Is Subnautica: Below Zero Better Or Worse Than The Original?

After years of anticipation, Below Zero finally came out of Early Access. We all know how massively successful the original Subnautica was - so what's the new one like? Can it possibly hold up to the high standards of the first? Let's find out!
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:55 Art
01:52 Music
02:57 Gameplay
04:04 Vehicles
05:32 Dry Land
06:25 Level Design
07:22 Horror
08:57 Bugs
09:18 Story (Spoilers)
11:26 Conclusion
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[@Nopunsforyou]

The original game really gives you that sense of loneliness. You’re the only survivor and you have to build and work toward everything yourself. In below zero, everything just feels so guided and you really lose that horror and lonely element the original was praised for.

[@voxpopssoda]

In my opinion the reason why Unkown Worlds decided to make it more guided is because if they still went with loneliness people will get bored and think the game will be another stereotypical, lonely, underwater survival game. I say the reason they did it because they wanted to try something new, again just my opinion.

[@Toven_WaveWatcherFi]

@@voxpopssoda Yeah that makes sense

[@joshbreaksk8IN]

@@voxpopssoda that mixed with making it more user friendly to sell more copies

[@derezzed5588]

@@joshbreaksk8IN I always feel a little insulted when a game is made to be more accessible. Like they’re alienating their already established audience.

[@tobiasweber2517]

dunno when im at the bottom of the sea and giant levithans hunt me down.. it doesnt really matter that up there there are humans around. down here in the depths im still alone and noone can help me

[@hellocommaspacebitch]

The creepy atmosphere was definitely lacking. I think this was a very important part of the first game

[@neriwashere6641]

Yeah but it’s the second and the developers wanted to focus more on exploration than spookiness

[@attackmaster519]

@@neriwashere6641 And that was a horrible mistake. The spookiness of the setting is what made the exploration worthwhile.

[@A_ghost_leviathan]

@@attackmaster519 and plus below zero basically tells you where to go

[@seancutler6712]

@@A_ghost_leviathan Yeah I think they did a better job of not holding your hand in the first one, like you had the radio for clues but in Below Zero you just get PDA beacon updates if you come within like 1km of a notable site. I was able to just beeline to each location, whereas in classic you were forced to fumble around in the dangerous zones somewhat more.

[@neriwashere6641]

@@seancutler6712 yeah because the biomes in below zero are not even as scary as biomes like the blood kelp zone and the grand reef. But I still have enjoy both

[@IAmNumber4000]

The bummer about BZ is, IMO, the lack of scale. Part of what made the original Subnautica so great was those drop-off areas that make you go “Oh shit. I do not like that.” But then you get the cyclops, and navigating it down through the Lost River tunnels to the Lava Zone is one of the most memorable experiences in gaming. The Sea Truck just does not do it for me sadly.

[@ebicgaemer3330]

My favorite biome in Subnautica was always the Northern Blood Kelp zone, its the deepest non-cave biome and really gave me a sense of scale at how far deep you are, and it's drops down in a huge valley between two ridges making it look like a hell pit.

[@mrmonkey123]

I didn’t even drive my cyclops in my first play through 😂 I just brought my seamoth for any lost river trips and them used my prawn for the lava zone

[@_Shadoh_]

I love the seatruck.

[@Hanfgurkenhasser]

Yeah the world size of BZ is a lot smaller. More dense but the scale is missing. And yeah, like you said - not too many sharp drop-offs. Only ever felt uneasy going NE where waters were deep and icebergs partially cut off your vision. Reminded me of the Grand Reef zone. The rest was too welcoming and well-lit. And the leviathan in the end zone was more annoying that anything else. Couldn't even park my prawn in a safe spot so after the cutscene I just teleported myself outta there lol.

[@hennyman5393]

I agree w this 100%. another flaw I felt with BZ was not only the lack of fear. But the lack of biome diversity. 1. The kelp biome had no danger to it. 2. Twisty Bridges was barely a threat. And aside from those two I would say I spend 50% of my game in the “pilots last signal” zone (I forget what the biome was called). I would travel through other biomes but honesty never really had a memorable experience in any other one. I used my prawn suit maybe 5 times. And navigated through the shadow leviathans with ease. I didn’t feel any closure when completing the Sam missions, and the end game felt a little bit empty. I thought Margerite was a cool add and I think they should’ve made her more prominent and dangerous. What did really capture my love for the game was honestly the music discs you would find all over the map. I felt like that made living in your base awesome. It brought emotion to the game, which was lacking heavily compared to the first. While this game wasn’t a flop. It was definitely not as good and capturing as the first masterpiece they made. I hope they bounce back as this series is up there in my favorite game series of all time.

[@CasperCross_]

4:11 I personally like how clunky and slow the cyclops was. That was the trade off for the transportation and inventory it could provide. It made you feel vulnerable, that plus the low amount of visibility you had. Made transporting it through the lost river incredibly tense and immersive. The Sea truck with its full degrees of rotation, and speed completely removes the fear factor that made the first game so great.

[@jbthekeeper2509]

Same, the cyclops was large and felt like it too, the seatruck feels less like your own submarine and more like a tow truck.

[@huguesdepayens807]

Um, yeah it's slow, look how damn big it is. Why is this such a hard concept for people to understand?

[@flakdampler11]

Hell yes the lack of visibility and how slow it is made descending that huuuuge distance from the surface, through the lost river, to the lava zone was so terrifying. My favorite part of that game by far.

[@IAmNumber4000]

Also the Cyclops handles quite well for what it is. You have cameras all around the outside so you can always get it through a tight spot, and it always stays horizontal. The Seatruck on the other hand is a nightmare to drive if you have a lot of modules attached. In order to look around you need to swing the entire thing around essentially, which makes it horrible in tight areas.

[@ZetsubouGintama]

Also, you can kill everything with upgraded seatruck.

[@gabrielpasquino4270]

one of the worst changed imo was making the seatruck be able to go all the way down to the deepest areas. In the first game, you have to take the prawn (or cyclops) to go that deep, and it makes it feel terrifying; I took the prawn, and the feeling of stomping through the lava zone with a sea dragon chasing you makes you really feel immersed in the environment, like there's stakes. In this game, you can take your cozy little seatruck all the way down, and if any creatures come close, just zap them with the anti-monster mod. I felt safe the whole time, like nothing could harm me, and the end game areas didn't feel nearly as impactful because of it.

[@someweirdo1736]

I took both

[@jamessolomon6106]

Yeah the prawn suit felt kinda .. pointless once u got the parimitar defences and the depth modules.... the truck is ... well its a truck ur 100%safe in it unless u drive off the map And the prawn suit is well ... basically a drilling module jn this one

[@ansharchit]

@@jamessolomon6106 right

[@charlielipscombe6838]

same I didn't get scared nearly as much when playing below zero because of perimeter defence system

[@biggerman3691]

Yeah after I get the perimeter defense system I just felt careless. And I actually beat the game without the prawn suit bc I never felt like getting one bc it was useless

[@DeathsHood]

One of my least favorite things about Below Zero (other than lack of horror and smaller map) was the incredibly loud, but not dangerous, fauna. Cryptosuchus just isn't dangerous enough to warrant that kind of sound. It _did_ get me thinking, though: If they ever make a 3rd subnautica, they should add a small, innocuous-looking fish (maybe like the noot-fish) that can mimic the sound of leviathans living in the area. Imagine being 800m down, navigating a murky, open cave, when suddenly *Reaper noises!* from the nothingness. And then a little fish swims by, roaring at you, lol.

[@EphiTV]

It seems like they wanted to tone down the horror in general, but felt like they needed some "jump scare" moments for streamer reactions. Could be lots of other things, but yeah the small creatures are way too loud.

[@Stephnotfound]

Omg that’d be evil

[@X-Bot-1]

important question of subnautica that I can't find answers even on the internet or from retailers ... I dont understand more the differences between sequel expansions and I'm hating them, like the walking dead all expansions multiple physical editions in the end if you wait you buy the latest version with all the expansions, I want to understand what difference there is between the 2 subnautica? they are 2 different games and I have to buy all 2 or is it an expansion and if I only buy below zero has it also included the first subnautica? I don't want to have 2 identical games

[@EphiTV]

Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero are two separate games. The stories and characters are different. They can be bought and played in any order, but the original Subnautica came out first.

[@X-Bot-1]

@@EphiTV thank you so much!

[@anarchyplus2057]

The cyclops is one of my most memorable moments in all of gaming, cant believe they removed it and didn't replace it with some new massive late game vehicle. Seatruck replaced the seamoth and i can mostly accept that but it definitely doesn't make up for losing BOTH. Why couldn't they just let you build all of them?

[@SomeOne-vf1rs]

I think the cyclops is probably way too big for Below Zero’s map. It’d either break, or just make the world feel even smaller.

[@anarchyplus2057]

@@SomeOne-vf1rs true i didnt consider how tight a lot of below zeros's map is especially down low, but even if i could barely take it anwhere theres just something about building a base in there, like with a table and rp elements is so fundimental to subnautica for me. I prefer it over an actual base.

[@SomeOne-vf1rs]

AnarchyPlus20 Yeah 100% same. I was sad when I first heard you can’t build it in below zero and then I actually played the game and realized why they probably did that.

[@caioleite5579]

I agree, man. Building and driving the Cyclops was so epic. It felt as if I had mastered the game or something like that (even though there was a lot of stuff to do after that)

[@MrWeird-mu5ul]

IMO, The seatruck is kinda good, But it is no matxh for my trusty cyclops, Plus it was poorly executed, And looks nothing like a seamoth or cyclops.

[@LotusBoi1989]

I was an absolutely massive fangirl of the Cyclops. To the point where I'd only build the most bare-bones of bases, really only to store supplies, while I worked on unlocking my Cyclops and then getting it built up into a mobile base. Even in a completely vanilla playthrough, I'd rather park above some lava and work on organizing my inventories rather than surface and plug all my spare power cells into my base to recharge them. I'd even cycle power cells through my Prawn Suit standing on some lava in an effort to avoid returning "home", just because the Cyclops WAS my home. And none of that joy I could ever get out of the Sea Truck. Sure, it was kinda cool, certainly more maneuverable, and was a sufficient stopgap between bases, but that's all it ever was. Like trying to live out of a pickup truck instead of a proper RV.

[@Nuvizzle]

The cyclops was cool as hell. It felt like a little mini story of its own, having to get all the different blueprints for it from multiple dangerous biomes, finally gathering all the materials required to craft it and then realizing as it's being built just how MASSIVE it really was. When I went to enter it for the first time I thought it was a little strange and inconvenient that I had to swim around to the actual hatch to hop inside instead of being able to enter from anywhere - because that's what I'm used to in Subnautica and basically every other game like it - only to realize once I did enter it that the reason for that was because you were ACTUALLY entering the hatch, and could walk all around this giant sub and the bridge had a whole control scheme and multiple cameras and monitors for piloting it properly. I was expecting to just be teleported to the driver's seat and for it to work like any other simplistic videogame vehicle so it totally shocked me when it went the extra mile to provide a more immersive experience. Honestly the Cyclops totally floored me, building and boarding it for the first time was one of the coolest moments I've ever had in a game.

[@mclovin2408]

I personally was a builder, I built a base in almost every biome, and without the cyclops that would’ve been much harder, the cyclops is like my base building base, and of course I decked it out as much as one can deck out a cyclops, fit with a cell charger and all lol.

