First off on positives, the atmosphere is astounding. The different biomes. The creature designs. The sound design; it's all magic. The world feels alive. Crashing sounds from the waves, geysers erupting, and creatures howling. All this ties into a wonderful, although creepy at times, world to explore. I wasn't expecting there to be story and lore. I thought, oh a survival game. But the story kept me going forward.
I think if I knew more about this game before I started, how much exploration and crafting is involved, I may not have started. I don't usually play survival games and honestly going underwater causes me anxiety. (So why I played this, I dunno. I heard really good things and it was free.) I was on edge at least half of the time I played. The empty, vast darkness, with unknown alien creatures...it was heart racing. The more I played, the less interested I was in crafting because I knew I had to venture out for material. I might have been more inclined to craft if I wasn't constantly ready to have a panic attack. I do know there is a creative mode. You can craft without having to focus on it. Sadly you don't get achievements on that mode so my brain chose completionist over safety. Thanks brain!
I think my only real negatives: I want to manually save on different slots, favorite inventory items, and having to rely on wiki. I wanted more slots because it is VERY easy to go somewhere and be trapped. Say you take a device and it runs out of power. Well, you saved over your one save slot and now you're trapped in the dark. With hostile enemies. And you can't see sh*t. Not anxiety inducing at all. I understand it's survival game and you should be prepared, but sometimes you don't know what's ahead and you wish you could go back to a save before you ventured off.
By relying on a wiki as a negative, I mean that it's too easy to miss a tiny upgrade/part in this VAST UNDERWATER PLANET. I wish we had something to point to upgrades. At times the game does a good job pointing you to a wreck to explore. But most of the time you're exploring this cursed water planet alone. No map. If you want a beacon, you have to craft one. I used the wiki a ton in the late game and even then I still had difficulty finding parts. I spent two hours looking for three measly pieces of nickle ore. (And yes I know the scanner room exists, but it doesn't help if it doesn't locate it.) By then I was so done with the game. I was tired of hunting for material back and forth to craft. My fault for getting achievements rather than play creative mode, I know that now.
It was worth the play. The story encouraged me to progress. The exploration was exciting but nightmare fuel. This game frightened me more effectively than many "horror" games I have played. Although it was (mostly) a good experience, I don't believe I'll play Below Zero. I don't need that anxiety in my life.
I think if I knew more about this game before I started, how much exploration and crafting is involved, I may not have started. I don't usually play survival games and honestly going underwater causes me anxiety. (So why I played this, I dunno. I heard really good things and it was free.) I was on edge at least half of the time I played. The empty, vast darkness, with unknown alien creatures...it was heart racing. The more I played, the less interested I was in crafting because I knew I had to venture out for material. I might have been more inclined to craft if I wasn't constantly ready to have a panic attack. I do know there is a creative mode. You can craft without having to focus on it. Sadly you don't get achievements on that mode so my brain chose completionist over safety. Thanks brain!
I think my only real negatives: I want to manually save on different slots, favorite inventory items, and having to rely on wiki. I wanted more slots because it is VERY easy to go somewhere and be trapped. Say you take a device and it runs out of power. Well, you saved over your one save slot and now you're trapped in the dark. With hostile enemies. And you can't see sh*t. Not anxiety inducing at all. I understand it's survival game and you should be prepared, but sometimes you don't know what's ahead and you wish you could go back to a save before you ventured off.
By relying on a wiki as a negative, I mean that it's too easy to miss a tiny upgrade/part in this VAST UNDERWATER PLANET. I wish we had something to point to upgrades. At times the game does a good job pointing you to a wreck to explore. But most of the time you're exploring this cursed water planet alone. No map. If you want a beacon, you have to craft one. I used the wiki a ton in the late game and even then I still had difficulty finding parts. I spent two hours looking for three measly pieces of nickle ore. (And yes I know the scanner room exists, but it doesn't help if it doesn't locate it.) By then I was so done with the game. I was tired of hunting for material back and forth to craft. My fault for getting achievements rather than play creative mode, I know that now.
It was worth the play. The story encouraged me to progress. The exploration was exciting but nightmare fuel. This game frightened me more effectively than many "horror" games I have played. Although it was (mostly) a good experience, I don't believe I'll play Below Zero. I don't need that anxiety in my life.