![]() It started life as an add-on for the main game, though it evolved over time into something that stands on its own. Below Zero is definitively not a sequel to Subnautica. Catching their attention may put you in danger, but they're not going to chase you to the end of the planet just to score a kill. But those threats are just like everything else in this alien ocean: They're living their lives. Robin doesn't have a gun or any other truly effective killing tools for dealing with bigger threats. Just like its predecessor, Below Zero presents a world that is frequently dangerous but never hostile without reason. It helps that there's never any combat or unwarranted aggression to distract you from that sense of wonder. The sharpest and most alluring hook of all is the mystery of the deep. The further you go, the further you want to go. The story's mysteries offer some welcome hooks but the sharpest and most alluring hook of all is the mystery of the deep. Swimming from the shallow starting waters - an area rich with edible fish and abundant sources of drinkable water - into the glacier-dotted arctic zones, shimmering kelp forests, and dark, volatile fields of thermal vents is the game here. But you can only learn what they look like and where they are by getting out there and paying careful attention to your surroundings.Īt its best moments, Below Zero is a beautiful experience that lets you explore a dazzling alien oceanscape. It helps that Below Zero, just like its predecessor, divides the world up into visually distinct biomes. So you've got to rely on your eyes, your powers of observation, and your memory. You can't press a button from moment one and see where Robin is in the world. It is possible to craft an assortment of pathfinding tools, including a sort of "gun" that leaves a trail of virtual breadcrumbs behind you, and deployable beacons that show up as permanent checkpoints in your heads-up display until you pick them back up.īut none of that stuff is automated. This isn't a game where you fiddle with maps or follow checkpoints. It's an unwieldy story at times, in part because Below Zero shares Subnautica's commitment to open-endedness and emphasis on exploration. She's on planet 4546B for a personal reason - learning her missing sister's fate - and while there are other mysteries to be unraveled later on, you're handed this emotional anchor immediately and dutifully follow it down into the depths. But unlike Microsoft's blocky hit, story guides your path through both games.īelow Zero makes that much more apparent up front, with Robin's journey from an ice-covered crash site to her initial shallow-waters settlement marked by moments of clear, purposeful exposition. That's part of it for sure: You're always scrabbling for resources to sate your hunger and thirst, craft helpful gear, build bases, and eventually escape. ![]() This was a misconception that I and many I've spoken to had with Subnautica, where it put out the vibe of an "underwater Minecraft" kind of game. It's similar to games like Minecraft where a whole community exists that has figured out the keys to survival in Below Zero, which was released as an early access game more than two years ago.īut unlike Minecraft, there's a story driving Below Zero. And they happen often when you play the game on its own terms, without succumbing to the lure of a wiki filled with answers. These are the moments when Subnautica: Below Zero shines. For all its alien beauty, planet 4546B is a hostile place in regions where the sun's light can't reach. A hissing sound filled my ears as the O2 gauge refilled slowly and steadily. Light and color returned to my screen as Robin Ayou, Below Zero's star, eased herself back into the Seatruck's command chair. While the whole world started fading away to darkness, I grasped wildly for the handle. Maybe I was toast? The O2 gauge hit zero just as I swam up to the submersible's hatch. The Seatruck still seemed impossibly far away. ![]() ![]() I swam straight and hard, watching the little oxygen meter at the bottom left corner of my screen tick down toward zero. The calm voice of my suit's AI robot assistant blared its always gentle but chillingly dire warning: "30 seconds of oxygen remaining." ![]() With my oxygen supply slipping past the point-of-no-return for safely getting back to my Seatruck submersible, I snatched up a couple of diamond deposits and sped back up toward safe harbor. But I really needed some diamonds, and at long last there it was. When you're 300 meters below the surface of an alien ocean and your nearest source of oxygen is half that distance away, you turn around when half your air is gone. ![]()
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