[@irezan]

Cyclops is the shit. I created a full locker of power cell like it's my living space and it is. Damn quite disappointed below zero got no cyclops

[@thegardenofeatin5965]

Here's the thing: I've had adventures in the Cyclops. On my first playthrough, I ran out of power in the inactive lava zone. The stupid purple things sucked all my power and I didn't have enough to drive to the surface. This is before I figured out the ion batteries. But I had just enough resources on hand to craft a small sea base with a thermal reactor. I had to take apart my chair and my radio to get enough copper and titanium. The same can't be said for the Seatruck. It was a slow, plodding way to get back and forth to a few places around the map to my seabase near the twisty bridges, that's it.

[@Nadiki]

My biggest complaint about Below Zero is that the aquatic leviathans aren’t scary at all. They’re more annoying than anything. They’re not very numerous, the small spaces allow you to hide from them easily, and they’re not super aggressive. Plus the game literally gives you a seatruck perimeter defense upgrade in the middle of the game, which makes leviathan attacks a joke. The only thing that managed to recreate as much fear as the Reaper Leviathans were the Ice Worms. They were unstoppable, super aggressive, and you couldn’t see them most of the time, just hear them. They did an excellent job with those.

[@bobZfish]

But at the same time the ice worm can't hurt you in your prawn suit and he only does like 12 damage

[@Nadiki]

@@bobZfish Yeah, but it does get a little sketchy if he hits you enough times and you have to get out to repair it

[@roboknightt04]

Personally, the ice worm was the most underwhelming leviathan of the ones added in the game. It just felt a lot easier to avoid than the chelicerate and shadow leviathan, even though i was on foot 90% of the time in the arctic spires

[@bobZfish]

@@Nadiki yeah but when your repairing it he doesn't usually attack you and if he does you can easily hop back in. From my experience before I got the prawn I died more often from starvation than the big ol worm

[@bobZfish]

@@roboknightt04 I personally found the snow stalkers in the arctic spires more deadly than the ice worm. The main reason for that is when your playing on console you can feel the vibrations before he pops up so you get a head start before even starts to attack you.

[@ninjapumpkin0127]

The fact that you couldn't play as Fred was a war crime

[@EphiTV]

A Fred DLC story, even if it's the same map, would be pretty great to see.

[@MinecraftGamer-dq7fk]

@@EphiTV if they were to add a dlc I think a new story and one new biome would be perfect. That's all I think the game could really use.

[@agamerdude7596]

That guy in the official trailer who was just vibing in his seatruck and got attacked by a crashfish, Squidshark, And snow stalkers and discovered a huge frozen leviathan beast that can walk on land

[@dabop7909]

@@agamerdude7596 Fred definitely needs a raise for all that

[@Anthonywinters_]

Isnt below 0 already a dlc?

[@classypeanuts3352]

Long rant you have been warned: Everyone discusses how the game just cuts off the loneliness factor, which I completely agree with. BZ is very lacking in that sense of "no one is here with me I'm on my own" and having a real tangible threat. No one so far has mentioned the sense of mystery present in the first game though. By this what I mean is you needed to figure out the story for yourself in a way. Yes, there were clues given by the pda, but they weren't exactly clues about specifically what to do. You were given more context as to why you were there throughout the game, why the Arora crashed, why you yourself are infected with this unknown disease, and you have to make your way down to the emperor navigating (for the most part) by yourself. No talking ai, no companions or people talking every 5 seconds, just you and whatever vehicle you may have plunging yourself deeper into this unknown world. You can piece the story together yourself, using your intuition and sense of exploration to figure it out. All the while there are constant threats that you have to worry about, along with an interesting mysterious story, there's a huge sense of dread that drives you forward. Below Zero kind of just.. removed that. You're told exactly what to do, the story is revealed to you about 10 minutes into the game, and you're usually in a completely safe little bubble omce you have a seatruck. With your friendly resident al-an telling you where to go and what to do, there's really no mystery, need, or even want to piece together the whole story. Of course everyone has a different opinion on the game and that's perfectly valid, this is just my take after all. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

[@nathandrake9737]

I cried when I first saw the Sea Emporer. I cried when I saw it's babies. Even after the frustration of needing so many damn things to finish building the rocket and launch pad lol, I cried when it was finally time to go. That sense of mystery is what made the whole adventure an absolute masterpiece. So good I don't have much faith it can be recreated.

[@brodiemorris2081]

I think they tried (poorly) to recreate that sense of mystery with the Sam storyline

[@Brotelho]

I prefer 'breadcrumb' story telling. Dark Souls games use the same technique. I like it when a game just stays out of your way and lets you just play while encouraging downtime by reading things in the game.

[@kresovk5]

There is a lot more too. In first game PDA narrator really felt robotic with it's responses that lacked emotion, like first time you gather copper, it says your chances of surviving went from impossible to improbable. It was cold and ruthless, which really sold it. Second one has same issue as Killing Floor to Killing Floor 2 change, it's too overt and it's caring, almost like a mother. Made me go from wanting to hear narrator to despising it. Monsters themselves lost a lot of fear factor too. In first game, for me and likely others too, most horrific enemy is Reaper Leviathan. You knew about it's presence long before you saw it because of it's roar. And most importantly, it had human aspects. Roar wasn't too animalistic, it had humanesque face, it hit the nerve as it fell into uncanny valley region. BZ has giant fish and some wanna be eldritch horror that is stuck in region where you can too easily avoid it. Which ties to map itself. While it looked beautiful and everything, it interrupted development of other parts of the game way too much. You can't have Cyclops like machine, because it wouldn't be able to go anywhere. You can't have effective big enemies, as they would have to clip through walls, which they are slightly doing anyway. First game is like a swiss knife, maybe not the most elegant thing, but it does a lot more than designer knife that is second game. And since they went for more of a stand alone DLC kind of deal, it's fair. Just hoped they would have expressed that better.

[@crafty_j957]

@@kresovk5 not only that but there are times where the Reaper Leviathan is being ominously silent and the way you're alerted to it's presence is from seeing it's shadow slowly creeping along the ocean floor. I was in the Dunes bio in Subnautica looking for resources when all of a sudden I saw it's shadow pass over the ocean floor right infront of me and I immediately stopped and looked up trying to find it only to catch slight glimpses of it through the foggy water. It was awesome, loved every second of it as I uttered "nope, nope, nooooope...... guess I'll find a different section to look for resources...." Then as I turned away all I heard was the deafening roar and I knew I f'ed up. Barely made it to the nearest cave in a crater, turned around and the Reaper was right there trying to get into the cave, to I guess give me a hug and kiss, since it's face huggers were flexing and it's mouth was opening and closing as it roared in frustration Edit: my son was with me and after it happened we both looked at each other and let out sighs of relief, before trying to answer the age old question of, "now how am I going to leave....." My son was like, "mommy just let him eat you so you won't be stuck there anymore." I ended up escaping after hitting him in the face with my knife, telling my son to not loose hope and that there's usually another way

[@josephtherusher]

To me the thing that really made me sad was the lacking of hostile fauna. In almost every zone there were the same hostile creatures. Especially the Bruteshark and the Squidshark they were everywhere and it really destroyed the feeling of a diverse ecosystem that the developers tried to create.

[@kawashinimon]

First game had like a dozen hostile fauna, and you would see some of them in multiple biomes across the game (making it feel alive). BZ, there's like.... 5. And only 3 of them are kind of in multiple places but not really. It feels too artificially placed.

[@typervader]

I think below zero wasn't trying to be the lone survivor horror type of feel. It wants to be something different instead of trending the same ground to me

[@kmbb3367]

That’s exactly what they went for, and messed up in my humble opinion

[@obosuck]

Seeing as the first game wasn't intended to be horror in the first place they just kinda stumbled into it. I wouldn't be surprised that given their increase in budget they were able to create their vision more accurately instead of letting the game grow naturally and optimizing along the way.

[@kmbb3367]

I did hear they stumbled across the horror aspect accidentally ( best part of subnautica for me ) but I also believe the majority of the development team was different as well for BZ

[@butter_donnut2132]

@@obosuck I think the horror was the best part of the first game, you had something to be scared of a reason to prevent you from progressing being helpless if something attacked but the ghost leviathan kinda sucked it didn't really do anything

[@voxpopssoda]

@@butter_donnut2132 well that's the reason why I stopped even progressing in the game I would literally sit in my life pod because I was scared for my life.

[@omaba]

I actually really liked the clunky nature of the cyclops and paired with the cameras it was fun to navigate.

[@noahboodreaulte3702]

I fully agree with that

[@TacticianMark]

same, although I'd never really thought about the clunkiness too much 'cause the PDA had said the Cyclops was meant to be crewed by three people so I ultimately assumed it was intentional

[@JoshsYTaccount]

Yesss, although it had a really clunky nature, it was really really cool! I used to watch this show when I was little called The Deep, it’s on Netflix btw. Subnautica reminded me so much of it as the show andf the game both had mech suits, a vehicle like the sea moth and of course a huge submarine. The second game didn’t feel anywhere near as cool. I have completed both and in my opinion number one is much better.

[@RizzyTizzyLando]

I got good at piloting that thing!! Toward the end she was my ol reliable

[@hitrapperandartistdababy]

1000% agree with this. To me the cyclops should be hard to manourver. Afterall it is a very heavy piece of equipment.

[@amanofnoreputation2164]

That "dead space" from the first game is actually very critical because an implicit feature of an exploration game's atmosphere is how long it takes to get from place to place. The faster you can get around, the smaller the map feels, so improvements to the player's mobility have to be weighed against the scale of the map: the more accessible mobility is, the larger the map should be to compensate. Teleportation is a very powerful ability to reward the player with, but it is best applied to locations the player has already been to so that they can benefit from the convenience without losing out on the feeling of discovery. What might seem like a waste of time is actually part of the core experience and is therefore not a waste at all. _Shadow of the Colossus_ applied this to great effect and _Breath of The Wild_ would appear to have drawn upon the same principles outlined here.

[@magicman1398]

The cyclops is my favorite thing about subnautica, having a big mobile base is my absolute favorite thing in games. Driving the slow sub deeper and deeper, parking it in a safe location and then taking the prawn suit or seamoth to collect resources, then parking back to recharge, unload, and then head back out again. It is still my favorite thing to do in subnautica, i barely built any actual bases in my runs. I was super disappointed with the seatruck, it doesn't have that mobile base feel. The cyclops felt like a RV adventure while the seatruck is more like car.

[@GordonWrigley]

My wife and I play a bunch of survival craft games, and we did Raft recently which has cemented this idea in my mind that I call "base come with" it really changes you're relationship with the map and the base when it goes with you. I'm quite hopeful for Starfield and Forever Skies in this regard.

[@gabrielpasquino4270]

You touched on what I thought was one of the biggest weaknesses of the game, which is the final areas don't feel nearly as impactful. The Lost River area from the first game is both bone chilling and gorgeous, it feels truly otherworldly; there's nothing in this game that really matches that.

[@EphiTV]

Yeah, the first game has some of it's best content down below. The crystal caves looked cool, but there wasn't much danger or awe compared to the lava zones. And nothing really comparable to the Lost River.

[@sketchy_character]

God the more I think about it the more sbz just didn't have the same feel like that. The first time I went into the lava zone and saw a sea dragon leviathan, even after knowing full well what to expect was soo terrifying. It took me days to even hype myself up enough to go down there. Shadow leviathans and the crystal caves, while cool in design, just never gave me the same feeling

[@jackvoid4364]

what about the artic spires? just got back from doing mass exploration there and i nearly died about 10 times to just ice worms, which added that dreaded thought of getting ambushed

[@boyblue3485]

Heh, *Bone chilling*

[@Toven_WaveWatcherFi]

Exactly

[@ninjapumpkin0127]

Below Zero out of early access feels like a DLC honestly. Not on the same level as the OG at all. They also toned down most of what made the OG so good like the mystery, size, and spook factor. And also the focus on underwater.

