

Just as a PSA though, this game has no auto-saves, so if you don’t want to lose all that progress when you accidentally catch the attention of a giant shark-squid, it’s best to save often manually. This is definitely a game you can easily spend a few hours in. Thankfully, there is a lot to explore, from the unique creatures like some alien penguins, to the strange roots you can find growing under an iceberg. One mode has permadeath, which means even if you’ve been playing for hours and progressed significantly in your adventure, death will mean the ultimate game over. There’s also the other end of the spectrum, with even more difficult modes to try. This can be a great mode to try out and get used to the basics of the game first, without a clock ticking on your back. There’s a mode that takes hunger and thirst out of the equation, leaving health, oxygen, and temperature as your only worries. If the intensity of watching your hunger and thirst levels sounds like too much to worry about, the game has other options. Most random plants growing on the ocean floor will be just a decoration – the key is to look for the glowing plants that the game certainly suggests you to check out. It takes some time to recognize what is actually useful and what isn’t. Exploring the depthsįor the uninitiated lot, resource management and survival definitely will take some getting used to. Death will respawn you at home, but without many of the items you’d have spent so long finding.Īlso, the sight of an enormous creature swallowing you whole is definitely the stuff of nightmares, so best just to avoid that. Do you carefully pick your moments, or make a mad dash and hope they don’t notice? It’s these moments that can turn a calm exploration game into a high-tension heist. You can try to sneak by slowly, but you will eventually have to go to the surface to get air. Any other game would be a simple challenge of stealth and patience, but Subnautica adds one, final element: oxygen reserve. You’ve found a new island that has an old base on it, but in order to get back home with all the resources you’ve discovered, you need to sneak past a giant monster that could swallow you in the blink of an eye. Then, there are the dark depths of the ocean, where you suddenly realize you’re going to run out of oxygen but you can’t remember which way is the cave exit.īelow Zero is great at slowly raising the stakes before presenting you with the next challenge. This can be exciting, but it does take away some of the more isolated and existential elements that were more pronounced in the previous game. People have been here before, and there are signs of it all over the place once you start exploring.

Rather than the pure existential dread that can come from a completely uninhabited alien world and the solitude that compounds that, there is occasional relief. Generally, it does change the atmosphere and feeling that the game could have. Overall, it’s more of a side note in the scope of the entire game. The story can be engaging and it can give some direction and purpose to the wandering if you’re looking for that. You’ll just have to deal with the occasional story beat or audio clip that tries to catch your attention. There’s nothing stopping you from just turning tail and heading the opposite direction. This is a pretty significant change, and while it’s not taking the forefront like in plenty of other games on the market, it does cautiously poke the player in certain directions.ĭon’t let that discourage you from playing the game however you want, though. As the protagonist, you arrive on the very same, watery planet, the 4546B, searching for answers for the mystery of your sister’s death. Perhaps the biggest difference between Below Zero and the original Subnautica is the story elements.

Spend more than a minute out in the open air and you will freeze, which makes the warmer waters of the planet your immediate safe haven. Below Zero also adds temperature as a factor, too. Not only do you need to understand the 3D environment, watching out above and below you you also need to make sure to keep track of your oxygen levels. When it comes to the survival genre, Unknown World’s Subnautica: Below Zero continues the trend of its predecessor by bringing the engaging and exciting twist of an alien underwater world. That’s definitely not a specific experience. Eventually, you might be confidently exploring open waters, without a care in the world, when you hear a terrifying screech, and whirl around to see a hungry monster swimming your way. Perhaps you find some new and interesting resources or bigger ocean life. Not immediately welcoming to new playersĪs you grow more confident and curious, the world begins to open up.
