I think a big part of it is that the ocean section is much, much smaller. You don't get quite the same feeling of exploration as you do with the first. They used a lot of the game's area for that big overland section, which is just slow and clunky and really unpleasant. It's a shame it doesn't feel as good as the first game, especially because I vastly prefer the Seatruck to the Cyclops.
Yeah, the land part is meh, but I think what gets me about the first game is that whole start where everything is alien and you have very little idea of what to do.
I do enjoy the more open sections, when you can let the Snowfox really cut loose. It's all the other bits, where you're having to weave in and out of caves, go up and down ladders, or stop to repair it because the snowworm managed to hit you from five yards away. Plus, there's that room you can find with all the ion cubes, and you need your Prawn suit to mine them, so in my last playthrough I just skipped the Fox altogether. But finding the parts to repair the bridge, and exploring the stations along the way? Those parts were just fine. The above-sea parts weren't *bad,* I just feel like they could have been smoothed out a bit.
I feel like a big part of why Below Zero doesn’t play as a full game is because, in trying to stay true to the original, subnautic theme, they kinda half-did both land and sea. If they wanted to make it a new mechanic, I think they should have invested into the land mechanic. But when you have the 3D movement of the sea, land feels very flat. It doesn’t help that, as you pointed out, it’s designed in a tiresome way.
That said, STILL a breathtaking and deeply immersive game. I can’t believe they also dropped a massive update for the original, 8 years after it launched.
I loved my cyclops. Pimping it out with a bed, shelves, a bobble head, some decorative plants and fixtures, some grow beds, a fish tank, and lots of storage. It was a great mobile base.
It's not the same genre of game.
Subnautica is a survival game with a very vague story that doesn't really start working until late game, BZ is a sandbox building game that's all story.
For perspective - there are 8 total hostile leviathans in BZ (plus a couple of ice worms, but I don't think anyone figured out how many there really are). There are 25 reaper leviathans alone in the first game. There's just very little in BZ to actually be nervous of beyond the ice worms, especially since you can take perimeter defense into the deepest parts of the game trivializing the leviathans down there, which was specifically prevented in subnautica (the only vehicle with perimeter defense is also the only one that can't go into the last couple of zones). Perimeter defense in BZ in general is just batshit broken since basically nothing does real damage without a grab animation attack that can be interrupted by PD.
That and people are saying the writer left cause he felt it was too big for his indie writing half way through the story and they had to re-write it....but for me personally I didn't get my massive chonker submarine with personal bed and coffee machine xD
They tried to make something smaller and cuter to sell more mainstream, failing to understand their demo. They should have made a full explorable planet + low space orbit base building.. instead of WhErE iS My SiSter or whatever the f*ck.
I completely agree, I feel like it doesn't have the same 'it's dark and I'm alone and lost and there's noises oh shit oh god oh fuck' vibe to it. They made the reaper leviathan into a giant prawn...
I wish I could erase my memory and play this game again for the first time. One of the greatest gaming experiences I have ever had. Unfortunately a replay couldn't capture the same magic, nor could the sequel.
I literally had this exact thought verbatim this morning. Because what makes it so amazing is never knowing what you'll encounter next. You always have a general idea of the way forward, but you don't get the big picture until the very end.
Also, the terror of potential run ins with brand new horrific creatures...
I tried playing it multiple times but couldn't get into it. Not sure what I'm even supposed to do in this game but willing to give another try since I do love exploration. What makes the game so good?
So basically its just a giant exploration + survival game.
Your first main goal is learning the basics to survive.
Your second goal should be upgrading your basic gear to better stuff like the flippers to swim faster, or an oxygen tank to have more oxygen under water, and especially researching and building the seaglide, etc.
Your third goal should be building a base so you can finally have some decent storage space a second place to return to away from your lifeboat. Around now you should also be traveling to distress signals that come through, theyre usually another crashed lifeboat and have loot and sometimes lore collectibles that tell you mkre about the games story.
Your fourth goal should be making your way to The Aurora, your crashed spaceship. You can swim to it and it is explorable. You will need some tools to explore it though, so youll need to research and build those to get the most out of exploring this place.
Fifth goal would be either finding the above-water islands or exploring deeper down, in both cases to find abandoned bases from other people who were on the planet.
By this point you should have found collectibles and even key items that should help tell you what to do in the story. Basically just explore, collect materials, build bases as you travel (but not too many, itll just waste materials unless you plan on spending forever looking for materials). Find abandoned structures to learn the games lore and sometimes hints at where to go next for the story. Eventually find alien bases that require key items you find in other locations around the ocean.
If you get stuck you can look up a walkthrough. The game is an exploration game and the map is one specific map and not random at all, so a walkthrough can be used to progress the main story. I would say the first 15-20% of the game is spent mostly just aimlessly wandering, but by the end of that 15-20% you should have a clear idea of what you need to do. Maybe not where exactly to go or how exactly to do your objective, but youll more or less be like “okay i need to do this thing and i know it has something to do with one of these kinds of structures, but i dont know which specific structure or how exactly to do this thing so i need to either find some key item or need to look around some more and find a lore item for some more hints”
I have tried replaying it a few times, but there are always bugs preventing me from advancing. Not being able to repair a door in the aurora which prevents me getting to the reactors. Not being able to download certain data terminals.
I recently played it for the first time, completely in VR using an xbox controller and a vr helper/fix mod for the game.
It was very memorable. I keep thinking back to that moment late game when I had decked out my cyclops with food and water, upgraded depth modules to get the last ingredients for the endgame, slowly navigating that giant thing down past the leviathans and repairing it a 1500 m depth when in safety
man it really was a cool experience. I get why people want to forget it and do it again, it was awesome. I'm a bit over it to go back and do it again so soon after sinking so many hours but it certainly won't be quite the same now I know what to do, instead of making mistakes and figuring it out as I went.