[@ryankalarovich7062]

100% agree, it lacked the expansive aspects of what makes a great sequel. great game, but didnt build off of the first one to be honest. wanted it to be deeper, scarier, and more hectic. a little too much focus on the story line and wasnt really enticed by the land/lab section of the game.

[@CrashdayGamer]

It was intended as a expansion for Subnautica in the beginning, but became its own game due to the size.

[@biggerman3691]

It feels like a DLC bc originally it was going to be a Arctic DLC for subanutica but then they decided to make it into another game probably bc it feels big for a DLC but kinda short for a game

[@HH-hd7nd]

@@ryankalarovich7062 It is ok that the land section exists - however the balance between land/sea is not the best. The sea biomes are the best because they feel more alien and what make Subnautica Subnautica in the first place. Less above land and more sea exploration would have been better in my opinion. However my greatest issue with the land biomes is actually how disconnected they are from the sea biomes - it feels like their only purpose is to move the side plot forward. That could have been done better.

[@SuperDestroyerFox]

I liked the land parts because it gave an exploration sense.

[@Logidrake13]

I could not stand the ground exploration in BZ. I really love how Subnautica has Biomes. There was a true sense of rizing in Subnautica. Alwaise going deeper. The true objective in Subnautica is not the story but just exploring, discovering. Your hole progression is trough the upgrades you need to keep going. In BZ, the whole map is basicly unlocked from the start. There is no progression wall since the map is small and there is no danger. In BZ, you just end up going from one progression point to the other

[@StevenRayMorris]

Yes! It’s so frustrating how linear BZ felt. In the original I felt like it was a world I grew to love and respect, I never felt that from BZ.

[@dumkorph]

"Rizzing in Subnautica"? "HOLE progression"???

[@rosewaters2533]

The original being so dark at night and with varied green/blue hues really gives a realistic sense. OST helps but the atmosphere already keeps you on your toes. Taking a long time to find certain resources adds to the feeling that you’re really on uncharted lands and as blind to where things are, just like the character you’re playing.

[@grimms1916]

Below Zero's biggest shortfall was its scope. The scope of the first game felt incredibly vast, like an entire world was stretched out before you, and you had to figure out where to go and why. Comparatively, below zero feels almost tiny. The world is hugely condensed, not to mention not nearly as deep. As a result, the sense of horrified wonder is lost. At no point during my time in below zero did I get hit by a feeling of awe like my first time finding the grand reef, or entering the inactive lava zone. Closest I came was the vent garden, but once you realize that its a one and done, that there is only a single one of these creatures instead of it being a big important fauna that would be seen across the whole biome, the wonder wears off. Another issue rises from the condensed size of below zero: the impact of disvovery is greatly lessened. The long stretches of mostly empty space in the original were such a boon to the excitement that came with exploration. Those stretches of nothing made every wreck, interesting landmark, biome transition or crashed lifepod feel so meaningfull, important. But therr are next to no empty expanses of space in below zero. Every biome is full of twisted complex caverns, so bristiling with stimuli that it at times gets overwhelming. Its like the desingers were afraid that if there wasnt something catching our attention every 30 seconds, we'd loose interest and stop playing

[@Celisar1]

Excellently put and summarised!

[@xelinco3005]

I'd like to add that the below zero map feels very "crafted" with each biomes only existing in one place .I find it very easy to know the whole aquatic map meanwhile i can still feel a bit lost in subnautica which feels more real to me. The big plus of BZ is the lilypad biomes which I finds marvelous as it's content changes with depth. And well the replay value of BZ is low to me, with the story being bad the first time i played and unbearable afterwards( i feel like my character is super idealist but has 10 IQ and is too aggressive+ I don't feel alone ) and some island exploration being needed to build a base. I still liked the game but nothing fantastic like vanilla subnautica.

[@Kevin-zz9du]

All it really needed, was endgame content.. goals for after the story. THAT is shat keeps people playing. I quit playing the first one because I got bored. Nothing to do after beating it. And base building is pointless when you have the cyclops. I'm both happy and annoyed that they got rid of that. Should have doubled or tripled the max depth, doubled the world size, added a lot more vehicles, tools, equipment to find blueprints for. Should have been bigger, scarier leviathans that did even more damage. Should have had no ai.... shouldn't have brought back that annoying chick that acts lika dude... Overall, I'd say below zero is crap.... All the things it improved could have been a simple QoL update for the original subnautica... I have no idea why they made a new game... they should have just added expansions to the first one, like opening up another whole map, tons of new content and QoL improvements, etc. Now we just have have two, incomplete feeling games. $40.. merge below zero with the first game. One massive, great game. Though.. with the direction and design choices they made, I'm kinda glad this is separate...

[@aogasd]

I'm gonna be that person but there's actually two mature vent gardens, one near the island and another a bit deeper, the latter has alien landmark under it. They're identical tho so I can't blame you if you never realized. And I guess there's the vent garden babies floating closer to the surface, those are cute? I'm still playing and I haven't checked the wiki, so idk if they have eggs available...

[@denisplay8258]

Below Zero is made more for plot, because we get a much more information about aliens and even went to aliens home ( 3rd part of subnautica )

[@rocnado]

I’m super disappointed in how passive all the creatures were. I beat the whole game without dying once, I never felt like I had to be careful or smart when approaching certain biomes. I also found the map design to work against the design of the seatruck, as it felt janky and cumbersome trying to navigate a fully upgraded seatruck through the deeper biomes.

[@carly7522]

Same. I only died to bugs and felt the ocean was too crowded to be scary.

[@user-bv7zo6vd4m]

I instead, much like the first one drowned about 30 times, also the shadow leviathan can spot you from halfway across the map. Although I agree that it's not as scary as the original

[@thew00dsman79]

I’m pretty sure I only ever actually died from drowning, no creatures killed me

[@ewoutflameling4191]

My 2

[@thefantorangster2491]

I only died to shandsharks when i wasnt paying attention to my hp in the original. Same story here but with the brutesharks or whatever the sahandsark copies names are.

[@seaweedcat4267]

My stress levels instinctively spiked so hard when I saw the murky water around the Aurora 😂 I hate horror games but I feel like the horror element was exactly why I loved the og game so much. I would simultaneously dread and be so excited for my next gaming session because I was so scared of what I would find and all the possible things that could happen, and at the end of each session I would feel so proud of myself for what I achieved and for being brave enough to get through it. I don't think I'll be playing below zero but it still looks cool as hell

[@asedcopf]

get it when its on sale for half a buck and you have literally nothing better to do...BZ is so disappointing in almost every aspect compared to Subnautica.

[@blueman4232]

As someone who loves biology, I loved the feeling of being a lone researcher in the unknown of the first game. The world felt rich and alive. Scanner entries were detailed and thoughtful. In the sequel, scanner entries were a joke, with new entries being a couple sentences at most and rife with grammatical errors. That coupled with the vastness of the world largely reduced, and the fact that it just wasn’t scary made the game entirely unfun most of the time. Playing it felt like a chore, and I just can’t recommend it to anyone. It didn’t have the passion behind it that the first did.

[@frankcl1]

BZ world feels much more alive than the original, there's more plant, fungi and small fishes everywhere, especially in the caves.

[@adriftinglink]

@@frankcl1 too alive to the point of monotony. I know this is an old post, but indulge my little rant for a second. (Warning, long paragraph) What’s the point of having a bunch of creatures if none of it matters? It’s like walking into the woods. Sure, there’s biodiversity everywhere, but really you only care about any animals that could hurt you or you are specifically looking for. In Subnautica, the scary stuff was everywhere, so you had to care. If the creatures are nothing more than background noise, who cares? I can’t name all the edible fish in the first game besides Peeper and Gary, because they didn’t really matter. Now, all the dangerous stuff, their names are burned to my eyelids. Sand sharks, stalkers, reapers, seadragon, etc. If the creatures are background extras in their own environment, what’s the point? Maybe that’s just me though. I’ve still never beaten the original game because of the terror (which is the only reason I play it). I don’t think I’ll be picking up below zero tbh.

[@accentillia8116]

@@adriftinglink i think its just you, me for example i can name all the prey fish because i loved to pick them up, scan them and read more about how their biology worked

[@ShirakoTheFirst]

I tried using the prawn suit instead of the snow fox, and instantly found myself using the prawn suit exclusively on land, it's faster and you don't have to worry as much trying to outrun the heat worm.

[@VERYHEVYMAN]

I never even made the snowfox

[@siluixlp1501]

Same, but I had massive problems with collision detection with the prawn on land. Like, I clipped through the floor at least 20 times during the playthrough.

[@ShirakoTheFirst]

@@quadrga Still had a few on land to pass the night......2nd had cooler biomes, but not as scary.....were as the 1st was hella scary, first time I saw the floating island floaters.....I was just randomly exploring without hitting the radio for story advancements. I was like nope.....

[@siluixlp1501]

@@quadrga if the prawn wasn't so buggy for me, I would totally agree. But believe me, after falling into the void beneath the land without any hope of escape except reloading, you start to hate that thing. A lot.

[@ShirakoTheFirst]

@@quadrga the only places I had a land base was the ice shelf near the sea monkey cave where I grew all my heat peppers and greens for the salad foodstuffs. Also had my outdoor grow planters and underwater ones there too, it's far away from everything so that it only lags a little while I'm there and goes away when I leave. The other one I had was a small 4 story multiuse tower on the upper part of the bridge. Had a fridge for my salads, and a coffee dispenser and main storage room.

[@DarthAssViolater]

The most immersive games are worlds that are NOT catered and directed for the players sole enjoyment. World's like the original subnautica feels uncaring of whether or not your there. In Below Zero, every new encounter, area, plot development was clearly stated and narrated to make sure YOU knew what you were doing and what that means to you. Like just let me explore in peace and terror.

[@eval_is_evil]

Superb summary , pure truth

[@dabmwlawnmower8089]

nice pfp

[@FuZzOtagE]

"..in peace and terror." 😂 exactly. Any game that sells out is extremely frustrating.

[@RosalynS]

Not everyone enjoys getting on a game and being lost for hours only to realize u wasted all of your time doing literally nothing. This game NEEDED some guidance as some of us have lives and don’t wanna spend all our time trying to figure out a video game..

[@ogierthedane6025]

yep, felt like it was made for a younger audience that needed to be spoofed.

[@donte7155]

I'ma be honest, I don't like the edition of AL-AN or Marguerite. It's nice to know the fate of Marguerite I suppose, but having an A.I companion and another person on the planet kills that dreadful feeling of loneliness and hopelessness that Subnautica captured perfectly.

[@buzzmast3r546]

Personally, Marguerit was the only redeeming factor of the game. My only real gripe was that there wasn't enough of her. A sequel should expand on the original, and this is one of the very few instances where the game even attempts this 🤷‍♂ Edit: It should also be completely different. Limit the repeated biomes, fish, leviathans and story formulas otherwise the game is just going to feel like you've experienced it all before. Without 99% of the game being stuff you've seen before, the sense of wonder just goes.

