Below Zero's story is far more present than Subnautica's. The problem of over-fixing is most evident in the storytelling.
#SUBNAUTICA BELOW ZERO MAP DECEMBER 2020 UPGRADE#
Searching Sea Monkey nests for upgrade parts is particularly tiresome, as it's hard to tell whether you've already searched a nest from a distance. The more complex topography is also a factor, making it easier to become disoriented. It's hard to pin down the exact problem, but having two resource outcrops that look very similar and blend into large portions of the environment doesn't help. Gathering resources is fiddlier and more frustrating than in Subnautica, despite the addition of a tool specifically designed to help you find resources. This latter point affects Below Zero more broadly. Subnautica's virtual vehicles are some of the best ever designed, and the Seatruck is sadly caught between a sequel's need for new features and solving a problem that didn't need to be fixed.Įven the "bad" bits of Below Zero are good by most other standards. It's a bit too limited on its own, a bit too slow with modules attached. Yet despite its clever concept, the Seatruck is simply not as fun as the nippy little Seamoth or the awesome, hulking Cyclops.
Pushing and pulling different modules into place, yanking the big lever that detaches the main submersible from the trailer, is hugely satisfying, demonstrating Below Zero's love of letting you get hands-on with its world. The Seatruck is a brilliant bit of design. With all modules attached, it functions more like Subnautica's Cyclops, a mobile base that you can tow around and detach from at any point. But it's capable of towing different modules that serve various functions, such as fabrication, storage, and an aquarium that sucks up smaller fish as you travel. By default, the Seatruck is a small and nippy submersible reminiscent of Subnautica's Seamoth.
The poster-child for Below Zero's added interactivity is the Seatruck, the sequel's primary new vehicle. As for crafting, new tools like the Mineral Detector help you locate specific resource more precisely, while many returning objects have rejigged crafting recipes that force you to think anew about your approach to the game. New base components like the Control Room help you customise your base in more detail, and even let you divert power to different parts of your base. General systems like crafting and base-building are broadly similar to Subnautica, but there are more objects to build and make. Greater interactive nuance is a theme that runs throughout Below Zero. But the guaranteed fan-favourite is the Sea Monkey, a cheeky anthropomorphic critter whose behaviour ranges from mild nuisance to actively helping you out in small ways.
These can be inhaled provided you avoid the wrasse-like brinefish, who follow Hole-fish around and can freeze you with a blast of ice-cold saltwater. Between the edible small-fry and the terrifying Leviathan-class beasts are more eclectic creatures like the Titan Hole-fish, which traps potentially life-saving air-bubbles in its doughnut-shaped body. As with its biomes, Below Zero's plant and animal life is almost entirely new, but it's also more nuanced in terms of how you can interact with them. That said, Below Zero remains better where it's wetter.
It's a big improvement over Subnautica's limited land exploration. (Image credit: Unknown Worlds Entertainment)
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