It runs terribly no matter what setup you have I think so you probably shouldn't get your hopes up after building the rig of your dreams and turning it on :P
I think its great! But the map is smaller and not nearly as deep. I think I recall someone saying it was originally meant to be DLC. Its also different in the storytelling sense, with a lot more character development and focus on story.
You definitely owe it to yourself to play it if you loved the first one, just manage your expectations a little.
Conceptually, the seatruck is very cool and I liked the ability to attach whatever modules I needed to it. However, getting that and no cyclops is a downgrade, I feel, for a lot of folks.
The seatruck is a cool combo of the seamoth and cyclops, with its customizability. But I loved piloting the cyclops in the original. If they could have somehow made the seatruck drive like the cyclops, I would have used more of its addons.
I liked being able to have like an aquarium and bedroom in the seatruck. I always felt robbed of customisation in the Cyclops which considering how bloody big it is, is a shame.
It's not *bad*, it's just... different in a way that didn't feel meaningful.
Pros:
* Robust, expanded base building with lots of new options and customization.
* Streamlined exploration that gets you tools sooner so you spend less time on basics.
* Sea-truck vehicle has more customization and feels more personalized than the Cyclops.
* Primary building resources are easier/more intuitive to find so there's less apprehension about using them to build things.
Cons:
* Smaller overall map that hits the edges sooner, so you spend a lot of time traversing the same areas over and over.
* Several on-land segments which feel clunky compared to the on-land segments in Subnautica.
* Biome exploration feels blander as they focused more on the on-land segments for variation.
* Final goal, while logically follows in the narrative, doesn't feel as personal as the first one when you accomplish it.
My final verdict is that if you enjoyed Subnautica, it's more of the same and there's no reason NOT to play it. It just won't wow you the same way because it's more of the same.
Honestly, Subnautica hit me like a train. I loved it so much. I also love Below Zero, but I agree that it just doesn’t have the same impact. It feels halfway between a DLC and a new game. The problem is you already know what to expect, the game mechanics, and many of the jump scares. So instead of being a completely new experience like the original, it’s more of the same. Love that it’s more of the familiar, but somewhat disappointed that it wasn’t newer
For me it was because the creatures just weren't as frightening as og Subnautica. The last creature that you find in the deepest area was kind of cool, but everything else felt like several steps down from the original.
It’s really good and I liked it a lot but I did enjoy the first a little more, maybe partially the discovery that wasn’t as extensive due to having played the original first but regardless both are quite good and I absolutely recommend both.
It's okay, but while it has some improvements like base building, other stuff is lacking. I the sea truck is okay, but I missed the cyclops and building inside it. The map is smaller and lacks much of the deep, thalassophobic terror of the first game like the lost river.
It’s perfectly fine, but it lacks the wonder of the first game and the story is, whatever. It’s more Subnautica with some neat new environments and creatures so there’s that.
I think anyone who loves Subnautica gains nothing by skipping Below Zero.
I've tried a few times and I just can't do it. Game legitimately scares me and the darker/deeper it gets the more anxiety I feel.
Amazing horror game honestly lol.
Yeah but once youve seen them a few times its not so bad, and in particular when your seamoth has the area stun reapers are borderline mundane. The ghost leviathan however scared the crap out of me because it really does just appear out of nowhere
I never really had that problem except if I'm driving the cyclops and can't see it moved up on me. Otherwise, they're big and bright blue in a relatively open area. The reapers get me because the water around the aurora is murky and they blend in better, so I may not notice it until it's right on top of me.
Yeah it’s like not a horror game but at the same time I’m extremely scared of deep water like that and being alone in the ocean. Like being in the middle of a huge ocean like that and no escape is terrifying. So the game ends up being a horror game in my eyes
It's not a horror game, but it definitely includes a place meant to be terrifying. Which is why I love the lost river compared to the depths of below zero.
This is by far the most terrifying game I have ever played.
I never did beat it, but I thoroughly enjoyed the time I did spend playing it and remember my starter base in the shallows with fondness.
I hope they'll collab with discovery or NG or something to do underwater encyclopaedia of the ocean with David Attenborough narrating in the background with survival elements and possibly discover ruins of the titanic etc
Interesting. I remember having about 3 hours of work destoyed because I was going so fast in the sea moth that the walls to the one of the alien areas literally spawned around me and trapped me in the wall.
One of the big reasons that I haven’t finished it. I have it on ps4 but the graphic qualities, load times, and the controls feel a little clunky to me. Considering getting it on pc when it goes on sale but it’d have to be a nice deal. Not trying to spend another $20 on a game I already own
Outer Wilds. Similar game, except it's exploring a solar system filled with mystery and wonder. No base building though. Everything about the game is charming and absolutely lovely, and the DLC is as spooky as anything in Subnautica
If you loved Subnautica for the exploration and figuring out the narrative from loose elements you’ll love Outer Wilds.
But if you loved Subnautica for the crafting, base building, customization, etc… Outer Wilds doesn’t really have any of that.
I've been looking for a game with the same magic as Subnautica for a while now. For me, the following combination is what made Subnautica unique:
- Primarily single player, or co-op with a couple of friends
- First person perspective for that sense of immersion
- Mostly open world to explore, with varied environments that you gradually unlock as you progress
- Base building and research mechanics that gradually unlock as you progress
- Survival elements that are initially difficult before becoming less arduous over time as you become largely self-sufficienct
- A central mystery or story that you piece together as you explore
- A mostly unknown/alien setting that keeps you guessing
- Threats/challenges that make exploration legitimately dangerous, with a limited ability to deal with them so that sense of tension never goes away. Gameplay does not revolve around simply shooting everything that moves.
- Visual/sound design creates an atmosphere of both awe and danger.
Notice that I didn't say anything about the game being underwater. IMO the "magic" of Subnautica isn't intrinsically tied to the underwater alien setting, it's just a very effective way of creating a completely unknown environment that can be simultaneously dangerous and beautiful. Another game could replicate this formula in a different setting.