[@Jacob-df5hr]

​@@buzzmast3r546 really? she struck me as a bad action movie trope "local woman literally too badass to die. grabbed by a leviathan? she punched it in the face until it died. infected by khaara? she punched it in the face until it died. freezing weather? she punched it in the face until it died. did you forget how badass she is? look her prawn suit has a sword on it to remind you that she is, in fact, a badass." like she's a mercenary, I read the logs, I get it already, let it breathe

[@w0rmking268]

@@Jacob-df5hr agreed. i thought it was cool to see her, but how tf did she even make it all the way to the arctic anyways??? the dead zone around the first games crater was huge theres no way a reaper corpse floated all the way there. she was kinda forced into the game

[@KysEcstacy]

@@w0rmking268 fr, the retcon of her death was so superficial

[@EskChan19]

Plus the dialogue was just... terrible. AL-AN and the main character were both really, really stupid. Approaching Forspoken levels of bad dialogue. And our main character is supposed to be an esteemed xenobiologist. Did her dialogue at any point in the game make you think you were witnessing the thought processes of an accomplished scientist? And AL-An too, he was written so inconsistently, first he says that they're basically Borg and there is no individuality among them, then he says that he didn't agree with what the hivemind decided (which is NOT how a hivemind works), then he says that the hivemind is always right, then he said that defectors sometimes happened but they were eradicated as soon as it was known, then it turns out he was a defector because he hated what his hivemind decided, then he says that all he wants is to join his race again. Like make up your mind!

[@celticdash]

I loved the first game a lot it had a lot of replay value to it. For Below Zero I also had a positive experience. The jukebox was one of my favorite additions being able to drive the seatruck around while jamming to tunes. The biomes in the game also awestruck me by the level of detail and beauty even for on the Xbox. Honestly it was a good game just i feel like it could have had a more interesting story.

[@ZetsubouGintama]

That's what I'm talking about. Nothing feeling better than ramming leviathan to death while listen to uou favorite jam.

[@kevinalberto8593]

Imo, the original subnautica is best. You have a large, open sea with a lot of hostile creatures, even in the safe shallows you have the gasopods, their venom is very strong, or the stalkers, that put you in danger even in the first minutes of gameplay. The crashfish are a pain every time you find a cave. The music is more immersive, and when you go through the most dangerous biomes, it turns into something so freaking scary that you want to quit. I'm not an horror fan, but I love what I feel when I play the game. The leviathans are just more terryfing, the main history maybe isn't that cool like the sequel, but it's so emotional, you can cry with the end. Most of the biomes don't have hostil fauna, everything is more simple and easy, and of course, less scary. You don't have that lonelyness that you can feel in the OG, you have Al-An that's like your guide for everything you need to progress into the game. In the other hand, I love the QOL improvements that I see in BZ, like a bar showing the battery duration or the food state. You don't have to spam right click to make the seaglide's map dissapear, and you have subtitles if you listen the audio recordings. That's nice because somethings just don't know English that much. In the OG I need to look the PDA text to understand what are saying the survivors. Other than that, subnautica it's better

[@_will3722]

i agree.

[@beccahwester8477]

I played through both and while Below Zero has a lot of quality of life improvements and performance enhancement, I just never had the itch to hop back into another playthrough like I did when I was done with the original. I've played through the OG multiple times now and I still love 99% of my time in it and can't wait to restart again. BZ didn't feel like that, I just got my trophies, finished it and uninstalled. I enjoyed my time with BZ but it wasn't as memorable or effective as the OG. I have thallassophobia and none of BZ triggered it while it regularly was in the OG and I loved the adrenaline spike so not getting those chills in BZ really disappointed me. Also, the leviathans were definitely less scary. I dealt with Mr Shrimpman so much and it sounds just like the other creatures that it wasn't scary after the 3rdish encounter. The shadow leviathan looked cool but after being attacked over and over trying to get in the fabricator room they got more annoying than anything else. The leviathans in the OG though? I've never dealt with a reaper directly and they still scare the shit outta me just hearing them in the distance. I am also disappointed in the end of Sam's arc. Alan was the best addition to BZ imo and I loved his arc but Sam's was a big let down. While Alan's ended with a flourish, Sam's ended in a thud and didn't feel worth it. I hated the above ground segments too in either game. It just feels slow and clunky. The soundtracks in both are fantastic though, I have them all downloaded on my spotify. BZ's greatest strengths are Alan, quality of life improvements, and the underwater biomes but I think the OG surpasses everything else. OG haunted me with the feeling of isolation and desperation while BZ was more of a fun trip back and not as memorable. Editing to add on something I found amusing after my most recent playthrough of the OG. I wandered into the edge of the dunes on accident and took off as soon as I heard a roar...only to literally put myself right in front of a reaper. I paused and had to quit out I was that terrified lol god I love the OG.

[@zookthedook2114]

imo everything you just said is 100% true. I haven't finished BZ yet, since I haven't had the drive recently, but I just got to the purple crystal biomes, and when I saw the shadow leviathan charging toward me I just went, "oh cool another leviathan" while it ate my Prawn. In the OG, if I even heard the sound of a crabsquid I would run away. Fun fact; I have never gone into the Dunes (except to get the plant) because I was too scared of the damn Reapers. Also, I understand that BZ wanted to add a story and everything, but that takes away from the lonely feeling that made the game so good! Also also, the cutscenes were way more memorable in the OG. I cant even remember any of the cutscenes in BZ. Also also also, like I said before, I haven't had the drive to get back into BZ. In the OG I quite literally, could not stop myself from playing. I was up until 3 am playing the damn thing! In the end, I guess that maybe the devs were going for a different kind of experience with BZ, so in that sense they did a good job. There are a lot of stuff I love about BZ, like the Mercury II stuff, but it just doesn't feel the same. P.S: the BZ soundtrack is a bop 10/10

[@stealthassassins]

great paragraph

[@heavymetarismyway9741]

You are correct in everything you wrote.

[@blakebrown1664]

yes.

[@TeeV479]

@@zookthedook2114 I only went t9 get the cyclops depth module mk1

[@3brenm]

Below zero felt more family friendly, bright and colourful to me, while the original subnautica was genuinely scary in a few places

[@rigel8755]

I think each title is unique tbh. While in the first one you're stranded alone on a hostile, vast and very dangerous landscape, and you have to work on your own to escape, BZ feels more alive, you have company, you got there yourself, it was intentional, it's infinitely more dense than the first one, so it lacks the vast landscapes of the first one, so it shows that the danger is there, however it is not the focus of the full experience obviously.

[@welcome2wyzard]

Thank you! I feel like people are missing the point of Below Zero, it's not supposed to capture the feeling of the first one, they just wanted to tell a new story while bringing in mechanics from the base game. The new biomes were originally supposed to be added on to the OG, but they started getting new ideas so they eventually decided to make a separate game. Both games were made for different purposes, I feel like a lot of people in these comments aren't realizing that BZ isn't supposed to be invoking the same feelings of mystery or terror, the focus and more streamlined storytelling is kind of the point

[@mykenception]

@@welcome2wyzard The story is bad tho, full of plot holes and the characters and their motives are as shallow as they come. BZ's story even tramples the story of the first game. They let go of the aspect which people love in the first game just for this? Naaah

[@EskChan19]

@@welcome2wyzard Sacrificing atmossphere and gameplay for storytelling only works if the story you're telling is worth it though. But none of the characters in this game were likeable, the dialogue was Forspoken levels of disastrous and the story they wanted to tell was... the main characters sister was an idiot and accidentaly blew herself up because "corporations be evil". And the other plot was a supposedly esteemed xenobiologist meets the last remnant of an ancient superrace and both of them talk like drunk sixth graders.

[@mundorf8171]

I've played through both, an I'd say the first game was definitely favorite, but BZ was also solid. The tight and bright spaces, while pretty, eliminated too much of the horror for me, and playing as a fully voiced character with dialouge also took away some immersion, I liked the silent protagonist environmental storytelling angle the first game took.

[@warsman22]

I agree, they’re silent because they are me, I’m the character, not a parrot on the shoulder of someone else

[@Phillibetrus]

I felt like Below Zero was aiming more for wonder than horror and as such had far more beauty and much less dead space. I used the Prawn suit on land and not the snow fox rendering the snow fox pointless. I did miss the cyclops but I am happy to get the sea truck as it provides enough variety to make it worth it to play both games for the variety. Seeing faces with the audio messages was great too since I remember faces so well it helped me connect with the audio logs more than I could with the original game. Pinning recipes was a welcome quality of life change and I spent far more time base building in the sequel thanks to much improvement with base design. As for the story I had a very bad first impression, I did not get Al-An until after I had explored the entire map. When I first got the waypoint and it was 200 meters down I did not have the re-breather or any vehicle and did not know there was a pocket where I could breath down there so decided to wait and then by the time I got the equipment was distracted with Margarite and looking for clues to what happened to Sam where the beacon just seamed like a side quest. Once I did get him I finished the game within the hour since I already had all of the supplies needed to build his body. It was strange, this touching story about a woman trying to find out what happened to her sister abruptly ending and turning into a weird alien-human buddy comedy type thing that lead to a weak conclusion. I didn't think it was bad but it lacked the singular focus that made the ending to the first game so enjoyable. In the original your goal the whole time was to survive. You called for help from the sunbeam but then that went sideways as you found out you were infected and the planet was under quarantine by an ancient alien race. there were a couple of mysteries to solve but your goal the whole time was to escape. When you finally built your rocket and left it felt like the whole game was leading to this point. Even the side plot of the Degasi didn't distract from the main story because you were learning about survivors who were in the same trouble you were and they were the reason you crashed in the first place. With Below Zero even when I did a 2nd play through the 2 main plotlines distracted from each other more than they enhanced. Robin so desperate to find out what happened to her sister willing stranded herself here then once she meets Al-An she seams to forget why she came here. working out what happened to your sister is not even necessary to leave the planet. In summary I like that this game is different from the original to give me variety and a reason to replay this one whenever I replay the original but I think that Below Zero lacks the focus that made the original story work.

[@Speedpunk650]

Yeah the story was very bad for five reasons. 1) Lack of waypoints/lack of explanation of where to go next 2) Bad conclusion to the game 3)Too short 4) Too much content removed/rushed game 5) The story is very linear, bare, and boring. There is no rising action leading to the climax. The story is literally Find Alan - collect body parts - ending. Once you go to a couple locations after the collecting the body parts the game just ends. And everything else is optional. Marguerrite is completely optional. Finding Sam is optional. Curing the frozen leviathan is optional.

[@KekSprite]

Yeah, in below zero, the first time I encountered a Chelicerate I was like “Meh”. But in the first subnautica, I always get scared when a reaper leviathan screams in the distance. I also really don’t like how they reused the Chelicerate as a void leviathan but just added a different skin. I was really excited to see what it would be since I hadn’t seen a lot about the game before it was released and was super underwhelmed. That’s just me though

[@Lara-sw5ch]

ive got jumpscared y chelicerate but then i was like oh nvm they good

[@ZetsubouGintama]

I was scared both Chelicerate and Reaper.

[@seaweedcat4267]

I remember the first time I saw a void leviathan in a youtube video, I really thought the mass of creature I saw was JUST THE CLAW of whatever was out there. And then I looked again and my disappointment was... immeasurable.

[@lukewalter441]

You also have to take into account that playing the first game, you would be desensitized to the scariness of the game. It’s hard to create a feeling of whole new scariness when you were already exposed to that stuff

[@VladLad]

In the first game you had to go through thick and thin to get to the lost river to gather the mushrooms to craft the perimeter defense. In BZ they just kinda give it to you, fairly early on I might add, and no monster is ever a threat again. Nothing can 1-shot the seatruck. once you gain the perimeter defense you are legit invincible

[@accentillia8116]

The deep shrooms are in plenty of non lost river biomes though? They're like in at least 3

[@lequest1739]

The snowfox is not only a pain it's also useless because the prawn suit (with the grappling hook and the jump jets) is faster and also a lot safer

[@jackxson6109]

Exactly

[@Speedpunk650]

I noticed that too. It's so easy to die on the snow fox. The ice worm knocks you off of it and the attack reduction module doesnt stop it from attacking you frequently. Abusing the game's wonky physics with the prawn suit is the best way to stay safe.

