eXistenZ approved 👍👍👍👍

Subnautica is a 10/10 game. Below Zero is a solid 9/10 in the series.

Below Zero a decent game, but I can't recommend it because it's not a Subnautica game. Here are the primary reasons why its a departure from what made the original a masterpiece.

1. Story/Setting
The first game literally (and figuratively) threw you in the deep end and gave you nothing. That feeling of crash landing and only having your damaged escape pod with absolutely no indicators of what to do, and where to go, is what made the original special. You had to figure it out and experience the fear of the unknown. This essentially meant that you were put in the driver's seat and got to write your own story. That's just not the case with Below Zero. Here you are experiencing someone else's story and the game never lets you forget it. There is constant interruptions pointing you in the right direction and reminding you that you are in fact in a linear story game pretending to be an open world mystery survival.

2. Difficulty/Survival
Below Zero not a survival game. The resources are 10x easier to obtain than the original game. Within a few hours of playing I already had a fully loaded base with endless energy and resources at my disposal. Also, you're pretty much never at risk of drowning unless you're intentionally being careless. This is primarily due to the game being much more shallow compared to the first, and the RIDICULOUS sources of oxygen below water. You heard that right, everywhere you look there are plants that you can use to replenish your oxygen. Want to hear something even more ridiculous? There are literally fish that you can use to fill up your O2. So pretty much you can stay underwater for like 10 mins on a standard tank without surfacing. And also some of the in game elements just don't belong in a game like this, like a wet suit that produces water, come on now.

3. Horror
The original game is absolutely terrifying. If you've played it you know what I'm talking about. Below Zero has none of the elements that made the first one so unsettling (in a good way). Its shallow so there is no fear of the unknown or drowning. Its just generally brighter so you're never relying too much on the audio feedback of the creatures to know if you've stumbled somewhere you shouldn't have. The creatures in this game are just bad tbh, they pose no threat (not sure what it is exactly maybe they're just slow?).

So if you want a Subnautica game, just replay the original and watch a Youtube video of what this game adds to the story. It's just not worth the disappointment. But if you have nothing else to play then this is still a decent casual experience.