so pretty
Everything a sequel should be and more.
I've owned my copy of the game for a couple years at this point, patiently waiting for the full release. I took a weekend to myself when it dropped and I ended up 100% completing it over the weekend, clocking in about 30 hours of playtime, and boy oh boy did I have a blast. I plan to go back in and craft every upgrade and every vehicle possible, and work on expanding my base.
While the original Subnautica was an impressive and downright incredible yet terrifying experience in and of itself, Below Zero turns it up a notch by bringing you to an even more inhospitable underwater environment: the arctic. With an all-new map, new flora and fauna, multiple quality of life improvements, new tools, new vehicles, updated graphics, a dynamic weather system, a new main protagonist and a fresh plot that expands upon the lore of the first game while introducing new characters and bringing back some old ones, Subnautica Below Zero is a fantastic open-world survival experience like none other.
The new biomes are fresh and unique. None of them really overlap with the biomes from the previous game. You get crazy, twisty coral formations, hydrothermal vents, deep arctic expanses, diverse and beautiful cave systems, and even a biome with gigantic lilypads! And in these new biomes are a plethora of new creatures. Some are cute and friendly, and some you want to stay far away from.
In addition to the underwater exploration, there is even more land exploration in BZ. You can explore the vast reaches of the Glacial Basin and Arctic Spires, uncovering Alterra research facilities and ancient alien structures while interacting with actual land creatures and facing off against a terrifying new leviathan. Much is to be discovered in these areas, and it's a lot of fun!
In terms of the OST, Simon Chylinski is no longer the composer, and in his place Ben Prunty takes the helm, and he delivers on every front. Ben's soundtrack is as good, if not better in some areas, than Simon's, though I enjoy both of theirs equally in their own rights. The atmospheric ambient synth tracks mixed with elements of chillout fits the sci-fi underwater aesthetic perfectly, and I always find myself with the melodies stuck in my head for days.
This game has definitely been one of my top gaming experiences this year, and I will continue to dump hours into it, even replaying it all over again, just because it's so good, and I want to explore every inch of the map and discover everything the game has to offer.
Definitely pick it up if you can!
I've owned my copy of the game for a couple years at this point, patiently waiting for the full release. I took a weekend to myself when it dropped and I ended up 100% completing it over the weekend, clocking in about 30 hours of playtime, and boy oh boy did I have a blast. I plan to go back in and craft every upgrade and every vehicle possible, and work on expanding my base.
While the original Subnautica was an impressive and downright incredible yet terrifying experience in and of itself, Below Zero turns it up a notch by bringing you to an even more inhospitable underwater environment: the arctic. With an all-new map, new flora and fauna, multiple quality of life improvements, new tools, new vehicles, updated graphics, a dynamic weather system, a new main protagonist and a fresh plot that expands upon the lore of the first game while introducing new characters and bringing back some old ones, Subnautica Below Zero is a fantastic open-world survival experience like none other.
The new biomes are fresh and unique. None of them really overlap with the biomes from the previous game. You get crazy, twisty coral formations, hydrothermal vents, deep arctic expanses, diverse and beautiful cave systems, and even a biome with gigantic lilypads! And in these new biomes are a plethora of new creatures. Some are cute and friendly, and some you want to stay far away from.
In addition to the underwater exploration, there is even more land exploration in BZ. You can explore the vast reaches of the Glacial Basin and Arctic Spires, uncovering Alterra research facilities and ancient alien structures while interacting with actual land creatures and facing off against a terrifying new leviathan. Much is to be discovered in these areas, and it's a lot of fun!
In terms of the OST, Simon Chylinski is no longer the composer, and in his place Ben Prunty takes the helm, and he delivers on every front. Ben's soundtrack is as good, if not better in some areas, than Simon's, though I enjoy both of theirs equally in their own rights. The atmospheric ambient synth tracks mixed with elements of chillout fits the sci-fi underwater aesthetic perfectly, and I always find myself with the melodies stuck in my head for days.