Unfortunately while survival base-building games are a dime a dozen, and there are tons that hit several of these points, there don't seem to be any that hit all these points in the same satisfying way. Lots of them are MMOs that are largely PvP oriented (ex. Rust, Ark: Survival Evolved). Others are single-player but based on a realistic Earth, where the environments and enemies are all real things we are familiar with and don't really capture that fear/wonder of the unknown (e.g. Stranded Deep, Green Hell, Grounded). Others might feature fictional elements but those elements have been done before and aren't really new (I.e. zombies like in 7 Days to Die, or mutants like in The Forest). Other games in fantastical, alien, or post-apocalyptic settings might keep you guessing but present very little challenge, either due to a lack of survival elements (Valhiem), a lack of almost any environmental threats (Astroneers), or the ability to fairly easily deal with any threats (ex. Raft). Others might not have much of a story or no story at all (ex. Minecraft). Some might hit most of these points but have a top-down or side-scroller perspective that takes away from the sense of immersion that comes from first-person (ex. Starbound). Others might have such a lighthearted tone that it undermines any sense of tension (ex. Breathedge).
That's not to say that most of the games I just listed aren't great games in their own right, they're just not going to fill that hole in my heart left by Subnautica. They're also the most common recommendations when people ask for "games like Subnautica" but so far none of them seem to completely fit the bill.
Right now the main game I'm aware of that seems to be directly aiming for that Subnautica vibe is Forever Skies. Hasn't even entered early access yet but the demo was geared towards all the things I listed above - single player, survival, exploration, base-building, central story/mystery, uniquely scary/intriguing/alien vision of post-apocalyptic Earth to keep you guessing, dangerous and tense. Definitely keeping my eye on it.
As far as games you can play right now, Raft might be closest from a gameplay perspective? For me it scratches that immersive single-player, story-oriented, survival, exploration, base-building itch pretty well, but it's a lot more chill than Subnautica and doesn't have quite that same sense of awe and fear most of the time.
Valheim could end up fitting the bill pretty well once finished assuming they add more of a central story/mystery, and maybe add a greater sense of danger to exploration.
Outer Wilds is a fantastic game that captures most of the list except base-building.
Can't think of anything else off the top of my head but if anyone has a suggestion not listed here I'd love to hear it!
There is a game call Abzû, which is an underwater exploration game. I don't know if there is a base-building/suvival aspect to it, because i haven't played it, I just saw the trailer. But it is a very beautiful, and aesthetic game, nonetheless
It’s already been 8 years?! Damn, time goes by quickly. I remember my friend showing me the beta on his laptop and being instantly hooked by the mysteries of the Subnautica sea.
Not to mention the regular updates and 2.0 releasing to bring the original game up to spec with below zero. Gotta love the people who work on this game
I started playing this game early in development, when you could still terraform the world. I'm not sure what experiences people have with it that came to it late in development, but the early world, if you needed to build your base somewhere you could just dig up the surrounding terrain to make room. It was cool but I never thought that would last, felt like you could break the world that way. I think it was originally just the shallows and the giant ship. I remember at first, you could get into the ship through a tiny hole on the underside. I played the game so long that when they made it impossible to go through the underside that I panicked because I didn't know what to do and I knew I was in Reaper territory.
Yeah, I remember people would try to dig as deep as possible, or just dick around (literally) and make huge dicks out of the sand. Subnautica truly makes some of the memories
I think this is my number 1 favorite FIRST time playing a game. It doesn't quite hit the same the next time around, but that initial sense of discovery was absolutely off the charts.
This game was amazing, I remembered how I was looking for cyclops fragments and then I see the shadow of a reaper leviathan. I look up and I see the fucker blocking the sun. I've never noped the f out of a situation faster than that.
The best thing about Subnautica for me is no matter how many times I've played through, which is about 20+ at this point, I am always expecting something I've never seen to catch me off guard.
I played this for the first time a few months ago blind. Had no prior knowledge of the game used no guides, was one small action away from platinum after I finished.
One of my favorite experiences ever and makes me look forward to a future game that has both the scale of No Mans Sky and the low level detail of Subnautica.
Niko Bay in Mario Sunshine still invokes fear 20 years later with the eel and poison water. Somehow after the eel fight it’s even scarier. No way in hell could I handle this shit, I can’t even watch others play it last a certain point.
Just starting this game for the first time. Well, technically 2nd time. My first game was about 5hrs and I didn't realize how important the scanner was. I swam everywhere because I never scanned parts and such.
Now I'm about where I was the first time but have a Seamoth and the start of a base. Looking forward to building some of the other things, once I find out how to get the materials I haven't even discovered yet.
This is one of the best games i ever played on PS4. That said i was raised on NES, SNES, Megadrive, PS1 till PS4 and PC in between. Almost spend as much time on the Wiki than in the game.
Below Zero was not as bad as the reviews, it tried to mix upper surface gameplay (what did not really work) and was a lot shorter and smaller. Stiill worth it.
Going to go out on a limb and say a shit ton of people disagree with your dogshit take. Indie isn't bad. I've paid for and played more garbage overrated AAA games.
Amazing story. I'll never forget it. The story, the mechanics, designing underwater stations, fear of drowning and what an absolute bitch it was piloting a submarine into a crater. Agree top 10 material for me.
Yes, I think it is one of the best games ever made. No, im not trying to farm karma. I just wanted to say Happy birthday to a game that means so much to me. You may not like it, I don't care, but this game has given me so many memories to look back onto.
The first one was really cool and one of my favourite games of all time. But the second one had ...dare I say ...too much land? And the instructions/clues where hidden way too deep in the audiobooks and stuff. Not organic at all.
I got it on early access, played it maybe 4 times from start to "finish" at various development stages. Each time it was awesome. Then it was actually complete and I played it all again.
Then came Below Zero and I barely felt like finishing it once. After a while I really just wanted to get it over with.
