"Scanning becomes a sickness and seeking information on why certain minerals only live in certain biomes, depths or hollows is more important than helping an alien reconnect to its hive mind.” In this way, Below Zero follows some of the beats of the first outing, but it’s terrifically obvious Unknown Worlds has learnt a lot since then, especially in layering story and how that unfolds and reveals itself amidst that all-important loop. So that loop I mentioned earlier, it works like this: necessity feeds exploration, feeds resource gathering, feeds crafting, feeds discovery of blueprints, feeds necessity… then mixed within this loop, that is wholly designed to eventually have you diving to the deepest depths of this expansive slice of 4546B, is a human mystery and an alien mystery, inextricably intertwined. Below Zero has iceberg flotillas everywhere - some of which have seen human activity (read: Alterra), and some of which have seen Architect activity (read: cool, mysterious Prothean-like aliens), as well as volcanically-formed islands replete with deep cave systems rich in resources such as minerals, vegetation and more. This is coupled with an expansive terrain section of the game, that is far more than what we played with in Subnautica and its handful of small islands. ![]() This means new biomes, new wildlife and new exploration opportunities offset by environmental challenges, chief of which is the cold. So, for those familiar with Subnautica, but not Below Zero - what’s the difference? Well, Below Zero is a standalone story set on the same planet, 4546B, upon - and within - one of its freezing poles. "New biomes, new wildlife and new exploration opportunities offset by environmental challenges, chief of which is the cold.” The reasons for that are two-fold: it was the most up-to-date version of the game I ploughed through, and two: it represents Unknown Worlds’ reinvigorated trust in its own console development chops, which was choppy at best in the first sink or swim release back in 2016. ![]() This milestone was exemplified most through the game’s console launch - one that happened on promised time (a small rarity in Unknown Worlds’ case), and the version of the game we’ll focus most on here. Last week (week of May 17) Subnautica: Below Zero, a sequel to Subnautica that started off life as DLC, then as an expansion through to full-blown standalone Early Access title, followed then by “ah fuck it, a sequel proper”, released into the retail wild.
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