There’s always something to work towards in Below Zero, and that was what always kept me coming back for more. It’s a simple yet addictive gameplay loop that always begs you to do just one more thing before ending a play session, and that one more thing almost always snowballs into another hour of play.

As you explore the different biomes, you’ll gather food, water, and materials to create tools and vehicles that allow you to go deeper for story progression, rare resources, and crafting opportunities. Ultimately, it’s a serviceable narrative that serves as a basis for the core gameplay but suffers a bit from some hit-and-miss voice acting and lacks some of the intrigue that came with the first game’s plot.Īt its core, Subnautica: Below Zero is a deep-sea survival game with a heavy emphasis on exploration and base building. While the core narrative thread of finding out what happened to Sam is resolved in a relatively anti-climactic way, Below Zero’s focus shifts to another thread that links back to the first game in interesting and engaging ways that fans will adore. Recorded PDAs, research notes, abandoned bases, and information you find via scanning are all things that contribute to painting a picture of what has happened. Instead, most of the world-building and set dressing you’ll find comes in the form of environmental story-telling and collectibles. Although the story slowly unfolds as you explore new biomes and hunt for clues, you’re never really pointed in a particular direction, and the game doesn’t hold your hand along the way. After narrowly escaping death when a stolen life pod collides with a meteor and crash lands in a frigid region of the planet, Robin is forced to adapt to the cold climate to survive and find answers. Set one year after the first game, Subnautica: Below Zero sees players taking control of Robin Ayou, trying to find what led to her sister’s sudden death on Planet 4546B. Subnautica: Below Zero relies on much of the same atmosphere and tension that made the first game special while adding an array of new additions that further strengthen the formula. An undeniably alluring combination of oppressive isolation and peaceful ambience as you explore the depths of Planet 4546B. There’s little on the market that can emulate the feeling you get from playing something like Subnautica. When Subnautica came out of early access for its full launch in January of 2018, it was met with widespread acclaim from numerous critics and fans of the survival genre – and for a good reason.

Diamond subnautica below zero