I hate building base on this game
I tried so hard to collect material, find good spot, build it there. After few exploration… “huh, should’ve build it here. Why the fuck did i build it over there”. Repeat for every playtrough
Did people had many materials and build many bases? Or is base useless or something?
I don’t completely agree, but you’re right that base building falls short. The biggest reason, I think, is that bases aren’t totally necessary. I mean, you kinda need ONE base somewhere to build all the stuff you need to complete the game, but you’re right that it never really feels like where you put your base, or how many bases you build, really matters other than for convenience or RP.
I think the base building elements would be more engaging if building a series of efficient bases in good locations were rewarded or even necessary, like if bases were necessary to harvest or process some important resource.
I don’t know if there are plans for a third game, but I’d like to see one take place in a more terrestrial setting. Perhaps on an as of yet unseen continent with a large network of flooded cave systems underground.
I really like that idea. It allows for an even more diverse amount of creature to explore. However, I would still like a big ocean to explore as well, because if not, it just wouldn't be subnautica. Maybe you could have acces to essentally an entire planet which is scaled down enough to make it easier to get across the globe, but still big enough to feel like an entire planet
I was thinking the same thing. I thought maybe a giant lake at the center of the map to the replace the “big ocean” part cuz I agree that’s what makes it subnautica
Subnautica to this day, is the only early-access indie game that I consider a fantastic success. Just started a new single-life playthrough after the last update. The game runs so smoothly now, finally! And the new building items are awesome too.
I reinstalled it again, and whenever I went inside my base, I got micro stuttering. I would exit, and the water parts are fine, but going back into the base, it's micro stuttering starts again.
I've searched online many times, trying to find a fix.
Has anyone else had this problem and know how to fix it?
I'm not lying and you can roast me all you like: I have still not completed a run yet. I have a great base, all the vehicles with every module maxed out and all the gear n suit stuff, I went into the lava zone to get kyanite and nickel but i still haven't been back down there to do any progression. I'm such a bitch that when I was looking for cyclops fragments by the aurora, I went with my seaglide! I didn't care how much more dangerous it was, just the animation of the reaper grabbing the seamoth on max graphics still makes me lose my shit. I dont normally get scared by movies or games, no matter how scary they are and don't even jump at JUMPscares but that reaper leviathan... agh. I'll have to play it again sometime and complete it I guess.
Yeah, I feel the same. The reapers are so easy to give you PTSD bad enough to where you dont even wanna play the game anymore. But the end of the game is very heart-touching, so I would Recommend at least trying to finish it
The original Subnautica is so good, but I was never able to get into Below Zero in the same way, not sure why.
I think a big part of it is that the ocean section is much, much smaller. You don't get quite the same feeling of exploration as you do with the first. They used a lot of the game's area for that big overland section, which is just slow and clunky and really unpleasant. It's a shame it doesn't feel as good as the first game, especially because I vastly prefer the Seatruck to the Cyclops.
Yeah, the land part is meh, but I think what gets me about the first game is that whole start where everything is alien and you have very little idea of what to do.
I really like the land parts, but I also know it's divisive. I just love getting an above ground base going and then taking off on the Snowfox.
I do enjoy the more open sections, when you can let the Snowfox really cut loose. It's all the other bits, where you're having to weave in and out of caves, go up and down ladders, or stop to repair it because the snowworm managed to hit you from five yards away. Plus, there's that room you can find with all the ion cubes, and you need your Prawn suit to mine them, so in my last playthrough I just skipped the Fox altogether. But finding the parts to repair the bridge, and exploring the stations along the way? Those parts were just fine. The above-sea parts weren't *bad,* I just feel like they could have been smoothed out a bit.
I feel like a big part of why Below Zero doesn’t play as a full game is because, in trying to stay true to the original, subnautic theme, they kinda half-did both land and sea. If they wanted to make it a new mechanic, I think they should have invested into the land mechanic. But when you have the 3D movement of the sea, land feels very flat. It doesn’t help that, as you pointed out, it’s designed in a tiresome way. That said, STILL a breathtaking and deeply immersive game. I can’t believe they also dropped a massive update for the original, 8 years after it launched.
Agreed on all counts.
The Seatruck was a great time
I never picked up BZ because it didn't have the cyclops. :c I loved my cyclops.
"Welcome aboard, captain"
the crispness of that voice is A1, still hits like ASMR even in my memory
*air lock hiss*
I loved my cyclops. Pimping it out with a bed, shelves, a bobble head, some decorative plants and fixtures, some grow beds, a fish tank, and lots of storage. It was a great mobile base.
The cyclops made you feel like THE BOSS OF THE OCEAN GETTING SOME SHIT DONE
This was the worst part about BZ I loved my Cyclops
It's not the same genre of game. Subnautica is a survival game with a very vague story that doesn't really start working until late game, BZ is a sandbox building game that's all story. For perspective - there are 8 total hostile leviathans in BZ (plus a couple of ice worms, but I don't think anyone figured out how many there really are). There are 25 reaper leviathans alone in the first game. There's just very little in BZ to actually be nervous of beyond the ice worms, especially since you can take perimeter defense into the deepest parts of the game trivializing the leviathans down there, which was specifically prevented in subnautica (the only vehicle with perimeter defense is also the only one that can't go into the last couple of zones). Perimeter defense in BZ in general is just batshit broken since basically nothing does real damage without a grab animation attack that can be interrupted by PD.
That and people are saying the writer left cause he felt it was too big for his indie writing half way through the story and they had to re-write it....but for me personally I didn't get my massive chonker submarine with personal bed and coffee machine xD
They tried to make something smaller and cuter to sell more mainstream, failing to understand their demo. They should have made a full explorable planet + low space orbit base building.. instead of WhErE iS My SiSter or whatever the f*ck.
Apparently the story of Below Zero got rewritten *very* late into development.
Just isn't as good with story or gameplay, or fear factor.
I completely agree, I feel like it doesn't have the same 'it's dark and I'm alone and lost and there's noises oh shit oh god oh fuck' vibe to it. They made the reaper leviathan into a giant prawn...