[@Speedpunk650]

And the fact that the cyclops isnt in the game is an unforgivable sin. You cant even spawn it with console commands

[@-keiskx1774]

@@Speedpunk650 well if doesn’t fit

[@agamerdude7596]

@@Speedpunk650 The cyclops would be 100% useless in bz, I like the idea of a seamoth combined with a dna of a cyclops, But it needs more updates especially the speed.

[@error_idiot8329]

Pro tip, if you have a module on the seatruck (so you can walk around in it), whenever in the crystal caves if a shadow leviathan goes after you if you get off the controls and just stand in the seatruck it ceases to see you and will continue on, removing all threat from the only mandatory leviathan encounters

[@alexc5243]

When I first played, I would just let them grab my vehicle and get out while they’re doing their thing so I could scan them lol

[@Shrapnel57]

Finding them annoying I just killed all 4 shadow leviathans. In original subnautica I never really felt the need to kill any leviathans in the story areas because you had room to Dodge and avoid them, while it's not really possible in BZ where end game areas are super cramped.

[@c1oudsky]

haha, just discovered it recently after finishing the game. Killed three of them with prawn before cause they interrupted so often

[@amanofnoreputation2164]

The cyclops was one of the things I love most about Subnautica simply because I'd never seen a game handle the concept of a mobile base so well and I'd envisioned something exactly like her for years and years and years. I personally enjoy the challenge of maneuvering the sub through difficult terrain and making use of all the cameras at my disposal to keep my girl safe. If I'm ever incompetent enough to sink her, I won't abandon ship because I will thoroughly deserve to go down with such a precious experience. The experience doesn't grow old because Subnautica consistently rewards knowledge of the environment: the Lost River has many junctions where it's impossible to progress without blundering directly into a leviathan, so the only way to get past is to have a heavily upgraded cyclops, go it alone with your prawn suit and build bases to help you explore deeper inside, or, if you're really savy, it's possible to find alternate paths that allow you to take your cyclops all the way to the lava zone without facing any leviathans.

[@letsgogaming8112]

I'm a simple man. I was only disappointed in one thing: the map size. In the original Subnautica, I LOVED just spending a couple of hours in my seamoth/prawn suit and checking out every little cave, direction, etc. In Below Zero I hadn't spent nearly the same amount of time going over everything because... well... I went over everything. I remember reaching the void and realizing that I had truly explored every inch of the map and just being a little sad. I loved everything else about the game, I just wish the play area wasn't as condensed.

[@hypefight8260]

The jukebox was definitely one of my favorite additions.

[@soop1974]

honestly, for me below zero didn't have that creeping feeling of dread throughout the whole game like the original also fuck oxygen plants, they make the game way to easy

[@dunbass7149]

Yeah like in the first subnautica I felt alone especially after the ship gets shot down but in before zero I get called

[@agamerdude7596]

Brain corals in the original: Am i a joke to you?

[@spice_goat6649]

True

[@attackmaster519]

@@agamerdude7596 Brain corals existed, but they didn't really feel like they were placed to hold your hand. I can think of maybe one or two instances where they came into use, and they were both in the beginning of the game. Once you got the fins and upgraded O2 tank, you never need them again. The only time I ever used them after that was just to top off because they why not? In Below Zero, it feels like those plants were planted specifically for the plot, and used to extend the underwater distances between plot point A and plot point B, which comes off as artificial and breaks immersion.

[@agamerdude7596]

@@attackmaster519 Honestly, I've used brain corals more when i first played the game, Cause i don't know what i was doing. Yea true, I got an high capacity tank and fins and never used them again, Except the primary containment facility XD, If there are no oxygen plants everywhere. It would be better tbh. It's like farming braincorals everywhere so you don't have to worry about oxygen that much.

[@LazerFrog_]

I feel like the loss of horror can also be caused by the majority of people going into Below Zero having had already beaten the original. Which allows them to know what they’re going into and being prepared for massive leviathans, which makes it less scary. Sure, it’s not that way for those who didn’t ply the og, but a large majority did so

[@Krawberry]

I thought the same, so I went back and played the original, and it still gave me a greater sense of horror than BZ. It's the combo of the vast ocean, spectacular music, and bigger leviathans

[@Gojirasaurus_rex]

For me I played below zero first and the only thing that scared me was the shadow leviathan and the ice worm sort of although I got over my fear of the shadow pretty easily once I tried fighting him but the reaper still freaked me out in creative with his loud noises

[@2bestlel837]

The ice worms should have been more aggressive. yea they pop out every 5 seconds but they don’t actually do anything. they just pop their heads out, roar, maybe eat a snow stalker, _maybe_ jump and hit you, but that’s it. The scariest part about them was. experiencing them for the first time. it would be interesting if you walked over an ice worm tunnel and the floor collapsed, or the ice worm would explode from under and grab you into the sky. They’ll never catch you unless you let them and the prawn suit just negates them entirely. they’re still my favorite animal but their potential was utterly wasted.

[@aidangeverdt320]

I actually liked below zero a lot, just in a different way. I played them right after one another and while I enjoyable the scary horror feel in the first one I actually liked that there were other people in the 2nd and I liked being able to explore without being constantly terrified. People looking for more of the first will be a bit disappointed but I loved it.

[@schnozgaming989]

Man, same

[@viniciusmarinho5998]

I also see people complaining about the less horror feel of this game and think... Good.

[@ZetsubouGintama]

I like BZ because I can driving sea truck while listen my favorite music. Also, bigger seabase, bigger aquarium and more room deco.

[@louislam369]

For the same reason, I enjoyed bz much more. I really hated those jump scares in the first game.

[@hal_s8745]

I don't remember being bored in the original subnautica, but in below zero, sure i was. There were times where I didn't even want to launch the game because of how tiring it is to play it. It's not surprising that it's on the same price as the original, the devs saw what a game they have made and didn't overprice it. The original Subnautica is better in ALMOST every aspect, but sure there were some pros in below zero as well.

[@Speedpunk650]

I went in blind and agree with everything in the video. I'm upset with how much content was removed. But the worst part of the game was that I spent an entire day......yes, 24 hours....searching for where to go next after repairing the tower on the island. I had to go to creative, teleport to the greenhouse, place a beacon at the greenhouse, and then swim to the life pod so I could figure out which direction to head on the compass when facing the beacon. THAT is BAD game design. NO WAYPOINTS! FUCK BELOW ZERO. I refuse to play that piece of shit game again. The game was new so there were no walkthroughs yet and I wanted to avoid spoilers anyway.

[@Speedpunk650]

You can just tell they gave up on the game for whatever reason. Burnout? Greed? Loss of passion? Covid? I don't know. But it's clear they became lazy. The game launched unfinished. They cut majority of the content from the game. Lightweight capacity tank, ultraglide fins, repulsion cannon, stasis rifle, seamoth, seamoth sonar, seamoth perimeter defense, and seamoth depth modules. All of which can be spawned in with console commands. They even removed entire biomes and made sections of the game pointless. The frozen leviathan is completely pointless! It launched unfinished. If anything the Al-An story feels like a side quest.

[@insert_name_here936]

@@Speedpunk650 really? It was only a bit of trouble for me. If I recall correctly, the game tells you to go in a certain cardinal direction from the tower to the greenhouse which is on an iceberg. All I had to was go in that direction and search all the icebergs.

[@MeatloafingCat]

@@Speedpunk650 That’s not bad game design. That’s completely your fault. The game tells you exactly what direction to go and how far. It took me maybe 5-10 minutes to find the greenhouse.

[@texasred6814]

@@MeatloafingCat Something funny is. I went east from delta dock to the icebergs, searched almost every iceberg and poof, nothing, had to search up a guide to get to it due to the fact that they told me to go east with no other info. Just a random cardinal direction. Maybe I’m dumb and blind, who knows.

[@Blaeddyn]

I used the prawn suit on land, you can grapple and boost yourself around pretty nicely

[@azimuth3d211]

I knew the reaper roar was coming when you were talking about the lack of being wary of entering a new area but when I heard it my anxiety flared up just a tad proving that subnautica has cemented itself a place as a good scary game and honestly deserves a medal :)

[@zaidzm4n598]

The original was better in my opinion, there was lots to explore and it was more eerie to go into deep areas. The monsters in Below Zero just don't capture the whole feeling of that. The map was also a lot smaller, and half of the game was just finding parts for Al-An.

[@dunbass7149]

Oh yeah In the original I felt like I wasn’t expected to survive and that I was isolated

[@ewoutflameling4191]

1 is better

[@cerenk498]

I am downloading the first game after reading all these comments. And they are right I get scared realy easily but when I was expecting to get scared by things at BZ after a while I was kinda disappointed.

[@d00mnoodle24]

Things SN1 does better: - Crafting progression (mats & BP's) - Feeling of isolation & mystery - Immersion (scaryness) - Vehicles (i love the cyclops) - Sound design - Endgame - Better architect bases - Replayability (length of a PT) - Difficulty Things BZ does better: - Biomes and world design - Creature design - Story (personal opinion) - Base building - Graphics - Soundtrack - Performance - QoL/accessibility - LESS buggy

[@WillsRailfanning]

I get what ur saying, but I feel like the story in BZ is waaaaay harder to follow, like ur trying to follow 3 separate plots at once. Also, imma have to disagree on the biomes, getting lost in SN1 and discovering new insane locations is so cool and scary

[@marc8265]

@@WillsRailfanning I really get your point of following 3 stories at once, but in SN1 there wasn't really a story imo. I listened to the PDA's once and that was the story.

[@Nadiki]

Personally I dealt with a lot more major bugs in BZ than I ever did in SN, even if there were less total. I had one that locked me in my seatruck cabin, and when I restarted the game I couldn’t interact with any base parts. The shadow leviathans attack the prawn suit even if you’re not in it, which stranded me in the fabricator caverns at the end of the game (and I was on hardcore). Some of the items don’t even have textures, and some base pieces and decorations (mostly the paintings) don’t work at all. I know issues like water disappearing are commonplace for SN, but I’ve never had any of them happen personally.

[@d00mnoodle24]

@@Nadiki it's so weird how that goes. I played 250 hrs of Subnautica BZ throughout the whole early access and i only ever had one game breaking bug. A few severe bugs and a handful of minor bugs. My friend who recently played the full version had 2 game breaking bugs in his 30 hours. We have different hardware though but it's still weird

[@mahamann7734]

@@WillsRailfanning yeah it's SCARY

[@360noscooper]

I liked how when I was playing Subnautica Below Zero there was a goofy ahh "notification" from the PDA that said that a cargo ship called the "Sunbeam" is nearby

[@glaciarch6424]

I love the reworked PRAWN jets in this game. The speed boost is just such a nice touch that makes it feel much more fluid, and is something I wished was in the main game. That being said, I think both games have their pros and cons, but like the original just sliiiiiightly better because of the cyclops and just how awesome it was

[@cardboardking577]

I also liked 1s style of storytelling over BZs, but that's just my opinion. Plus the mood.

[@dragonlordjonerc]

Subnautica quickly one of my favorite games of all time, easily top 5, maybe even my absolute favorite. I never played Below Zero early access but pre-ordered the game when it came out fully. I loved it, I played 15 hours in the first two days it came out. It definitely wasn't as scary as the original and I do wish the land stuff was integrated a bit more. Maybe there could have been resources you needed on land or something. The map is definitely more tightly packed so I agree with the decisions to swap out the Seamoth and Cyclops for the Seatruck. And I personally never really missed them. Below Zero was a lot of fun. It has its differences from the original. But I can always go back and play the original. It's a close call which is my favorite between the two. I need to go back and replay the original. But all in all, i think Below Zero is still a fantastic game and I cannot wait for a third installment.

