Subnautica 2 has arrived in our hands and for the past few weeks we have been frantically fighting against underwater beasts and getting to know a new location full of blue, lava and unusual alien technology.
It’s an understatement to say that the first Subnautica enchanted me the first time I played it. Until then, no other game had offered me such a feeling of anxiety, nervousness and fear. I remember a friend also got the game and we both enjoyed it, but we were sorry we couldn’t play together. At least not officially… Those who consider themselves Subnautica veterans know that there was a mod that allowed you to play in a co-op environment. There was some fiddling around with the files, though, but once the solution was entered, co-op play could begin. Since it was an unofficial mod, we ran into some problems, but at least we could die of fear of leviathans together.
To return to the present, Subnautica 2 has arrived and its biggest novelty is precisely the addition of socializing under the sea. Cooperative gameplay can provide fun for up to four players. And the impression is that the game does not suffer from playing with three other players, everything complements each other nicely. For example, when you want to travel with Tadpole, the other players can grab the surrounding handles, while you control your little submarine. During gameplay, you will come across one Tadpole upgrade that will give you extra seats on each side of the wing and a handle on the roof, making your friends even more comfortable to travel with.
Everything is practically shared with the team, except gathering resources. Not in the sense that you don’t share things in lockers, but that when someone finds silver and takes it for themselves, no one else gets any pieces of silver. And that’s fine, because you can easily arrange who will go to collect what. On the other hand, the scanning of flora and fauna is reflected on all players’ PDAs, so once a player scans something, it is counted in their database for the others and they do not have to go and scan it separately.
Is the game harder or easier in co-op? Well, it is no less scary than in independent crossing, but for concrete details we have to wait for the introduction of new areas and dangers. It’s definitely easier in terms of base building because you have more hands at your disposal, which is to be expected.
Unlike Below Zero, which experimented with land, the duo returns us completely to the depths of the sea. In this part, you play as a colonizer who has landed on the water moon Proteus, in search of other colonizers. Your Cicada ship has veered off course and awakened you from a deep sleep to discover where all the previous colonizers have disappeared to and what exactly is happening to the moon you landed on. NoA helps you in all of this, an AI companion that has one special feature – it can reprint you after you die. This is a good mechanic and explains why you keep spawning after you die. After you die, your black boxes are left behind (they’re actually white-orange) where you can pick up your remaining items.
Unlike the original, if you want to survive in the duo, you have to modify your DNA. You can do this using the so-called Angel Combos, which give you the ability to not feel the pressure during the dive, to be able to move on the hot seabed or, for example, to understand the technology that the mysterious race left on that moon. Some Combos you can activate without a problem, while others require you to heal their arms in order for the main ledge to open and allow you to touch it.
That’s not the end of the modification, you have the option to do the same in your base. By uncovering various secrets and scanning certain marine animals, you can unlock active and passive upgrades to your genes. In the special biolabos in your base you can choose that way Dash as an active biomod and help yourself in the event of an attack by bloodthirsty monsters. With passives, you can choose between invisibility, better oxygen flow through your body, faster swimming on the bottom of the sea. The only problem is that you can’t choose more than one, but only one, but that’s how it is early accessu.
The aforementioned arms, as well as certain parts of the deep blue territory, are under viral infection. How and why the viral infection spread remains to be discovered once the game brings us something more of a narrative aspect. However, in one audio log it was briefly mentioned and hinted at what could be the cause of a viral infection, and I would not like to reveal what was mentioned because I consider that part to be quite large spoiler. So, good luck finding the answer!
When it comes to the narrative aspect of the game, I would say that so far it’s a better impression than it was in the previous titles. The characters are believable and their audio logs truly intrigue you to explore more and more about the events leading up to your arrival. There are also moments that simply shock you and you can’t believe what some characters were willing to do. Although impoverished due to early accessathe available story keeps you riveted to discover it in its entirety. Ok, maybe the long duration of the audio logs is not the best when you want to do something, because in the end, you don’t have too much other evidence and clues. It often happens that in these audio logs they leave some details where you should go, which you can easily miss. Essentially, the story feels like it has deeper layers and more weight to the characters’ decisions than the previous two games, but we won’t say too soon given the version the game is currently in.
In terms of gameplay mechanics, there is nothing unprecedented here. If you’ve played the previous two parts, you won’t have any problems with survival mechanics in Subnautica 2. If you haven’t yet dived into the world of Subnautica, you should know that you have to collect resources, scan flora, fauna and tools, build a base and its accompanying parts, and build your small watercraft. That particular vehicle is different from the original – there we had Seamoth, while here we have Tadpole. And we can even have three variations, and depending on your playing style, you will choose a normal one, a fast one or one that sacrifices speed and delivers a lot of free space.
The best things in Subnautica 2 happen when you least expect it or come to a new area. Despite early accessuthere are plenty of such situations, so the game will not tire you quickly. In addition to different biomes, there are also hidden caves that hide treasures, both other bases and a bunch of necessary resources that you have already cried because you can’t find them in the circle in which you are moving. As I said at the beginning, you can get a good 15-20 hours of gameplay and after that you will probably stop because the rest of the game is locked behind a red wall. It will be unlocked, most likely, as updates come to the game.
In case you pass the red wall, you will be greeted by a special kind of leviathan that patrols the area and makes sure you don’t get lost. Really – he’s very tame, feel free to approach him, he’s no joke! As for the other monstrosities, we have a Kalamark patrolling between the two large zones and it’s never easy when you have to pass him. Even if you have a Tadpole speedster, you always feel fear and trembling when it spots you. Apart from him, there are also smaller classes of sea animals that can attack you. You can’t kill them yet, but you can distract them with flares or slow them down with a device called the Resonator, originally used to gather resources and break down barriers on ships or cave entrances.
I can’t tell you how convincing the game feels thanks to the combination of its audiovisual elements. Beautiful and clean graphics are complemented by a very good sound background. Once it gets dark and you turn on the light on your Tadpole, it’s amazing how good it looks. You get the feeling that you are there and driving the vehicle. Ironically, I experienced the greatest fear and caution traveling in the underwater territory under the night sky, but from the flora and fauna of the area itself.
In terms of technicalities, the game is very well optimized. In this regard, I did not encounter anything problematic because it runs extremely well on the highest settings. However, I did find problems in other things, mostly in online gaming. During the arrival of other players in your world, it used to happen that my screen would freeze for a second to a second and a half. It would also happen that if you are driving your vehicle, everything will be fine, but if you give the vehicle to one of the new colleagues, they will launch it at God’s feet. There were also mild visuals glitcheviregardless of whether you play with others or alone, but nothing terrible that it spoils your game. They are a good reminder that Subnautica 2 was released only in early access.
Subnautica 2 already looks and functions very well at its start. If there are no problems during development and bad decisions by the developers, the duo could be on their way to becoming the best game in the series. One should not jump to conclusions, but the potential is very visible. If you already follow the story and wander around a bit, you can spend a good 15-20 hours of gameplay in the game. You really have a lot of content that can keep you glued to the screen.
Is it worth playing Subnautica then? And yes and no – it depends on you.
A negative answer does not come because of some kind of problem. On the contrary, it comes due to the fact that the game will draw you in so much once you get past the limitations and endings early accessayou will feel the sadness of having to wait for updates so that you can continue to unravel the mysteries. And Subnautica 2 is predicted to spend at least another 2-3 years in this working version. Regardless, feel free to make noise if you love this world or are just getting to know it – you certainly won’t regret it. After all, you have the game on Game Pass if that’s more convenient for you.