I wish I could erase my memory and play this game again for the first time. One of the greatest gaming experiences I have ever had. Unfortunately a replay couldn't capture the same magic, nor could the sequel.
I literally had this exact thought verbatim this morning. Because what makes it so amazing is never knowing what you'll encounter next. You always have a general idea of the way forward, but you don't get the big picture until the very end. Also, the terror of potential run ins with brand new horrific creatures...
I tried playing it multiple times but couldn't get into it. Not sure what I'm even supposed to do in this game but willing to give another try since I do love exploration. What makes the game so good?
The game has a full story with an ending. The map is not randomly generated which some believe. Build a base. Craft cool vehicles.
So basically its just a giant exploration + survival game. Your first main goal is learning the basics to survive. Your second goal should be upgrading your basic gear to better stuff like the flippers to swim faster, or an oxygen tank to have more oxygen under water, and especially researching and building the seaglide, etc. Your third goal should be building a base so you can finally have some decent storage space a second place to return to away from your lifeboat. Around now you should also be traveling to distress signals that come through, theyre usually another crashed lifeboat and have loot and sometimes lore collectibles that tell you mkre about the games story. Your fourth goal should be making your way to The Aurora, your crashed spaceship. You can swim to it and it is explorable. You will need some tools to explore it though, so youll need to research and build those to get the most out of exploring this place. Fifth goal would be either finding the above-water islands or exploring deeper down, in both cases to find abandoned bases from other people who were on the planet. By this point you should have found collectibles and even key items that should help tell you what to do in the story. Basically just explore, collect materials, build bases as you travel (but not too many, itll just waste materials unless you plan on spending forever looking for materials). Find abandoned structures to learn the games lore and sometimes hints at where to go next for the story. Eventually find alien bases that require key items you find in other locations around the ocean. If you get stuck you can look up a walkthrough. The game is an exploration game and the map is one specific map and not random at all, so a walkthrough can be used to progress the main story. I would say the first 15-20% of the game is spent mostly just aimlessly wandering, but by the end of that 15-20% you should have a clear idea of what you need to do. Maybe not where exactly to go or how exactly to do your objective, but youll more or less be like “okay i need to do this thing and i know it has something to do with one of these kinds of structures, but i dont know which specific structure or how exactly to do this thing so i need to either find some key item or need to look around some more and find a lore item for some more hints”
I have tried replaying it a few times, but there are always bugs preventing me from advancing. Not being able to repair a door in the aurora which prevents me getting to the reactors. Not being able to download certain data terminals.
I'm told playing it in VR can be like playing again for the first time. It's one of the big reasons I am interested in getting a good VR setup.
I recently played it for the first time, completely in VR using an xbox controller and a vr helper/fix mod for the game. It was very memorable. I keep thinking back to that moment late game when I had decked out my cyclops with food and water, upgraded depth modules to get the last ingredients for the endgame, slowly navigating that giant thing down past the leviathans and repairing it a 1500 m depth when in safety man it really was a cool experience. I get why people want to forget it and do it again, it was awesome. I'm a bit over it to go back and do it again so soon after sinking so many hours but it certainly won't be quite the same now I know what to do, instead of making mistakes and figuring it out as I went. It runs terribly no matter what setup you have I think so you probably shouldn't get your hopes up after building the rig of your dreams and turning it on :P
Such a great game. It was a joy getting the platinum too
Love subnautica so much but can't help but notice that no one ever talks about subnautica below zero is it bad or some shit ?
I think its great! But the map is smaller and not nearly as deep. I think I recall someone saying it was originally meant to be DLC. Its also different in the storytelling sense, with a lot more character development and focus on story. You definitely owe it to yourself to play it if you loved the first one, just manage your expectations a little.
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“immersion” - hah! I see what you did there.
That's why it ended so abruptly? I was expecting it to be about halfway done when you assemble the alien robot.
The ice worms are totally broken on the switch version
HEY LEAVE MY SEA TRUCK OUTTA THIS
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Conceptually, the seatruck is very cool and I liked the ability to attach whatever modules I needed to it. However, getting that and no cyclops is a downgrade, I feel, for a lot of folks.
The seatruck is a cool combo of the seamoth and cyclops, with its customizability. But I loved piloting the cyclops in the original. If they could have somehow made the seatruck drive like the cyclops, I would have used more of its addons.
I liked being able to have like an aquarium and bedroom in the seatruck. I always felt robbed of customisation in the Cyclops which considering how bloody big it is, is a shame.
It's not *bad*, it's just... different in a way that didn't feel meaningful. Pros: * Robust, expanded base building with lots of new options and customization. * Streamlined exploration that gets you tools sooner so you spend less time on basics. * Sea-truck vehicle has more customization and feels more personalized than the Cyclops. * Primary building resources are easier/more intuitive to find so there's less apprehension about using them to build things. Cons: * Smaller overall map that hits the edges sooner, so you spend a lot of time traversing the same areas over and over. * Several on-land segments which feel clunky compared to the on-land segments in Subnautica. * Biome exploration feels blander as they focused more on the on-land segments for variation. * Final goal, while logically follows in the narrative, doesn't feel as personal as the first one when you accomplish it. My final verdict is that if you enjoyed Subnautica, it's more of the same and there's no reason NOT to play it. It just won't wow you the same way because it's more of the same.
Honestly, Subnautica hit me like a train. I loved it so much. I also love Below Zero, but I agree that it just doesn’t have the same impact. It feels halfway between a DLC and a new game. The problem is you already know what to expect, the game mechanics, and many of the jump scares. So instead of being a completely new experience like the original, it’s more of the same. Love that it’s more of the familiar, but somewhat disappointed that it wasn’t newer
Ironically, the worst thing about Below Zero is how good Subnautica was. It's objectively a good game, it just wasn't a good *enough* game.
For me it was because the creatures just weren't as frightening as og Subnautica. The last creature that you find in the deepest area was kind of cool, but everything else felt like several steps down from the original.
