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. Subnautica: Below Zero is out now £25-£50 depending on format.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. Dive in, and you may be surprised how deep you end up going. Voluntary isolation in the deep cold might not sound like solace after a winter of lockdowns, but Subnautica: Below Zero is cosy and moreish. This can be a fiddly game, and certainly isn’t one for people who dislike mining or organising elaborate storage systems, but after a couple of years in Early Access this is now a refined and elegant experience, gently paced, where there is always something interesting to pursue through beautiful spaces. While the general theme is exploration and expansion, there are strong narrative hooks that tug at you here and there, whether it’s the mystery of your sister’s disappearance or the desire to get that alien AI out of your cerebellum, and these occasional nudges towards bigger questions and puzzles thread neatly through your survival rituals. You swim under crystalline ice floes, among mazes of coral archways and through iridescent cave networks, weighing the risk of suffocation against the likelihood of oxygen plants in the next cavern. 4546B may sound like a punishing addendum to a tax return, but it’s a beautiful place to explore, full of colourful environments, each of which yields a new cocktail of raw materials. It’s a formula that has been done to death over the past decade, but Subnautica: Below Zero has planet 4546B on its side. Robin’s is a freeform adventure with no breadcrumb trail of tasks to complete, but there’s always just enough information and suggestion to help you solve your immediate problems. Swimming around the seafloor becomes easier too as you increase mobility and oxygen capacity, and while drowning or being consumed by angry leviathan predators are always possibilities, in general you gain more command of your environment as you climb an ever-growing ladder of resources and upgrades. Subnautica: Below Zero screenshot Photograph: Unknown WorldsĪs is the way of such games, fish and tiny storage lockers are soon replaced by reliable food traps and hulking equipment containers as you expand your base, and your linen closet becomes a footnote to a sprawling undersea habitat like something out of The Abyss. Starting out from little more than an aquatic linen closet with a fabricator and a tiny storage locker, the early hours are spent scavenging for fish and scraps to stay alive and fashion basic tools. As scientist Robin Ayou, we descend on planet 4546B to search for her lost sister, Sam, but the more immediate priority is staying warm, fed and hydrated (and making beacons). Subnautica: Below Zero is an underwater survival game where best laid plans, like my theoretical sea truck escapade, are often diverted toward interesting distractions. There’s an interesting crafting recipe here… wait, wasn’t I planning a trip? Topping up my oxygen regularly to avoid suffocating as I crawl over unexplored parts of the seabed, I stumble upon an abandoned underwater science outpost and start picking through it for salvage and intel. I pin the recipes to my heads-up display and go for a dive, hoping to pick up some crafting materials, but as I explore deeper, the sentient AI that has taken up residence in spare bits of my cerebral cortex (don’t ask) notifies me that there’s something interesting nearby. I could also do with some sea truck storage compartments (you know, for all the beacons). First up, I need to craft a compass while I’m doing that, I might as well make a bunch of beacons to mark points of interest for later. I’m going to load my sea truck with provisions, pick a direction and travel as far as I dare before pitching camp on an iceberg.
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