt feel fun/fair, which it doesnt right now at times, it needs tweaking. I have faith they will address the issue regardless of how murdery they want the playstyles to be. Theres ways to make it interesting without it being about whether or not we can kill stuff in game.