For all the legal foibles its name has been associated with, and all the years that have passed since the first Subnautica, it’s interesting how the sequel is just that: More Subnautica. But also not. Having finally entered early access after numerous delays, Subnautica 2 fulfills its promise to become a bigger version of the game that set the bar for early access. There’s still the tease of this only being a fraction of its true vision – and not just in a “more content to come” sense – but if you’re truly keen about life under the sea, the water’s certainly warm.
Going “bigger” doesn’t just mean Unknown Worlds needs to sell a lot of copies to net those promised bonuses; it also means more of everything, starting with the stakes. Working for Alterra and setting off on the Cicada alongside other colonists to the promised land of Zezura, you instead end up crashing on Proteus (so yes, all that teasing was indeed a bait). As you escape and gather resources while trying to piece together what happened, you see the massive, mysterious tree, seemingly serving as a tower, a beacon, a threat.
"The writing isn’t always spotless, as evidenced by one of the first audio logs that you’ll find, but I have to hand it to Subnautica 2 for creating an atmosphere and set of characters who are very clearly losing their minds."
Now your Noetic Advisor has an alert. You scour the ocean floor, discovering the remains of other colonists, their bases and their struggles. Audio logs reinforce the poisonous nature of Proteus’s water, which induces something called Masefield Syndrome, where you’ll hear the voices and echoes of the dead. Then there’s the Proteavirus, and being able to modify your genes to adapt to the planet – almost like you’re becoming part of its ecosystem. The Noetic Advisor has another two or three alerts in the meantime, while your other AI makes observations about ecological disasters and other underwater marvels.
Narratively, it’s a lot to take in within a short span, and that’s before we even get to the whole ethical dilemma underpinning the biobeds. This is the in-game explanation for why your character can respawn in the survival crafting sense. A sinister sensation underpins it throughout, especially since the technology can effectively “reset” a person’s mind, removing any unwanted memories. Oh, and if it wasn’t obvious enough already, the Noetic Advisor is seemingly up to no good. The other AI that accompanies you everywhere? Just fine and dandy, I’m sure. And yes, there is even more plot waiting, the development team’s disclaimer of early access only offering “some” narrative be damned.
On the one hand, I really like venturing out to discover the final moments of these doomed crew members, especially with how they intertwine with other objectives, from scanning Tadpole fragments to uncovering Biomods (which can provide active abilities like dashing and passive benefits like faster swimming speed near surfaces). I’m less of a fan of the Advisor’s extensive soliloquies on each member. Since you need to track down these markers and black boxes to advance the plot, it feels like Unknown Worlds wanted to dress up the actual quest-giving as much as possible. As well-written and voice-acted as it can be, I wouldn’t mind if it were more succinct, or doled out fewer alerts in general. Let me discover some of those memories for myself. It’s not like the game doesn’t already accommodate this by leaving various copies of tools around to scan, anticipating that I may have swum north instead of immediately to the east of my life pod.
The writing isn’t always spotless, as evidenced by one of the first audio logs that you’ll find, but I have to hand it to Subnautica 2 for creating an atmosphere and set of characters who are very clearly losing their minds. The overarching lore and world-building of Proteus are also incredibly enticing, which means it stings all the more that the complete story won’t be out for years to come. However, if you’re someone who prefers the quieter touch of the original, the general verboseness will take some getting used to.
"The sheer level of detail in the environment ensures that I’m frequently discovering new alcoves, hidden spots or workstations in plain sight that could offer more insight into the surroundings."
But the actual gameplay loop is as good as it gets. That feeling of stepping out into the planet – that first dive into the clear blue sea, encountering the sheer range of flora and fauna, is incredible. Aquatic life roams about, some mindful of your presence and others less so, to the point of becoming deeply offended; coral rock can hide the ever-valuable Quartz within its hollow formations; high-velocity currents can facilitate back and forth between familiar sights; and it’s all gorgeously animated, realistically reacting to light and shadow. The same goes for the sound – some noises are so distinct that you instinctively know when a predator has your scent. In the same vein, panic sets in when an unknown noise suddenly breaks out.
The DNA-alteration is more of a variable-style means of progression – interacting with the glowing purple clams grants you the ability to withstand the planet’s pressure at the start, and you’ll eventually discover the means to ingest alien matter for sustenance. Which then gives way to an upgrade for surviving hotter temperatures, and so on. There’s joy in crafting and uncovering new recipes, especially for base-building, as you scan every single piece of furniture, but the pace and depth of exploration quickly outpace your singular oxygen upgrade. Granted, there are ways to circumvent this – moving your base as required – but actually raising the amount is far preferable.
Optimisation is still a work in progress – I don’t know why there isn’t a field-of-view slider (there’s a way to pull the camera back slightly, but it requires delving into the Config folder on PC), or why it compiled shaders twice in two days. And I swear that DLSS and Frame Generation could be separately adjusted at one point before being locked together, thus forcing me onto TSR. Changing the resolution to 1440p at the start was similarly a Herculean task, especially when my screen remained zoomed in (and wouldn’t fix until after restarting the game). However, performance is fairly stable throughout with the very occasional frame stumble. Not bad, especially considering the sheer amount of detail on-screen at a given moment.
All of this – and other issues – can’t diminish that feeling of just picking a spot, as a certain character puts it, and exploring as far as possible. The sheer level of detail in the environment ensures that I’m frequently discovering new alcoves, hidden spots or workstations in plain sight that could offer more insight into the surroundings.
"Like a siren of the deep, Subnautica 2 calls out to underwater enthusiasts, even if it needs more time to unleash its grand performance."
Maybe I’ll encounter a brand-new species – a giant crab with a coral formation stuck to its back that usually remains camouflaged. Perhaps I’ll discover some infection that must be destroyed with the newly acquired Sonic Resonator when I’m not dealing with swarms of annoying parasites. I could spend time gathering resources for meaningful upgrades to my base, which feels downright sublime to modify, be it incrementally extending width, length and height or taking full advantage of the ability to craft from storage.
As good as Subnautica 2 currently is in early access, there’s that part of me that knows it can only get better down the line, and whether it wouldn’t be better to dive in when there’s an actual, tangible end awaiting. Nevertheless, like the ghost-like voices echoing through the ocean, or that unexplored expanse that I swim towards like a moth to a flame, I’m still keen on plumbing Proteus’s depths and learning everything there is to know. If any of the above sounds like a fun exploration loop, survival crafting or not, I recommend giving early access a try. Like a siren of the deep, Subnautica 2 calls out to underwater enthusiasts, even if it needs more time to unleash its grand performance.
This game was reviewed on PC.