this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2023
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How does the exploration feel? I loved the original Subnautica but reviews of Below Zero turned me off.
To add: I thought Below Zero felt more "designed" than the original. The biomes feel less natural, the progression is a bit more obvious, the story guides you along quite a bit more. Even just the vehicle progression makes it a little less satisfying to explore around—finding a route to get the cyclops through small cave systems was just amazing.
I ended up treating it more like a game and less like a survival sandbox, if that makes sense. I was given goals rather than finding them.
If subnautica is like 10% above ground and 90% underwater exploration, then Below zero is closer to 50/50 split. Personally I was hoping for more underwater exploration and felt pretty disappointed by below zero because there wasn't enough of what IMO made the original great.
I still halfway through, but I feel like the map is more compact, which I personnaly don't mind. I understand why people would consider it a (fully fleshed) expansion though. Just like the first, I still have those "holy shit" moments when discovering a new biome or something of importance. It also took me a long time to get going in the first time, and I appreciate the fact to be far more efficient right from the start. The above water areas are not that bad imo. Oh, and the sound design is still amazing.