Subnautica: Below Zero
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Critic Reviews for Subnautica: Below Zero
Subnautica: Below Zero is a leaner, meaner standalone expansion to Subnautica that improves on the story and mechanics, but doesn't give us as much room to explore.
Below Zero is a mostly brilliant sequel to the best survival game of all time.
In developing Subnautica: Below Zero, Unknown Worlds heeded the lessons learned from Subnautica and the feedback received from players about both games over the years. Below Zero has taken no steps backward and instead offers an even more polished experience than its predecessor. As for gameplay and story, it’s not necessarily a better game, but it is certainly just as good.
A mellow paced and captivating game of underwater exploration, crafting, and discovery, that feels more like a Subnautica expansion than a discrete sequel.
It's technically a survival game, but it feels more like a grand adventure that is free of many of the genre's frustrations
Even if there are a lot of shared elements between the two games and the ground-based traversal isn't everything it's cracked up to be, Below Zero's greater focus on character-driven storytelling lands well and this standalone adventure captures the unrivaled magic of underwater exploration all over again.
Subnautica: Below Zero is a masterfully horrific experience that encourages you to push on despite your fears. It's a fine balancing act of the horrors you'll face underwater and the rewards you can get for evading them. It's really very hard, but it's also really very good.
Subnautica: Below Zero doesn't reach the same heights as the first game, but it's proof Unknown World's 2018 survival game wasn't a fluke. The act of exploring a mysterious underwater world whilst trying to survive is nearly as captivating in Below Zero as it was then. I'm still not a fan of the survival genre, yet I loved every moment I spent with Subnautica: Below Zero. I may know most of the tricks by now, but that didn't make the experience any less magical.