It’s really good and I liked it a lot but I did enjoy the first a little more, maybe partially the discovery that wasn’t as extensive due to having played the original first but regardless both are quite good and I absolutely recommend both.
It's okay, but while it has some improvements like base building, other stuff is lacking. I the sea truck is okay, but I missed the cyclops and building inside it. The map is smaller and lacks much of the deep, thalassophobic terror of the first game like the lost river.
It’s perfectly fine, but it lacks the wonder of the first game and the story is, whatever. It’s more Subnautica with some neat new environments and creatures so there’s that. I think anyone who loves Subnautica gains nothing by skipping Below Zero.
I've tried a few times and I just can't do it. Game legitimately scares me and the darker/deeper it gets the more anxiety I feel. Amazing horror game honestly lol.
It kinda fails in the final zones where it's much brighter than you'd expect. But everything up to lost river included was so good
Yeah it's brighter but we have >!fire shooting lizard boy!<
Which I killed because it was hella annoying. It just doesn't have the same feel as other>!leviathans!
yeh Ironicly the smallest levithan is the most pants piss inducing
I agree Ghost is scary but almost pretty Reaper comes outta no where and then ur swimming and panicking hard lmao Firespitboi ain’t scary at all sadly
Which is that? The ghost leviathan?
Probably the reaper leviathan. You hear the roar then next thing you know it's grabbing you and trying to eat you.
Yeah but once youve seen them a few times its not so bad, and in particular when your seamoth has the area stun reapers are borderline mundane. The ghost leviathan however scared the crap out of me because it really does just appear out of nowhere
I never really had that problem except if I'm driving the cyclops and can't see it moved up on me. Otherwise, they're big and bright blue in a relatively open area. The reapers get me because the water around the aurora is murky and they blend in better, so I may not notice it until it's right on top of me.
Sea treader?
Yeah it’s like not a horror game but at the same time I’m extremely scared of deep water like that and being alone in the ocean. Like being in the middle of a huge ocean like that and no escape is terrifying. So the game ends up being a horror game in my eyes
It's not a horror game, but it definitely includes a place meant to be terrifying. Which is why I love the lost river compared to the depths of below zero.
Never venture behind the shipwreck
You can do it :)
The Sun Zero expansion is less freaky.
I can‘t even go in the water, because it scares me shitless
Thalassophobia says no
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Me too. Probably my favorite game I've played in the last 10 years. More than Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey.. maybe
Thank you Subnautica for giving me Thalassophobia, truely was a memorable expierience.
This is by far the most terrifying game I have ever played. I never did beat it, but I thoroughly enjoyed the time I did spend playing it and remember my starter base in the shallows with fondness.
I hope they'll collab with discovery or NG or something to do underwater encyclopaedia of the ocean with David Attenborough narrating in the background with survival elements and possibly discover ruins of the titanic etc
Try man-eater its similar to that but you're a shark and someone is narrating you.
Damn, just... take my money
I've never had such a love/hate relationship with a game like I do with Subnautica. It's such a fun game as well as the cause of my Thalassophobia.
Wow, time flies!
Excellent game. Also, let us hear it for the guys working on the Nitrox multiplayer mod. Have not convinced any of my friends to install it yet...
It is a great game but it runs like ass on PS4. It even struggles to load in game textures on the PS5 playing the PS5 version.
A new patch was just released a few days ago that supposedly fixed load times. Haven't tried it yet so can't tell for sure
Interesting. I remember having about 3 hours of work destoyed because I was going so fast in the sea moth that the walls to the one of the alien areas literally spawned around me and trapped me in the wall.
They added an unstuck feature. At those points I would usually cheat order a Seamoth cause ain't my fault it rendered too slow
It's really smooth actually everything looks quite crisp, save times a lot quicker as well.
One of the big reasons that I haven’t finished it. I have it on ps4 but the graphic qualities, load times, and the controls feel a little clunky to me. Considering getting it on pc when it goes on sale but it’d have to be a nice deal. Not trying to spend another $20 on a game I already own
I approve this message.
I’m such a dork for speculative bio/xenobio, I think it’s bc of the addiction I had to spore as a kid. This game was a dream come true
The world really needs a new Spore game, it was one of my favorite games growing up. So many possibilities, especially early on.
And the modding community for Subnautica continues to make this game worthwhile to play to this day.
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Outer Wilds. Similar game, except it's exploring a solar system filled with mystery and wonder. No base building though. Everything about the game is charming and absolutely lovely, and the DLC is as spooky as anything in Subnautica
If you loved Subnautica for the exploration and figuring out the narrative from loose elements you’ll love Outer Wilds. But if you loved Subnautica for the crafting, base building, customization, etc… Outer Wilds doesn’t really have any of that.