This game has definitely been one of my top gaming experiences this year, and I will continue to dump hours into it, even replaying it all over again, just because it's so good, and I want to explore every inch of the map and discover everything the game has to offer.
Definitely pick it up if you can!
This was developed initially as Subnautica DLC. That's clear through and through, and ultimately? That's really fine. As it was with the original, the core experience, exploration, tension, fear, mystery, curiosity, it's all still there in spades, and is just as satisfying as it was before, with several QoL changes that make a big difference. If you enjoyed Subnautica, you'll probably really enjoy this!
That said, having specifically waited through the entire EA period for the full release, I'm a bit disappointed. Everything is just a bit less. Smaller world, smaller story, fewer biomes, fewer terrors. I saw the depth I finished the game at, and based on the original, I thought I had maybe another third to work through. Instead, I was five minutes from the ending. The story is more direct, and it's certainly serviceable, but there are more threads left dangling, and ultimately is far less satisfying as a demonstration of mastery of the world than the spanning quest of the original. I committed the grievous sin of looking at the cut content listed on the wiki, and DARN IF THAT DOESN'T SOUND EXACTLY LIKE WHAT I FELT WAS MISSING HERE.
But I spent 20 happy hours swimming through the oceans of Planet 4546B, and I don't know if I'd ever fully get tired of that. (But I definitely got tired of the land based sections, very quickly.)
That said, having specifically waited through the entire EA period for the full release, I'm a bit disappointed. Everything is just a bit less. Smaller world, smaller story, fewer biomes, fewer terrors. I saw the depth I finished the game at, and based on the original, I thought I had maybe another third to work through. Instead, I was five minutes from the ending. The story is more direct, and it's certainly serviceable, but there are more threads left dangling, and ultimately is far less satisfying as a demonstration of mastery of the world than the spanning quest of the original. I committed the grievous sin of looking at the cut content listed on the wiki, and DARN IF THAT DOESN'T SOUND EXACTLY LIKE WHAT I FELT WAS MISSING HERE.
But I spent 20 happy hours swimming through the oceans of Planet 4546B, and I don't know if I'd ever fully get tired of that. (But I definitely got tired of the land based sections, very quickly.)
This review contains spoilers
Missing a lot of the first one's charm.
Whereas the original story was simple (you're the only one left standing - or swimming - after a spaceship crash; now survive), this one tries too hard to spread itself out in many different directions, most of which fail.
I usually would not spoil a game's story, were it not such a complete mess. Spoilers ahead for the game's whole "story".
There are three main threads that the game explores:
- Sam, the MC's idiot sister who killed herself on accident.
- Marguerite, a survivor from a spaceship crash a decade before the Aurora from Subnautica 1
- Alan, your alien buddy.
I call Sam an idiot because this is her plan:
The corporation she worked for has discovered an ancient virus, preserved in a frozen leviathan. They want to exploit this, by making medicine or possible bioweapons, etc. The usual big bad organization stuff. Sam wishes to put a stop to this.
She does this by synthesizing a cure for the virus. Great! Now she'll just administer it, and the whole plan is ruined! Nope. She hides the cure in a secret cave, then goes over to the frozen leviathan, plants explosives on it and detonates them... while she's still in the cave with it. So now she's dead. Darwinism, or something.
I will spend as much time on Marguerite as the game does, so this is where I have to stop. There's literally two missions involving her, both of which can be completed in a combined 15 minutes. Then you never see her again.
Alan is supposed to be the main driving factor of the plot. He's weak, and needs you to build him a new body so he can go home. Apparently, he also falls in love with you or something. Which is very odd, considering the only interaction you have with him are 2-3 minute phone calls whenever you've done something story-relevant. That's the issue; especially in an open-world survival game, the time between story-relevant activities can be really long. I took an hour or two out to go grind some materials, and then Alan and the MC continue their conversation right after as if I'd been speedrunning the game.
However, the story certainly isn't the only weak part of the game. Anything above water, in the freezing temperatures of the arctic, feels... rushed. It's empty. There's no resources to collect, maybe two different types of plant, one of which you can eat, and an enemy that you just need to avoid. I don't think the game planned for me to jet my PRAWN suit out of the water, since it completely negates cold temperatures and thus bypasses the entire cold suit/body heat requirement.