[@freshlymade7417]

I would rather subnautica It just gives me more vibes and I actually feel like I’m alone But in below zero it’s like Ey al-an give me location of everything Sure Game finished Idk man

[@svenskdod]

I would say, the first had more terror than the second as opposed to horror. I was physically afraid in the first and not in the second. It is what’s missing the most. Oh, and the sonar. Being able to ping a leviathan just out of sight, and praying that it didn’t sense you was terrifyingly fun.

[@ilikestarwars4438]

IMO the Quality of life changes in BZ made the game so much more enjoyable, such as HUD improvements, more gear, especiallly the base building aspect of it. The large room is such a good addition, as well as other assorted small changes that made the game better, crafting recipe changes, the air bladder upgrade, etc. However, the more major aspects of this game don't quite live up to the first. The map size was lackluster, however I adore the land/cold aspect of this game, it really gives you more options to build bases and explore. The story was okay, but it was more of a plot than the first game ever had. The second game didn't feel as scary as well, and some of the smaller creatures are way too loud and not scary at all. The first game really made me feel true horror, but the second one really missed on that. That being said, I love the second game and play it regularly, but it'll always be missing something the first game really had. TL;DR, The first game was better overall, the second game had a lot of small quality of life changes that made it more enjoyable in some aspects. I would love a third game to combine the size and scariness of the first game with the smaller changes of the second game.

[@sketch7933]

Imo, i prefer the classic. But below zero is a fantastic seaqual

[@d00mnoodle24]

Your comment sums it up pretty well, for me BZ is a 10/10 and SN1 is 11/10. So i agree... Curse you for making that pun though!

[@sketch7933]

@@d00mnoodle24 *sans the skeleton noises*

[@drooh_yt]

one kid’s gonna correct your misspelling without understanding the joke

[@sketch7933]

@@drooh_yt yep

[@resijade4342]

you spelled it wrong. it's obviously seeckwel

[@fishram7409]

I don’t think I can say either of them are better or worse. These games were the best I’ve ever played.

[@ansharchit]

Yes both game are at the same level if you compare them

[@arniethetreble389]

@Tariq Al bdour yo same

[@dedalus6188]

Finally i found ONE comment that isn't bullshiting on below zero

[@arniethetreble389]

@@dedalus6188 yeah, I haven't played enough to tell if it's better than the original or not, but Unknown Worlds still really did an amazing job

[@martinjackulik2819]

@@dedalus6188 I loved bz, the friendliness of the characters inculding Fred and Al-an was really sweet, sure it wasn't scary, but it was great nonetheless, and I absolutely adored the landscapes in bz

[@mulattoplays]

one of my favorite quality of life changes they made was being able to assign items to specific slots which you couldn’t do on the original subnautica on consoles and as well as pinning the recipes

[@svartholstjornuson6215]

This is the first review I've seen of yours, and I have to say it was excellent. Good job.

[@princesscadance197]

The wrecks were perhaps my favorite part. I have a deathly fear of the ocean. I find wrecks on the seabed to be the worst offender, because there’s something… Wrong, about seeing a man-made, unnatural structure so far below the surface, abandoned, cloaked in darkness and being reclaimed by nature. The wreck of the Mercury I, while terrifying me, also intrigued me…

[@aogasd]

Oh yeah. Exploring the wreck in lily pad zone with just my seaglide and sub-optimal gear for air was pretty scary. Like I can handle leviathans but the feeling of getting turned around and not knowing where to get out of the wreck?? I was low on air and madly scrambling around trying to find the next air bubble flower while also trying to find an exit. I finally found spot with 2 flowers so I spent a few minutes just standing there, getting my air meter up just enough to continue searching for the exit. Just barely managed not to die.

[@bennychesney7185]

I couldn't agree more; the developers should watch this review. I played the first and the second and each of them has its pros and cons. Below zero is no where near as scary or challenging but its base mechanics and story is 1000% better. I do find myself missing the uncertentity and danger that came with the first one as well as the reaper, but I understand why they didn't want the cyclops in below zero considering the size difference in the maps. If they make a third one, Id like them to blend the two games instead of trying to make the third super unique. Imagine the map size of the original, with islands as detailed as below zero, with larger more spread out biome's similar to the original but with more detailed and dense areas within them like below zero, the sound design and creature doctrine of the first, with the same level of quality voice acting and story writing as below zero. I'd pay $50 USD especially if it had close to 10-15 hours of story based tasks and dialog

[@frankzander6234]

i just dont get why people think the first game was challenging i mean any vehicle trivializes any opponent and even with just the seaglide you can doge almost everything. neither subnautica game is hard

[@medusa8617]

@@frankzander6234 I suppose but it is creepier.

[@frankzander6234]

@@medusa8617 in which order did you play the games? let me guess subnautica then bz. if you revisit subnautica after you will see that it isnt scary anymore either its just the unknown that is scary and the saecond timne you play it it isnt unknown anymore

[@beepbop6542]

I think the story was much better in the original, I really liked it.

[@cardboardking577]

Story telling and mood of the original, and the mechanical improvements and a slightly more guided fell from below zero One of the bad points of 1 was the scanning of items, at least for me. Without a yt guide or the wiki, you have no idea what to do to get items, so you just aimlessly wander around until you find all the fragments, at least until you unlock the scanner room.

[@embraceaswampthing9186]

I don’t really understand the sentiment of “this game isn’t as lonely as the first game” I see everywhere in the comments. Like, sure, that was a big charm of the first game. But if I wanted that, I would play the first game. I like that BZ has a different atmosphere. I don’t want the same thing again just slightly repackaged. A different atmosphere and tone surrounding a core gameplay loop allows something to be judged on its own merit rather than only as a sequel to something else. I do agree about most of the criticism about the seatruck though. The weird way they’ve tried to fold the cyclops and seamoth into one vehicle makes it a little more boring, and the depth upgrades removes the need for the prawn suit in deeper areas. Also the lack of deeper biomes other than the crystal caves is just disappointing. The lost river is a fantastic area that allows to traverse the entire map almost through an entirely different route with unique resources. BZ just doesn’t have that, and the crystal caves are so confusing to navigate. However, I love the expansions of the base building, fauna, and above surface areas (even if the snowstorms are too frequent and annoying). It’s a good experience that keeps it distinct from the little above ground stuff subnautica had.

[@vszabad]

I really wish they would make a 3rd game that combines both the original and below zero. Brand new planet, the spooky/horror environment from the original and all the cool features from below zero!

[@corbsshas2811]

when they make a 3rd i hope it focuses on the void covering most of the planet as that was the scariest part for me, and the part i really want to see the most.

[@skyzip4k171]

i liked the first game more, the vast oceans, where you only encounter flora on the seafloor, made classic feel so much more open and desolate. The suspense of discovering all the deastroyed lifepods, and discovering an ancient civilization was so interesting.

[@PenLunar]

Can’t wait for the no vehicles run on this

[@jabe6078]

Technology in below zero is far "better" than in the original. Its so good that it almost feels like a mod, bigger base, free water, mixing a seamoth and cyclops into one? Super fun but it felt like childs walk. Also the designs of vehicles creatures and bioms where SUPERIOR in original. Also majority of BZ you can play being near land (island or glaciers) so it didnt feel like being on the open sea.

[@shadowplayz1585]

I liked the first game more because just that terror of knowing that you are completely alone with great big sea monsters hunting you down just was probably my favorite part of Subnautica

[@HookedTapater]

Feeling completely alone on an entire planet is sorely missed. Horror is also lacking but i think that was on purpose and its not nearly as mysterious but thats to be expected in the sequal

[@lieutenantwumbo5845]

Your right it was on purpose. The devs wanted to make bz more exploration orientated rather than horror. Which for a lot of people made it a bit disappointing after coming from a game where horror felt like a major part.

[@squirellman144]

First game all the way. Don't get me wrong, the seatruck is cool and all but the Cyclops will always have a special place in my heart. Also, the below zero area looks like a completely new planet. And the PDA voice, the OG PDA voice is the best. Plus, in the first game, you actually needed to take proper risks to keep going. Like when you had go bring your Cyclops down to the lava zone with your prawn suit with the fear of getting destroyed. It gave you a real feeling of loneliness and gave you the experience of proper ocean fear. Like behind the Aurora, the water goes all mirky and you can hear the reaper in the background and watch it attack you and disappear. The first game really lived up to the horror like rating it was given. Below zero is also like a tutorial. You're literally guided all throughout. In the first game, YOU had to explore the Aurora, YOU had to find the pieces to your vehicles and YOU had to find the entrance to the lost river and lava zone. You really had to play to know what's going on rather than just get on and instantly know because of your alien companion. Which brings me onto another point, in the first game, we don't know who or what the precursors were nor are which gave us that sense of mystery and made us oblivious to what they were. Below zero is good but it definitely could have been done much better.

[@holynder3181]

Best thing the second game improved on was base building. They gave a lot more options compared to the first game. The original base building was pretty much just a few multipurpose rooms, a scanner room, and one or two moonpools. In below zero my favorite parts were building an awesome customized base and exploring the beautiful new biomes. I hated exploring on land though.

[@chriselunewinterhold]

I finished BZ today. I didn’t think about the whole “loud noises from small creatures” part until seeing this, but it’s so true. My main base was on top of the twisty bridges, and it’s nowhere near any actually dangerous creature (not even the squid shark), but I heard the loud cryptosuchus noises all the time. They’re nearly the sound level of the reaper leviathan, yet they hardly even bother you when you get close. When I got down to the crystal caves and encountered the shadow leviathan, the noises didn’t even scare me, like the reaper in the first game did. It would be nice with some reaper-level leviathan in >100m depth to add some creepy vibes and nervousness while exploring early game too. The squid shark isn’t big, loud or scary enough for that job, and most of the time I couldn’t even distinguish it from the cryptosuchus because they’re so similarly sized. And I also want to point out that the snow fox is terrible to steer. A small stone in the way and you’re going sideways. I almost get vertigo using it. And don’t get me started on how horrible it is to use in the ice worm area. It understandably knocks you off it, but having to get up on it like 4 times during one attack where the worm isn’t even close to you is a pain in the arse. I don’t mind it knocking me off, but don’t make it such a pain to get up on it again, considering we get attacked every few seconds. The ending also wasn’t as satisfying as the first game. And not being able to teleport to the facility (after being there once of course) was a downside, but at least it’s not as far away as in the first game. I loved playing BZ, I got all achievements, but I definitely enjoyed the first one more and I have played, and will keep playing, the first game over and over.

[@killer-9000]

"Just take the first island from the original game." Shows gun island, me who always goes to the other one first yeah the first island 😅

[@Pleoxz]

This sentence is wordy and hard to read. Grammarly can fix that

[@subnauticaispog7580]

@@Pleoxz bro you just destroyed him lmaooo

[@jamesreese7885]

i hate myself for misunderstanding your amazing joke luke j

[@HPA97]

I feel like you were given too many tools which wasn't particularly useful like the propulsion cannon and thumper (The ice worm was a big disappointment imo). Subnautica would probably benefit from having bigger and deeper environments, Below Zero felt like it was too small and not much depth (both gameplay and ocean depth wise). I hope in their next installment they would try to have all of the game be under water where I think they excel at, maybe even be so far below the surface that you can't go to the surface to breathe but have to find some interesting gameplay mechanics to regain O2 (Which they have already shown creative ways to do).