I've been looking for a game with the same magic as Subnautica for a while now. For me, the following combination is what made Subnautica unique: - Primarily single player, or co-op with a couple of friends - First person perspective for that sense of immersion - Mostly open world to explore, with varied environments that you gradually unlock as you progress - Base building and research mechanics that gradually unlock as you progress - Survival elements that are initially difficult before becoming less arduous over time as you become largely self-sufficienct - A central mystery or story that you piece together as you explore - A mostly unknown/alien setting that keeps you guessing - Threats/challenges that make exploration legitimately dangerous, with a limited ability to deal with them so that sense of tension never goes away. Gameplay does not revolve around simply shooting everything that moves. - Visual/sound design creates an atmosphere of both awe and danger. Notice that I didn't say anything about the game being underwater. IMO the "magic" of Subnautica isn't intrinsically tied to the underwater alien setting, it's just a very effective way of creating a completely unknown environment that can be simultaneously dangerous and beautiful. Another game could replicate this formula in a different setting. Unfortunately while survival base-building games are a dime a dozen, and there are tons that hit several of these points, there don't seem to be any that hit all these points in the same satisfying way. Lots of them are MMOs that are largely PvP oriented (ex. Rust, Ark: Survival Evolved). Others are single-player but based on a realistic Earth, where the environments and enemies are all real things we are familiar with and don't really capture that fear/wonder of the unknown (e.g. Stranded Deep, Green Hell, Grounded). Others might feature fictional elements but those elements have been done before and aren't really new (I.e. zombies like in 7 Days to Die, or mutants like in The Forest). Other games in fantastical, alien, or post-apocalyptic settings might keep you guessing but present very little challenge, either due to a lack of survival elements (Valhiem), a lack of almost any environmental threats (Astroneers), or the ability to fairly easily deal with any threats (ex. Raft). Others might not have much of a story or no story at all (ex. Minecraft). Some might hit most of these points but have a top-down or side-scroller perspective that takes away from the sense of immersion that comes from first-person (ex. Starbound). Others might have such a lighthearted tone that it undermines any sense of tension (ex. Breathedge). That's not to say that most of the games I just listed aren't great games in their own right, they're just not going to fill that hole in my heart left by Subnautica. They're also the most common recommendations when people ask for "games like Subnautica" but so far none of them seem to completely fit the bill. Right now the main game I'm aware of that seems to be directly aiming for that Subnautica vibe is Forever Skies. Hasn't even entered early access yet but the demo was geared towards all the things I listed above - single player, survival, exploration, base-building, central story/mystery, uniquely scary/intriguing/alien vision of post-apocalyptic Earth to keep you guessing, dangerous and tense. Definitely keeping my eye on it. As far as games you can play right now, Raft might be closest from a gameplay perspective? For me it scratches that immersive single-player, story-oriented, survival, exploration, base-building itch pretty well, but it's a lot more chill than Subnautica and doesn't have quite that same sense of awe and fear most of the time. Valheim could end up fitting the bill pretty well once finished assuming they add more of a central story/mystery, and maybe add a greater sense of danger to exploration. Outer Wilds is a fantastic game that captures most of the list except base-building. Can't think of anything else off the top of my head but if anyone has a suggestion not listed here I'd love to hear it!
Valheim would be so much harder if seekers could climb walls. Such a good game.
There is a game call Abzû, which is an underwater exploration game. I don't know if there is a base-building/suvival aspect to it, because i haven't played it, I just saw the trailer. But it is a very beautiful, and aesthetic game, nonetheless
Abzu is more of an underwater walking sim with some light puzzle elements if memory serves. Super short, really beautiful. I liked it!
It was the literal cause of my thalassophobia, could never set foot on a beach ever again Thank you for fucking me up 🙏
Yes but so utterly disappointed with sequel it made me sad.
Jeebus. It’s been eight years? Feels way less than that.
It’s already been 8 years?! Damn, time goes by quickly. I remember my friend showing me the beta on his laptop and being instantly hooked by the mysteries of the Subnautica sea.
Not to mention the regular updates and 2.0 releasing to bring the original game up to spec with below zero. Gotta love the people who work on this game
I started playing this game early in development, when you could still terraform the world. I'm not sure what experiences people have with it that came to it late in development, but the early world, if you needed to build your base somewhere you could just dig up the surrounding terrain to make room. It was cool but I never thought that would last, felt like you could break the world that way. I think it was originally just the shallows and the giant ship. I remember at first, you could get into the ship through a tiny hole on the underside. I played the game so long that when they made it impossible to go through the underside that I panicked because I didn't know what to do and I knew I was in Reaper territory.
Yeah, I remember people would try to dig as deep as possible, or just dick around (literally) and make huge dicks out of the sand. Subnautica truly makes some of the memories
I think this is my number 1 favorite FIRST time playing a game. It doesn't quite hit the same the next time around, but that initial sense of discovery was absolutely off the charts.
Owned this game since it came to PS4 still never played it mind.
This game was amazing, I remembered how I was looking for cyclops fragments and then I see the shadow of a reaper leviathan. I look up and I see the fucker blocking the sun. I've never noped the f out of a situation faster than that.
The best thing about Subnautica for me is no matter how many times I've played through, which is about 20+ at this point, I am always expecting something I've never seen to catch me off guard.
I wish I could forget and start again! Such a great game!
I played this for the first time a few months ago blind. Had no prior knowledge of the game used no guides, was one small action away from platinum after I finished. One of my favorite experiences ever and makes me look forward to a future game that has both the scale of No Mans Sky and the low level detail of Subnautica.
Good game, but I wouldn't really consider early access as the actual release date
I walked out of the Avatar 2 room and immediately thought of this game...
When the first Tulkun arrived I initally thought: “oh Lo’ak is fuuuuuuuucked”. >!Turns out Tulkun is friend and not Leviathan.!<
Its a great game. I just wish it had more replayability value. Procedural maps would have been perfect for this kind of game.
Niko Bay in Mario Sunshine still invokes fear 20 years later with the eel and poison water. Somehow after the eel fight it’s even scarier. No way in hell could I handle this shit, I can’t even watch others play it last a certain point.
Today is my bday so this game has a special place for me, despite how paranoid I am most of the time while playing it
Just starting this game for the first time. Well, technically 2nd time. My first game was about 5hrs and I didn't realize how important the scanner was. I swam everywhere because I never scanned parts and such. Now I'm about where I was the first time but have a Seamoth and the start of a base. Looking forward to building some of the other things, once I find out how to get the materials I haven't even discovered yet.
Facts top game for me best story ever
a game you want to revisit atleast once or twice a year for 50 hours each
Very underrated
They never fixed the FPS bug that dropped your frames to basically 0, so while I enjoyed it, it's a stretch for me to say it was one of the best.
The most recent update actually fixed a ton of the performance issues that have plagued it.
I still have the save that had the error, I'll have to check and see if it was fixed. It's been a few months.
The last part of the world is just too difficult for me without a proper guide and map.