Underneath the water's surface, things aren't that much more impressive. There's, if I counted correctly, five different biomes. One of which is almost entirely useless: a crystal cavern in which only one new resource spawns. The other biomes are equally lackluster. The starting biome is probably the most beautiful, well-populated with different species and plentiful with resources. Going further out, you've got empty stretch of ocean with squids #45, and maybe if you're lucky a whale or two.
As for exploration, where the original Subnautica had submerged parts of the Aurora, crashed lifepods and old, abandoned bases to explore, S:BZ has exactly one submerged base, and one crashed ship. And the ship is entirely empty, aside from a nuclear reactor blueprint. Nothing like the giant expanse of the Aurora to explore in the first game. Kind of like they felt they had to put one in because they had them in the original, but didn't care for much more than that.
It's not a bad game, but it's not good either. Nowhere near the sense of exploration you'd encounter in the original Subnautica, nor does it have the sense of wonder. Having a living Architect, a species which is supposedly extinct, living in your head sounds like a really cool premise, but not when all he does is whine about how much he misses his people.
All in all, if you really liked the original, you'll get some enjoyment out of this one. Basebuilding is back, but with more added to it, etc. But don't go in with the expectations of a proper sequel, it feels more like a poorly made fangame.
Whereas the original story was simple (you're the only one left standing - or swimming - after a spaceship crash; now survive), this one tries too hard to spread itself out in many different directions, most of which fail.
I usually would not spoil a game's story, were it not such a complete mess. Spoilers ahead for the game's whole "story".
There are three main threads that the game explores:
- Sam, the MC's idiot sister who killed herself on accident.
- Marguerite, a survivor from a spaceship crash a decade before the Aurora from Subnautica 1
- Alan, your alien buddy.
I call Sam an idiot because this is her plan:
The corporation she worked for has discovered an ancient virus, preserved in a frozen leviathan. They want to exploit this, by making medicine or possible bioweapons, etc. The usual big bad organization stuff. Sam wishes to put a stop to this.
She does this by synthesizing a cure for the virus. Great! Now she'll just administer it, and the whole plan is ruined! Nope. She hides the cure in a secret cave, then goes over to the frozen leviathan, plants explosives on it and detonates them... while she's still in the cave with it. So now she's dead. Darwinism, or something.
I will spend as much time on Marguerite as the game does, so this is where I have to stop. There's literally two missions involving her, both of which can be completed in a combined 15 minutes. Then you never see her again.
Alan is supposed to be the main driving factor of the plot. He's weak, and needs you to build him a new body so he can go home. Apparently, he also falls in love with you or something. Which is very odd, considering the only interaction you have with him are 2-3 minute phone calls whenever you've done something story-relevant. That's the issue; especially in an open-world survival game, the time between story-relevant activities can be really long. I took an hour or two out to go grind some materials, and then Alan and the MC continue their conversation right after as if I'd been speedrunning the game.
However, the story certainly isn't the only weak part of the game. Anything above water, in the freezing temperatures of the arctic, feels... rushed. It's empty. There's no resources to collect, maybe two different types of plant, one of which you can eat, and an enemy that you just need to avoid. I don't think the game planned for me to jet my PRAWN suit out of the water, since it completely negates cold temperatures and thus bypasses the entire cold suit/body heat requirement.
Underneath the water's surface, things aren't that much more impressive. There's, if I counted correctly, five different biomes. One of which is almost entirely useless: a crystal cavern in which only one new resource spawns. The other biomes are equally lackluster. The starting biome is probably the most beautiful, well-populated with different species and plentiful with resources. Going further out, you've got empty stretch of ocean with squids #45, and maybe if you're lucky a whale or two.