[@miasmia4968]

I immediately laughed out loud when you started talking about the snowfox. I just bought and now have about 30 hours into S:BZ. In that time I've probably been in the Prawn suit for 20 of those. Especially when I can go from into the deepest depths to the coldst tundra and duel the largest monsters with it. It can drill, launch torpedoes, has "get over here" and "nvm I'll come to you" attachments. It can ride bike rack on a stacked sleeper cab sub marine truck. Essentially, I paid 30$ to write an Amazon review for a made up mech suit. Needless to say, the prawn suit has my love 💓. Enter the snowfox. In the 20 mins I experimented with it, I struggled with adding its mod (singular), floundered it in shallow water, and packed it into inventory accidently while attempting to flee hostile wildlife. I've since parked it indefinitely and named it Blunder Bike. It provides set dressing for my glacier base and nothing more.

[@-cheshire-cat]

I drove my "hover" bike over the ocean only to go face first into the water. My snowfox is now at the bottom of the ocean where it will stay forever. 🙂 Was a pretty useless vehicle.

[@kaz1610]

8:20 "the game warns you ahead of time," my first encounter with a shadow leviathan was it coming barrelling out of the crystal caves before I'd even seen them, because it was at the end of its patrol path, instant death, no warning, didn't even get to see the biome change because it was around a corner.

[@CravoneYT]

I finished this game yesterday, and was trying to answer this very question during my 'victory tour'. I came to the conclusion that the original Subnautica is better. Part of that might be nostalgia, but BZ also has recency bias, so it somewhat evens out. I feel the biggest problem with below zero is that everything it did right, it did right to a certain point. I could sum up everything in the game with "It was amazing, but...". I feel the underwater area looked and felt great, but there wasn't enough of it. I agree, if we had more biomes under the the arctic zones, it might have felt more complete. Perhaps with the added challenge that the thick ice makes surfacing very difficult, perhaps have a somewhat late game biome there. The land zones I liked, but they felt like a replacement for zones rather than an addition. The endgame zones were disappointing, we had nothing on the level of the lost river (although having so many caves and deeper biomes did in a way make up for it), and the last zone felt great in the sense of 'almost a boss battle', but it was underwhelming, and while I thought the creatures in this game were more challenging to overcome, when you can basically ignore the final leviathan of the game because you can use a perimeter defense, that removes all the challenge and merit. I felt the game had too much handholding too, it was shorter partially because I always knew where I needed to go, I always had something to work towards, while in the original subnautica, it really is about finding the lost river, but you don't know that you are looking for the lost river until you find it, and it extends the exploration with that. I loved the leviathan design, but even the one leviathan that I thought would be scary, the ice worms, just weren't. I think the music, visibility etc. is the main cause for that. I like the fact that its a more accessible game because its less scary, but all in all, like yourself I would rather it be actually scary. I didn't like the removal of the cyclops at first, but now I understand why. The cyclops limited game design, and really was overpowered because of building stuff inside. Honestly my biggest complaint was the story. The story was great, voice overs, more indepth story, but a lot of points felt under-utilized, under-explained or unfinished. I wish we got more Margaret stuff, and I wish we had more of a mystery storyline on Sam, BEFORE we met ALAN. All in all though, there was so much I loved about this game, and the only metric that counts when judging a game, did I enjoy playing it? I really did, but Subnautica was better, it was bigger, longer, and kept me more on the edge of my seat.

[@-keiskx1774]

TLDR Both great games. Subnautica is scarier and the feel of loneliness in huge map felt amazing Always on edge ---------- Below zero has better base building, unique biomes but not scary Creature design could improve Better story

[@doinyamaam3677]

@@-keiskx1774 Subnautica's story is 100x better than below zero's story

[@akshsehgal998]

BZ is more a DLC than a full game, the devs even said in their closed conference that they weren't gonna make it horror and shit. They are some really good features in BZ's ease of life and overall which should and might be coming to Subnautica. A lot of features are stuff you need mods so being in the base game would be nice. Subnautica Remastered... Edit: The first soundtrack to me is one of the best soundtracks ever and the reason they didn't go with Simeon was cuz he got cancelled on Twitter for replying to the Game director Brown in which he asked girl for Subnautica or DLC and Simeon said DLC. Edit 2: BZ is around half the size of the first game.

[@The1Radakill]

Started this game out with a 5 star opinion, as you hit on much of the first impressions were very positive. Then I made my way to the surface zone Glacial Basin, and thats when things went south. There are so many things to hate on this biome and very few to love, starting with the maze design with dozens of caves that will twist and turn you around, on several vertical levels as well as horizontal. And you are supposed to do this with a hover bike that dosent have much advantage to "hovering" as its constantly bumping into even tiny objects, it cant go over water, and vertically its useless. So what you end up doing is CONSTANLY getting off, packing it up, and then back on again. Using a scanner in this biome is nightmarish as attempting to track down a return only ends up in the maze redirecting you in every direction except where you want to go. The icing on that cake is that there are numerous areas that can ONLY be accessed by using a mechanical penguin you have to carry around with you, then RC it into the small cave. This may sound cute and fun, and perhaps it did on paper, but it gets old fast, and only slows you down. After doing my best to "get used to" this area and failing, I had such a dread feeling about the entire game I was tempted to uninstall it, several times. Getting back to the water biomes managed to alleviate that to some degree and I could play on, but the surface experience was still like a bad taste in my mouth. I dont blame the devs for any of it, and Im sure it all looked good on paper, the result however, was anything but. Last but not least is the hail storm that seems to hit literally every 2-3 minutes of game time and your PDA chiming "hazardous weather, seek shelter" over and over like some endless broken record. I actually LOVE the bio luminescence look to the game. The murky low vis of the original was spooky for a short time, but then once you learn how to deal with leviathans its wasnt so bad. The biggest itch in vanilla for me fauna wise was those teleporter pricks (OP bastards that you cant even stasis kill), and the energy draining leeches. Everything else was meh.

[@BabyDeath68]

What I didn't like was how small it was. I was really trying to explore, and often got in places I shouldn't have because of how small it was. I got into the deep crystal caves (the red geometric ones), and killed multiple shadow leviathan before meeting Margureit. I also constantly got out of bounds above ground, and even got my Prawn Suit stuck behind a base. There was no way to get it out, and because there was floor, unstuck didn't work, either. The map was just absolutely tiny. I also never used the seatruck, because despite being small, it couldn't fit into the winding caves like the prawn suit could. Overall 7/10 solid game.

[@ultimateironman1]

Just watched through almost the entire video (skipped the story because I was waiting for him to make a video on this) and can confirm that this man is an ultra chad at making videos and that this is definitely a video worth watching. Thank you, ephi! 👍

[@EphiTV]

It's still definitely worth picking up! Lots of mixed opinions out there, but I think most people will agree that both games are solid.

[@grayxorchid7932]

Can confirm Ephi is a Chad. ;D

[@Dualities]

using fake promo accounts is lame

[@EphiTV]

Don't know why you'd think that out of 2500+ comments there wouldn't be any positive ones. Some people are just nice, it's not that deep.

[@sianspires8656]

Imo how I would describe below zero is that it’s a great beginner game, I think they got the style of games back to front because the first one is so intimidating to play. Your point of “I didn’t feel wary going into new areas” is accurate for me compared to the first (which I haven’t completed because I’m too scared lol) but I have completed below zero

[@asitallfallsdown5914]

I hope Subnautica 3 has a far larger ocean while still having surface land biomes. Use random generation to make a proper massive scale ocean to explore that they then handpaint over with hand touched additions, features, and touch-ups. And then use that massive scale to let us operate a Nautilus-esque submarine far larger than the cyclops. Oh, and give us third person toggle and character customization to be our own person with or without a few forced elements (Such as having a sister, if context were applied to Below Zero, or being an engineer if applied to 1.)

[@Logidrake13]

You know what I like in subnautica? It's a game about thalassophobia. I want to stare in the black void of the depth, I want to see Cthulu horrors, I want to see monsters. An open world is just as good as his map and bestiary and BZ is way under Subnotica on these points

[@fragrantwinter8233]

The core of the complaints I’m seeing in the comments have a lot to do with BZ seeming too easy. A lot of people are saying that the Perimeter Defence Module for the Seatruck made exploration feel like it had no risk, which could be a problem with pacing. In the original, getting the PDM for the Seamoth took a long while thanks to it being locked behind both the Moonpool and Vehicle Mod Station while in BZ, there’s a pre-built module as soon as you make it Marguerit’s base. Having said that, neither the original nor BZ is *actually* difficult. What the original did so well was make the player *feel* like they were in constant danger of being eaten, even when they couldn’t see anything…. *especially* when they couldn’t see anything. BZ expanded on a lot of what the original had: Better graphics, better UI, better base-building. But it failed to create the atmosphere of tension and *terror* (not horror) that made Subnautica so thrilling to experience, particularly on a first play-through. The game isn’t bad by any stretch. It certainly has fewer bugs than the original and I enjoy the story more (mostly because I didn’t have the time to forget the intricacies of each subplot during long hours of exploration); most of us are just a bit disappointed because we were expecting a return to the atmosphere of the original with a new veneer and some more direct storytelling. Instead, we got a game that plays a lot like Subnautica, but lacks that one key element that made the original so enthralling, so terrifying, so much… More.

[@bigdog91paper]

In defense of the changes to removing said terror, this game was actually playable for me and incredible while meanwhile I literally couldn't get past the first couple of biomes in the first one because of how terrified the game made me. So in those terms this is a massive improvement for some players.

[@fragrantwinter8233]

@@bigdog91paper Understandable. I’m glad you found it to be more playable than the first. :) Its just a bit unfortunate that most of the playerbase doesn’t feel the same.

[@aogasd]

When you get the perimeter defence module doesn't actually make any difference. Spoiler for game mechanics below that might ruin your experience : Anyway I just figured out that the leviathans can't see you while you're walking in the truck, so I cheesed a few dozen encounters like that. Just tap E once you're face to face with the shadow leviathan or a celicerate and they'll literally instantly lose track of you and at worst, bump into the truck. Just make sure you're not at a steep incline so you don't pop out of the vehicle accidentally. Anyway I mostly skip using the perimeter defence, only activating it for like squidshark (I don't bother actually waiting them out, I just drive and hope they bugger off) or if I get grabbed by either of the bigger leviathans.

[@aleatheltrashcan478]

@@fragrantwinter8233 I feel the same, I only now have the courage to play the first after beating BZ

[@alexlee7876]

You nailed it.

[@poppytsuki3625]

My biggest problem with Below Zero is the creature design. Now don't get me wrong, theres a ton of unique creatures with awesome designs, but my main problem is the threats you face. Half of the game, all you're gonna see are squid sharks. Squid sharks everywhere. There's no unique challenges or threats, like crabsquids disabling your machines and amp-eels shocking you, just the same creatures all biting or grabbing you. Not to mention Squid Sharks and Chelicerates both have the same body shape, same grabbing face, and same eyes on the sides of their head. I wasn't as scared as I had been in the first game, because all the monsters I'd regularly encounter just.. looked the same to me. And the more unique leviathans? I'd rarely ever get to see them. It also feels a bit too hand-holdy, with oxygen plants and thermal plants literally everywhere.

[@BagelBoi4000]

The few creatures they did have where all intresting from a biological perspective but gameplay wise they just copied the reaper leviathans shtick. Kinda cringe.

[@agamerdude7596]

Squidsharks have an emp just like the crabsquid.

