This includes several new Leviathan-class creatures that I won’t spoil, but you can be assured are utterly terrifying.Īrguably more interesting, however, are the mid-size fauna, as these can be used in interesting ways.

But nearly everything else hasn’t been seen before. There are a few familiar faces, such as Bladderfish and Hoopfish and an arctic version of the Peeper. Wildlife is more diverse and interactiveĪs with the biomes, Below Zero’s wildlife is almost entirely new. It’s a truly remarkable place to explore, with amazing sights and sounds around every corner.ģ. There are harsh, tundra-like environments such as the Arctic Spires, where fierce winds have created canyons filled with giant spikes of rock. There are floating archipelagos of tower-block sized icebergs that you can swim under and even through. Well, Below Zero’s biomes are even better, ranging from vast networks of hydrothermal vents, through giant lilypad forests, to downright alien spaces like the Twisty Bridges. One of Subnautica’s most interesting features was its environmental biomes, which were so weird and interesting compared to most other survival games. In short, Below Zero adds the same fundamental tension to exploring land that you find underwater, meaning you’re never 100% safe wherever you travel. Hence, you need to constantly find ways to stay warm, from standing in warm spots like caves or near heat producing objects like thermal lilies, to consuming certain types of warming foods. As you get colder, the edges of the screen start to freeze, your breath becomes visible, and eventually you’ll succumb to hypothermia. In the same way your O2 depletes while underwater, when on land you have a temperature gauge that gradually ticks down. This added emphasis on land exploration comes with a new mechanic, temperature. From glacial bays to polar tundra, about 30% of the game’s overall running time is spent traversing terrestrial environments. This has several implications for the game as a whole, but the most significant is you spend considerably more time on land than in Subnautica. Rather than being set in a tropical ocean environment, you instead explore the game’s Arctic region. So rather than doing a straightforward review, I wanted to highlight these specific areas where Below Zero differs from Subnautica, discussing how these affect the play experience and broader quality of the game.īelow Zero takes place on 4546B, the same aquatic planet as the original Subnautica. That said, there are several areas where Below Zero differs from the original, and those changes nudge the quality of the game in slightly different directions. Below Zero is largely similar to its predecessor, which means the overall quality is also more or less the same (i.e. Subnautica: Below Zero is the sequel to the 2018 underwater survival game, which is my pick for the best survival game ever made.

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