As for exploration, where the original Subnautica had submerged parts of the Aurora, crashed lifepods and old, abandoned bases to explore, S:BZ has exactly one submerged base, and one crashed ship. And the ship is entirely empty, aside from a nuclear reactor blueprint. Nothing like the giant expanse of the Aurora to explore in the first game. Kind of like they felt they had to put one in because they had them in the original, but didn't care for much more than that.
It's not a bad game, but it's not good either. Nowhere near the sense of exploration you'd encounter in the original Subnautica, nor does it have the sense of wonder. Having a living Architect, a species which is supposedly extinct, living in your head sounds like a really cool premise, but not when all he does is whine about how much he misses his people.
All in all, if you really liked the original, you'll get some enjoyment out of this one. Basebuilding is back, but with more added to it, etc. But don't go in with the expectations of a proper sequel, it feels more like a poorly made fangame.
Great addition to Subnautica.
weak
Similar to the original, just more content and less bugs, although it's a bit less interesting to be honest. Might just be me getting burnt out of the game.
wish this game didnt try to juggle 3 different narratives at the same time and actually focused on its world because biomes lack variety and exploration isnt nearly as interesting as it was in the original imo :/, might come back to this one but with the whole experience feeling lacking, aside from fixing some of the og game's performance issues, dont feel like that day will come soon
This review contains spoilers
Not quite as good as the original game but that is mostly down to the lack of variety in biomes and the sense of discovery not being there in quite the same way but the new on land stuff is pretty cool even if it feels weird to have so much on land stuff in a game all about exploring an uncharted sea planet is kinda weird but the snow stalkers are cute and the hoverbike is cool so whatever it’s fine. I’m a little sad that none of the Leviathans in this were even half as scary as in the original game. Knowing these terrifying ass creatures were lurking around in different parts of the map was part of the appeal but nothing in this comes close to even the Ghost let alone the Reaper or Sea Dragon. Nothing in the original game was as annoying as the Ice Worm but it’s only in the game for about 10 minutes if you’re just headed in and out. The main story hook of Robin’s sister ended really abruptly and anticlimacticly in such a way that I genuinely didn’t even know what happened at first but the other storyline about Al-An was actually really interesting and I liked how it ended. Learning that I could play a TryHardNinja song on the in game jukebox made me fucking lose it.
This review contains spoilers
nearly as good as the original, which i also consider a 4.5/5. i thought the transition to a voiced protagonist would be annoying, but i actually liked her role in the story and how she interacted with other characters. the game is still really terrifying, but by the time i got through the base game and most of this game, i had learned most of the horror tricks, so they were less effective (only by a little!). and the biggest weakness is one that is shared with the base game, which is that it's virtually impossible to beat without a wiki.
Not quite as uniquely atmospheric as the original, but it's still more Subnautica!
Encountered a game breaking glitch within the first 50 minutes of playing, but other than that, it’s been pretty fun so far.
Didn't even have the scare factor of the first, just so boring tbh
Quite disappointing compared to the original but still good
This game had an awful development period with the plot being rewritten multiple times. They also decided to turn this from a DLC into a sequel WITHOUT changing the map. This leaves you paying the same price as Subnautica for a game worse in every way. Tiny map with confusing asymmetrical layout, lack of horror aspect due to stupid creatures, awful land sections larger than the first game's and a plot so bad I couldn't bring myself to finish the game.
It sucks how literally no one knew this was releasing until like a day before because this game still carries the subnautica name extremely well. It does do the job a little weaker than its predecessor and there are some technical problems that ruin the immersion in places but overall a neat sequel to the original game.
It's pretty much Subnautica again. For better or for worse.
Finally being able to scratch that "itch" a second time was a wonderful experience, and some new additions such as new components for base building were very nice. The mystery, wonder, terror and general atmosphere is just as on point here as in the first game.
However, while the game progressed a lot in terms of reducing the amount of "backtracking" (no more alien tablets, thankfully) some underwater areas are too "samey" looking all over, resulting in being very hard to locate yourself. And land areas are particularly painful, specially due to the game's obnoxious weather system. While being lost is part of the experience, being lost for hours at a time was frustrating at best.