[@anidiot4992]

Yeah and then there's the Cryptosuchus which are less of a threat than the god damn Sandsharks, and those guys have Leviathan roars.

[@flying_luigi9088]

in the classic, the only safe biome is the safe shallows, the kelp forest (the stalkers are chill stop running away in fear), and the grassy plateaus (the sand sharks are more of a annoyance than a threat), and everything else you will be eaten alive in without a vehicle

[@harrison9726]

I have had that exact opinion regarding smaller creatures being so loud that it desensitizes the player to actual threats since I finished the game, but I had never seen anyone post with this opinion. Great video.

[@calzoncinos]

I miss the feeling of exploring parts of the crashed ship and knowing I can get lost at any corridor and die. While the addition of the oxygen plants is nice at first, it removes the thrilling aspect of exploring deep caves.

[@yourwifesboyfriend8688]

And that teleportation device can really make everything much easier, going to drown and you are far away fron surface or your sea truck? No problem just teleport to your sea truck

[@benoittremblay9309]

I’ve played both games and tbh I do prefer the first one, u know there are some small improvements in below zero that are pretty nice but overall I’ll always love the first one because the thing is if you played the first one then you play the second one you know what to expect (big leviathans that’ll eat ur vehicles 24/7) so you only truly can have a full experience by playing one of them first not by playing one then the other. What I mean is admit you’re going behind the Aurora for the first time (2 reapy boys) well you will get scared but after that u know what to expect so you’ll be less scared and if you finish subnautica 1 well you’re going to know that some big boys r gonna be waiting for you in the 2nd. Anyways, that’s just how I see it. PS : don’t get me wrong both games are great ;)

[@kamenridergnostikos4084]

This is why I think if they do subsequent games they should go with more hostile areas, more leviathans, less predictable behavior (leviathans following you home after encounters for example, as an intended feature instead of an occasional horrifying incident... in addition to leviathans simply spawning in random places and/or traveling the map) and tighter/twistier terrain so that your more effective vehicles can't enter certain places, forcing you to explore with just the prawn, or even just on your own entirely with nothing. (I know the map is quite twisty and tight in BZ but they responded by giving us a vehicle that had all the storage and stuff we needed that could still get through those spaces, instead of utilizing that tight twisting to ensure certain vehicles were simply outright unavailable in certain biomes.) The atmospheric terror was enough the first time. Now, though? We need real danger. The terror of the deep is still there. It's just we've learned how to surmount the current terrors. Give us terrors we can't surmount (can't even run from) .. the types that will force us to abandon equipment to survive.. the types that are in places our equipment can't reach... and players will find the terror again. Imagine, for example, a space legitimately important, long and windy so you have to ACTUALLY TRAVEL A GOOD DISTANCE DOWN... but no vehicle can reach it at all. You'd have to construct a base there, and explore with no vehicles (lacking the capacity to deploy a vehicle bay underwater.) A lack of available power source could be an additional danger to the area, making exploration require either MASSIVE preparation to route power down below, or a constant source of biological material for the bioreactor. Now imagine 500 meters down below the entrance to this place, you find a leviathan nest (NEST, as in multiple) you have to get past, and still can't get vehicles down here. The issue there is that by doing it that way, it becomes not just scary, but legitimately INCREDIBLY difficult. But as it'll hypothetically be part 3, with a playerbase that already knows most of the mechanics, the series is at a phase in its lifecycle where increasing the challenge is perfectly within reason. Subnautica was hard for a new player, as it should be. The sequels, if there are more (fingers crossed) need to be hard for veterans, too. BZ was quite a bit harder in a few places, mostly in terms of mechanics, but in terms of biome design, OG biomes were much more dangerous, and more interesting to travel through as such.

[@alainafabbro4966]

I feel like if you want a pretty chill exploration game where you make bases and scan flora/fauna below zero is for you i dont feel like they wanted to build on subnautica but instead recreate it which went good and bad in many ways

[@DolphinCat9]

I remember in subnautica i had gone into a mushroom cave with my sea moth and I looked inside of a mushroom and a crab snake popped out and scared me to death I will never forget that moment.. And my sea mouth got destroyed

[@DrMcFly28]

I actually enjoyed Below Zero more then the first one... throughout the first 2/3 of the game. I loved how there was practically no pop-in, I found it easier to explore, nicer to look at, and I appreciated all the little QoL improvements. But while the original Subnautica continually drove me to complete it, in Below Zero I suddenly found out I didn't really care about helping that bloody alien anymore, and I finished the game more out of sense of responsibility then enjoyment. Having that rocket rise in the original was such an elating moment, while in Below Zero I ultimately just wanted the damn thing to end. I still think Below Zero is a much better technical achievement, and I honestly think that the original should be patched - if possible - to get rid of that godawful pop-in. Then it would unmistakenly be a much superior game.

[@a8lg6p]

That is exactly how I felt. SN was totally addictive. I played it nonstop. By the end, after close to 60 hours, I was eager to finally get it done, so I could move on to BZ. (I shouldn't have been so eager, in retrospect.) So I did kind of feel like I wanted to get it over with...by finally completing the objective I had been working toward since the beginning of the game: escaping the planet. BZ was just...tedious. None of the ominous foreboding, excitement, thrill of discovery, or sense of urgency... Some of the places were pretty, and that was cool. But the story was...an insultingly incoherent garbage fire...that I didn't even realize how bad it was at the time, because I cared about it so little. I didn't really feel any reason to care about anything in BZ, except just finishing it and getting it over with.

[@liamkorecky3184]

I honestly like how below zero plays. The one thing I do think it lacks is that ever expanding fear. Below zero has more enclosed areas underwater that I didn’t really enjoy that much. My favorite part about the first game was going to a very expansive area, and having that feeling of vulnerability because there were no good hiding spots. You were in the open like every other fish swimming around. On that point as well. With how compact below zero feels, I don’t think the surprise of finding a new location is there as much. When I first made it to the top section of the lost river in the first game, I was in awe as I continued to see the growth there without seeing everything at once. I do think below zero is a good improvement to the original. However, the awe and fear from the first game I feel is far superior than below zero. If I gave the two games a score I would say first game is 9.5 out of 10 for bugs and other minor issues and below zero is an 8.5 out of 10.

[@explodoboyv2]

I never used the Snowfox myself. I always just used the PRAWN for ground exploration. The Grappling Hook may have been nerfed for underwater, but it's even MORE broken on land. I was able to launch myself over the bridge into the seaworm area after a few tries, though I didnt explore it to avoid progressing out of order. The PRAWN proved very good for land exploration, since I was able to move very quickly, also launching myself into the air each time I used the grapple + jump combo. I also only ever had a single base, in the starting area, while in the original Subnautica I had 2-3 scanner bases dedicated to making finding resources easier.

[@xdivert5014]

Subnautica: daddy am I your favorite? Me: I love you equally. Me to Subnautica below zero: **your my favorite**

[@dryptosaurus]

I wanted to make a video about Subnautica vs Subnautica Below Zero aswell, thought that did not happen, so I'll share my thoughts here. Adding to your "more resource nodes in every biome" they also seperated them, so now you can find specifically what you are looking for. If you wanted gold in the OG you had to break Sandstone Outcrops that could give gold, but also give lead and silver that you don't need; in BZ you break Calaverite Outcrop that can only give gold or titanium, and that is with every resource. The inventory/storage is a lot easier thanks to the Recyclotron. This somewhat makes up for the fact that the seatruck can carry much less than the OG's cyclops by you combining the items while mining (like 5 titanium into 1 ingot, 2 copper into wires, 2 silver into wiring kit, 2 quartz into glass and some more complex crafting like diamond+glass+lead into enemald glass, or extra table corral sample+gold+wires into computer chip) which saves a lot of space, and makes home base storages to be smaller. Similar to what you said the game feels like it's missing a chunk of it. The depth of BZ is smaller than OG and the horizontal size is also smaller. BZ is missing it's endgame piece the cyclops, which makes it feel like it's meandering in mid-game content. One thing that bothers me strangely is the missing middle piece of water management, because you can't craft disinfected water which was a really good thing in the OG because it allowed for you to not hunt for Bladderfish in mid-game (before you get water purification). TBH they made the water purification system easier to get (I think I got rubies and gel sack underneath my base, while in OG I had to travel to the scary blood kelp zone to find these) which also lessens the achievement felt when getting it. Continuing on the smaller size, BZ felt lacking in leviathans. I finished the game in around 15-20 hours while played OG for 30-40. And I found my first leviathan in BZ at around 11-12 hour mark when I got down Crystal Caves, which was terrible but not scary. I was with my seatruck deep down, basically locked in with the leviathan. And it attacked my seatruck, shook it a couple of times, lowered my hp to ~60% (from 100%) then left. I went out, repaired it (I always had my repair tool because I seemingly chip my seatruck a lot on the flora), moved a bit closer then it attacked again, lowered my hp to ~60% then left. This went on for a while but after the 3rd I wasn't scared anymore. And at that point I felt no fear in the entire game. I found my first leviathan and it did nothing. A bit later a found a leviathan in Tree Spires but I wasn't afraid. About the story. It felt weird to me because there was two storylines and I did not understand the purpose either of them. Like I found where Sam died and found the frozen leviathan, and then lost the tread of the story. On the other hand I find pieces of Al-An but I have no drive because I don't know why I'm doing this. In the OG it was quite clear early on, that I want to leave the planet, and for that I need to disable the laser which means curing the bacteria, and for that I needed to go down until I find the Disease Research Facility which was mentioned in the laser building, and then deeper and deeper. Last thing which was a bit illusion breaking for me was when I tried to get Outpost Zero (which I found last and felt unnecessary at the time) and didn't find the underwater hole that I needed to use. So I parked my seatruck next to the floating ice near it, angled it upwards, exited and walked up it and jumped onto the ice. I walked to the location of the base so far that I could even see it, but then an invisible wall blocked me from going forward. This totally broke the illusion that this is an actual place, and I'm pretty sure that OG didn't had any invisible walls (I once traveled underneath the game in creative mode ~7000 meter down, and there was no problems). If I remember any of my other points I'll edit this.

[@jomarcentermjm]

7:32 I think it was logical as the bacterium is now gone on the planet. life begin to flourish and recovered (being in a alien planet it could be quicker) causing everything to be filled with life until the original where everything is on a brink of extinction so there is not so much left in the water. giving it a creppy vibe. plus with the QEP is down people can come in and out so it not look like a deserted planet.

[@Mystikus2]

Recently played below zero and replayed Subnautica right before for the full experience and I have to say: The entire land area should not exist. We don't need it. And the oxygen plants are THE BEST addition period. I LOVED diving into a cave system with just the base tank, and staying down there hunting materials and scans while frantically searching for oxygen plants the entire time, it was the most thrilling experience I've had in both games. I also always made the cyclops my only base so I was sad to see it gone but large rooms quite redeemed it for me. Great video covering many points I also found myself noticing and then some

[@speedcreep2605]

Haven't played BZ, in part because I found out that the Moth and Cyclops are gone. I loved the dynamic between the three original vehicles. I played primarily as a survival style game; I planned. If say, I have these resources, I want to do X. I'm going here to do that. If I want speed and maneuverability I'm loading the Moth. If I want survivability or large ore mining, I'm loading the Prawn. Here's where I'll park the Cyclops... It's mission planning. The big cyclops brings so much utility and power but it has these big limitations and it really drives home how alone you are. This is a multi-crew vessel but it's just yours and it's a place where you can catch a nap or bandage up or get some food. It's not the mission vehicle; it's the campsite and you're all alone in this big camp because everyone else is gone.