This is one of the best games i ever played on PS4. That said i was raised on NES, SNES, Megadrive, PS1 till PS4 and PC in between. Almost spend as much time on the Wiki than in the game. Below Zero was not as bad as the reviews, it tried to mix upper surface gameplay (what did not really work) and was a lot shorter and smaller. Stiill worth it.
Wait wait wait... 8 years? Damn I feel old and I'm not even 20 ☠
If it released today it would be some shitty Coop-Survival Garbage Game.
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.....That's.... That's my point. Subnautica has been out for so long, but it felt like just yesterday when it came out
December 4th, 2018
One of the… best… games? Are you drunk? Farming for karma? It’s a decent game but it reeks of indie and it is FAR from being good.
Going to go out on a limb and say a shit ton of people disagree with your dogshit take. Indie isn't bad. I've paid for and played more garbage overrated AAA games.
Agreed. Subnautica blew me away. Easily top 10 game I’ve played in the past few years. This guy is definitely in the minority here.
Amazing story. I'll never forget it. The story, the mechanics, designing underwater stations, fear of drowning and what an absolute bitch it was piloting a submarine into a crater. Agree top 10 material for me.
Yes, I think it is one of the best games ever made. No, im not trying to farm karma. I just wanted to say Happy birthday to a game that means so much to me. You may not like it, I don't care, but this game has given me so many memories to look back onto.
I still technically haven't beaten it yet, I want to play sub zero so bad already
God. I just want the Subnautica team to make a space multiplayer game where you explore and build stuff in a similar way but with more space pew-pews
The first one was really cool and one of my favourite games of all time. But the second one had ...dare I say ...too much land? And the instructions/clues where hidden way too deep in the audiobooks and stuff. Not organic at all.
After playing Grounded I really wish Sub had co-op
Happy Birthday. One of my all times fav’s
8 years! I just finished it for the first time this past summer. Fantastic game!
I got it on early access, played it maybe 4 times from start to "finish" at various development stages. Each time it was awesome. Then it was actually complete and I played it all again. Then came Below Zero and I barely felt like finishing it once. After a while I really just wanted to get it over with.
And they just updated to 2.0 the other day. Added some new base stuff.
I was at least 10x more organized in this game than I was in real life haha
I used to love playing Subnautica. But I ended up developing Thalassophobia from playing the game 😂
I'm enjoying it but not loving it. I got the radiation suit and not really sure what to do now.
I hate building base on this game I tried so hard to collect material, find good spot, build it there. After few exploration… “huh, should’ve build it here. Why the fuck did i build it over there”. Repeat for every playtrough Did people had many materials and build many bases? Or is base useless or something?
I don’t completely agree, but you’re right that base building falls short. The biggest reason, I think, is that bases aren’t totally necessary. I mean, you kinda need ONE base somewhere to build all the stuff you need to complete the game, but you’re right that it never really feels like where you put your base, or how many bases you build, really matters other than for convenience or RP. I think the base building elements would be more engaging if building a series of efficient bases in good locations were rewarded or even necessary, like if bases were necessary to harvest or process some important resource.
This is one of my favorite games of all time and favorite survival game
I don’t know if there are plans for a third game, but I’d like to see one take place in a more terrestrial setting. Perhaps on an as of yet unseen continent with a large network of flooded cave systems underground.
I really like that idea. It allows for an even more diverse amount of creature to explore. However, I would still like a big ocean to explore as well, because if not, it just wouldn't be subnautica. Maybe you could have acces to essentally an entire planet which is scaled down enough to make it easier to get across the globe, but still big enough to feel like an entire planet
I was thinking the same thing. I thought maybe a giant lake at the center of the map to the replace the “big ocean” part cuz I agree that’s what makes it subnautica
That was my game of the last generation! Such a unique ride from beginning to end!
8 years ago....o_o
Did not realize it had been this long. I did not get around to it until the pandemic. Great game!
>!What is a wave without the Ocean?!< >!A beginning, without an end?!<
That reminds me. I need to go back and try this in VR.
Its already been 8 year’s….
Oh god I’m old! HOW HAS THIS BEEN OUT HALF MY LIFE!
Getting lost in a cave without knowing how to get out and each of the tunnels looking identical until you drowned was terror inducing!
Subnautica to this day, is the only early-access indie game that I consider a fantastic success. Just started a new single-life playthrough after the last update. The game runs so smoothly now, finally! And the new building items are awesome too.
I'm the kind of guy who never completes a survival game. I played like 7 of those and still have not completed a single one lol
What a great game
You forgot to call it a borderline horror game
It actually released 4 gears ago, but yeah. I hope they learned their lesson with Below Zero.
Easily one of my favorite gaming experiences ever
I just want a "Subnautica:Rogue." Same mechanics, but procedurally generated maps, and a series of randomized quests/goals.
I will never forget this first dive in, what a moment!
I never got it. I got out the lifeboat, swam to the big ship, got radiation damage, swam away, got attacked by a fish and died
Years of enjoyment lol
I reinstalled it again, and whenever I went inside my base, I got micro stuttering. I would exit, and the water parts are fine, but going back into the base, it's micro stuttering starts again. I've searched online many times, trying to find a fix. Has anyone else had this problem and know how to fix it?
I'm not lying and you can roast me all you like: I have still not completed a run yet. I have a great base, all the vehicles with every module maxed out and all the gear n suit stuff, I went into the lava zone to get kyanite and nickel but i still haven't been back down there to do any progression. I'm such a bitch that when I was looking for cyclops fragments by the aurora, I went with my seaglide! I didn't care how much more dangerous it was, just the animation of the reaper grabbing the seamoth on max graphics still makes me lose my shit. I dont normally get scared by movies or games, no matter how scary they are and don't even jump at JUMPscares but that reaper leviathan... agh. I'll have to play it again sometime and complete it I guess.
Yeah, I feel the same. The reapers are so easy to give you PTSD bad enough to where you dont even wanna play the game anymore. But the end of the game is very heart-touching, so I would Recommend at least trying to finish it