Added with gameplay features and properties that leave a lot to be desired (unbalanced grinding, small toolbar and inventory, inconvenient crafting system) it's definetely a game to be enjoyed more as an experience than for its gameplay. But the experience is so good if it clicks with you, that i'd still reccomend it to anyone interested in giving it a try.
Finally being able to scratch that "itch" a second time was a wonderful experience, and some new additions such as new components for base building were very nice. The mystery, wonder, terror and general atmosphere is just as on point here as in the first game.
However, while the game progressed a lot in terms of reducing the amount of "backtracking" (no more alien tablets, thankfully) some underwater areas are too "samey" looking all over, resulting in being very hard to locate yourself. And land areas are particularly painful, specially due to the game's obnoxious weather system. While being lost is part of the experience, being lost for hours at a time was frustrating at best.
Added with gameplay features and properties that leave a lot to be desired (unbalanced grinding, small toolbar and inventory, inconvenient crafting system) it's definetely a game to be enjoyed more as an experience than for its gameplay. But the experience is so good if it clicks with you, that i'd still reccomend it to anyone interested in giving it a try.
Just a masterpiece, a bit shorter and narratively tighter than the first game and honestly a bit better for it. Filled with beauty and melancholy and compelling environments and just so much curiosity. Along with the first Subnautica, one of most unique and compelling games about exploration and discovery I've ever played.
This review contains spoilers
Too damn preachy for me. Who looked at Subnautica of all things - the love child of Ecco the Dolphin and Metroid Prime - and decided it needed a character-centric plot? What made Subnautica unique has been replaced with your generic feel-good movie plot. Robin spending every possible moment feeding the Architect empty motivational quotes about how brilliant it is to be human and alive and everything is wonderful wow, got real old real fast. The first Subnautica was a masterclass of environmental storytelling for its subtle elements of cosmic horror. Below Zero is a glorified Instagram post. It pains me to say this considering how much I fell in love with the original, but Below Zero feels like a total betrayal of what made me so enraptured.
At least the gameplay is mostly as solid as ever, though obviously scaled down from the full game.
At least the gameplay is mostly as solid as ever, though obviously scaled down from the full game.
[Early Access] Missing a poorly telegraphed encounter near the beginning of the game led to 14 hours of aimless exploration that was meant to be punctuated by dialogue, exposition and character development. Instead that plot advancement was crammed into the last two hours as I revisited areas I'd already fully explored, just now with a brief bit of dialogue and magically unlocked doors. The plot threads, however, were intriguing and tied into the first game in interesting ways.
While Below Zero maintained the same sense of mechanical progression from the original, the biomes felt less varied, and the world was significantly smaller. Large enemies were more of a mild annoyance than an interesting challenge.
While Below Zero maintained the same sense of mechanical progression from the original, the biomes felt less varied, and the world was significantly smaller. Large enemies were more of a mild annoyance than an interesting challenge.
I had a lot of fun with Subnautica: Below Zero. It is a similar experience to the original, but BZ is a bit smoother in terms of progression and the crafting tech tree felt more satisfying to me. The leviathans in BZ were, however, much less horrifying to me.
I like the exploration in this game quite a bit. The movement upgrades all feel good and the environments are varied and interesting and act as a good reward for making your way through the game. The Seatruck as a half-step between the Seamoth and the Cyclops works for me, though I do wish the Seamoth made an appearance in this game. The addition of more in-depth land environments is pretty cool and mixes things up just enough.
Ben Prunty's soundtrack is mysterious and atmospheric and is the perfect style for this game.
The narrative is a bit scattered. There are basically two separate plot threads that run through the game, but both make sense, justify your presence on the planet and have somewhat meaningful conclusions.
Progression is guided based on events which happen sort of randomly based on exploring the right areas. This is my main complaint with the game (it affects crafting progression as well) -- if you miss triggering specific narrative or crafting progression, the game starts to feel aimless, since there isn't a clear indication of what you need to do next a lot of the time. It worked out better than the first game did for me, but it is still a level of unnecessary frustration that could be solved with a bit more tracking of high level goals.
