This game, while it is a good game overall, do not go into it expecting that it will be just as good as the original Subnautica. Because it isn't.

Let's go over the upsides first. It still FEELS like Subnautica. At least at first it does. The game is still just as aesthetically captivating as the first Subnautica. It really does a good job of capturing that clinical science fiction style with the modeling of the tools, suits, habitations, and vehicles. The planet of 4546B has phenomenally striking environments all tied together by a fairly decent weather system that brings about lightning & hail storms.

It still has that quintessential Subnautica feel of climbing your way up the food chain from the bottom. Being frightened during the night cycle by noises that you can't see what is making it before you get your flashlight. Really continuing the theme of "thalassophobic horror". There have been quite a few quality of life improvements on the game such as streamlining of the user interface. You also have the ability to craft items that are located in you bases storage containers without having them in your inventory, as well as being able to craft multiple of the same items at once. Which is extremely helpful when it comes to turning all of those bladder fish into bottles of water.

Now lets get to the unfortunately large list of negative things. Firstly, I absolutely cannot stand this sassy, overlay-brave (some might say stupid), millennial humored protagonist. I absolutely loathe how this character AND THE PDA is scripted to make eye-rollingly terrible jokes throughout the entirety of the game. The first games PDA made inadvertent jokes, she was emotionless and factual and that is what made her lines comical. This one will make cringe worthy jokes seemingly at random, completely breaking the immersion, at least for me.

Secondly, lets talk about the overarching story-line here. In the first Subnautica, you were a selfless servant of Planet 4546B, you made it your goal to restore the balance and rid the planet of the Kharaa Bacterium. Do you get anything for it? Do you amass riches? Do you become some super-celebrity when and if you return home? No, you do it because it is the morally correct thing to do. In Below Zero, both story lines are driven by her own selfishness. Now, does that make these stories bad? Also no, just don't go into it thinking that you will feel as accomplished and proud of yourself as you did in the original.

Now lets talk about this microscopic map. In Subnautica the map was MASSIVE, it dwarfed even the largest of your ships. There were a plethora of biomes all with their distinct flora and fauna and even the smallest of the biomes still felt large. In Below Zero you can travel across the map in a matter of minutes. I reached the "World Edge" before I even had my base done, before I even had a vehicle. All it took me to reach the edge was 5 minutes of my time and a seaglide. Now, the map may be small, and the biomes may be microscopic, but I did truly love the way these biomes looked. The Crystal Caves and the Red Crystal Cave (Changing the actual name to avoid spoilers, but if you beat the game you know what I mean) were beautiful and dangerous, really bringing me back to the OG Subnautica feel.

Overall I would give this game a 5 out of 10. It is by no means a bad game, but it is also by no means a great one either. It seems much easier than the first, with a lot of locations being spoon fed their coordinates, resources were overly abundant, etc. But that it a personal gripe. You may like it, and it seems that a lot of people do like that change of pace. But if you liked the difficulty of the first one, enjoyed the struggle and the endless searches for one specific item, you may find this game to be a bit too easy.