I would recommend this if you really liked the first one or haven't played either. Play it with food/water turned off and it is a pretty chill exploration game with cool environments and only a few horrifying monsters.
I like the exploration in this game quite a bit. The movement upgrades all feel good and the environments are varied and interesting and act as a good reward for making your way through the game. The Seatruck as a half-step between the Seamoth and the Cyclops works for me, though I do wish the Seamoth made an appearance in this game. The addition of more in-depth land environments is pretty cool and mixes things up just enough.
Ben Prunty's soundtrack is mysterious and atmospheric and is the perfect style for this game.
The narrative is a bit scattered. There are basically two separate plot threads that run through the game, but both make sense, justify your presence on the planet and have somewhat meaningful conclusions.
Progression is guided based on events which happen sort of randomly based on exploring the right areas. This is my main complaint with the game (it affects crafting progression as well) -- if you miss triggering specific narrative or crafting progression, the game starts to feel aimless, since there isn't a clear indication of what you need to do next a lot of the time. It worked out better than the first game did for me, but it is still a level of unnecessary frustration that could be solved with a bit more tracking of high level goals.
I would recommend this if you really liked the first one or haven't played either. Play it with food/water turned off and it is a pretty chill exploration game with cool environments and only a few horrifying monsters.
As good as the first one, which my only "complaint" being that if felt a little smaller, but that might very well be a perception caused by the fact that I got going faster since I already was familiar with the mechanics from the first game. Again, wonderful experience.
o primeiro jogo é incrível pq se passa 98% do tempo na água. aqui decidiram mudar um pouco. você passa uns 60% dentro d'água, vai? decidiram fazer isso mas sem trocar de engine ou aperfeiçoar a movimentação terrestre péssima do primeiro jogo, apenas deram uma leve melhorada. resultado: toda vez que eu ia pro ambiente terrestre era no desespero de avançar logo só pra poder voltar pra debaixo d'água.
Full review:
https://youtu.be/PNWsY8n0JZE
--------------------
Positive:
Exploring, gathering and crafting is just as fun and addictive as in Subnautica
Stunning visuals - by far the most beautiful underwater exploration game
Great creature designs
Explore and advance at your own pace
Improved base building and new vehicles, rooms and equipment
New survival element on the surface: temperature
Atmospheric weather system
Amazing soundtrack
Neutral:
Subnautica’s atmosphere is much more tense and immersive
Finding the next point of interest sometimes requires thorough exploration
Amazing idea for a story, but unfortunately it ends up feeling rushed and unpolished
Negative:
Less biomes that also lack diversity compared to Subnautica
The biomes of the late game are quite empty and boring
Progression is too easy and quick: I missed the challenge and sense of achievement
Overall it’s an incredibly fun and beautiful game that is overshadowed by the masterpiece that was it’s predecessor.
https://youtu.be/PNWsY8n0JZE
--------------------
Positive:
Exploring, gathering and crafting is just as fun and addictive as in Subnautica
Stunning visuals - by far the most beautiful underwater exploration game
Great creature designs
Explore and advance at your own pace
Improved base building and new vehicles, rooms and equipment
New survival element on the surface: temperature
Atmospheric weather system
Amazing soundtrack
Neutral:
Subnautica’s atmosphere is much more tense and immersive
Finding the next point of interest sometimes requires thorough exploration
Amazing idea for a story, but unfortunately it ends up feeling rushed and unpolished
Negative:
Less biomes that also lack diversity compared to Subnautica
The biomes of the late game are quite empty and boring
Progression is too easy and quick: I missed the challenge and sense of achievement
Overall it’s an incredibly fun and beautiful game that is overshadowed by the masterpiece that was it’s predecessor.
Não sei se consigo zerar, chega uma parte do jogo em que as coisas ficam muito massivas e o progresso fica extremamente lento e a gameplay só se torna cada vez mais repetitiva sem nenhuma inovação além do terror ser bem fraco no jogo com uma variação de leviathan extremamente baixa e os que tem não são tão assustadores, uma completa falha em ser o sucessor do primeiro que é basicamente perfeito em tudo que faz, a única melhora foi gráfica e nos biomas que são um pouco mais ricos em detalhes mas menos marcantes mesmo assim
Uma versão "melhorada" do 1, porém a experiência de jogar o 2 depois de jogar o 1 torna o 2 mais fraco pelo fato de você já estar acostumado (ou não) com o terror que o jogo oferece
The sequel to Subnatuica, one of my favorite games of all time, was a solid addition, but not as good as the first. Still enjoyed the world they created and hope to see more based on the ending.
A beautiful expansion of an already gorgeous game, Subnautica: Below Zero is probably just Subnautica Plus, but to me it was incredibly enjoyable anyway.
The game flow and mechanics remain very similar to the first entry, up to the point that gameplay felt rushed in its earliest stage: I'm not sure if it was because I "knew how to play" already but I had the impression I got a ton of blueprints, items and upgrades way too fast. It's only after the setup, and after finishing that "Subnautica 101" (get a vehicle, get depth upgrades, build a home) when the differences start to add up.
More than anything, it's the narrative what got a nice glowup. Themes such as our need for closure and the legacy we want to leave behind are explored more directly than in the first game, with more "cutscenes" and relying less on flavor texts and Firewatch-like narration. I won't spoil anything, but I was SO happy to see that elements from very secondary plots in the original Subnautica get to be under the spotlight here, that was a really pleasant surprise. It shows a lot of loving care of your own worldbuilding.
The new biomes had nice level design, with new ideas for fauna and flora that invite you to take risks and make room for great emergent narrative. I was skeptical at first about the absence of the old vehicles, but the Seatruck turned out to fit in very well. It has the same feeling of home with wheels the Cyclops used to have, with a higher level of customizability.
On a somewhat negative note:
- Annoying accumulative performance issues, even with a high-end machine.
- I found the ending surprisingly meaningless: I managed to beat the game without ever visiting one notable location that was being constantly foreshadowed. This, plus a couple of continuity errors, left me very confused when the credits started to roll.
The game flow and mechanics remain very similar to the first entry, up to the point that gameplay felt rushed in its earliest stage: I'm not sure if it was because I "knew how to play" already but I had the impression I got a ton of blueprints, items and upgrades way too fast. It's only after the setup, and after finishing that "Subnautica 101" (get a vehicle, get depth upgrades, build a home) when the differences start to add up.
More than anything, it's the narrative what got a nice glowup. Themes such as our need for closure and the legacy we want to leave behind are explored more directly than in the first game, with more "cutscenes" and relying less on flavor texts and Firewatch-like narration. I won't spoil anything, but I was SO happy to see that elements from very secondary plots in the original Subnautica get to be under the spotlight here, that was a really pleasant surprise. It shows a lot of loving care of your own worldbuilding.
The new biomes had nice level design, with new ideas for fauna and flora that invite you to take risks and make room for great emergent narrative. I was skeptical at first about the absence of the old vehicles, but the Seatruck turned out to fit in very well. It has the same feeling of home with wheels the Cyclops used to have, with a higher level of customizability.
On a somewhat negative note:
- Annoying accumulative performance issues, even with a high-end machine.
- I found the ending surprisingly meaningless: I managed to beat the game without ever visiting one notable location that was being constantly foreshadowed. This, plus a couple of continuity errors, left me very confused when the credits started to roll.
Subnautica below 0 does everything subnautica the first does, mostly worse. starting with the positives, art style was great, some of the new areas looked great. However the map is 1/3 of the size and there are less creatures. The map goes a lot less deep then subnautica does, and the final areas are tight corridors that are hard to navigate with enemies in them.
The story doesn't make a whole lot of sense and contains some plot holes.
While i still recommend this game it isn't the top of my list.
The story doesn't make a whole lot of sense and contains some plot holes.
While i still recommend this game it isn't the top of my list.
Not as good as the first subnautica,also the game runs really bad in some areas specially in the arctic spires biome