The initial release of Subnautica in December of 2014 left the gaming community shocked, with the announcement of a new open alien world to explore bringing excitement. YouTubers and Streamers immediately picked it up, finding the game to be exhilarating. When a spin-off dropped, Below Zero, no one was surprised it got just as much hype.
With a new icy atmosphere, and its continuation of thrilling ocean exploration, Subnautica fans were delighted with the new addition to the series. For a while, nothing but tiny updates or patches were announced, until Oct. 18. With the trailer for the brand new game showing off features and biomes,fans are already excited for the game to drop in 2025, but, will it live up to the hype of the two previous games?
In subnautica, players play as a crew member on a spaceship called the Aurora. The player and their crew mates are traveling through space to enable easier space travel, until the ship is shot down. It crashes onto an alien planet, and when the player wakes up in the life-pod, the player seems to be utterly alone and the only survivor. The player must work to send a distress signal for help with guidance from the PDA and survival skills. But, this planet isn’t entirely filled with bright and beautiful coral reefs, with friendly fish. Deeper, darker areas of the map contain more aggressive larger creatures dubbed leviathans. The game eventually introduces the player to a sickness plaguing the planet called the Khaara infection. It’s not only been affecting you, but the wildlife and the ecosystem. The player has to work to get cured by finding a sea emperor leviathan, the only creature with a natural resistance to the virus. Eventually, the player is rescued after helping the sea emperor leviathan to hatch its young and help create an antidote.
Aside from the fantastic and gripping story, the biomes and areas around the map are beautifully created, with tons of different biomes filled with important resources to upgrade your gear and create new vehicles to explore. The graphics add to the beautiful scenery of the environment, and help to really make it seem real. However, this game isn’t just lighthearted and beautiful. Deeper below the surface are more terrifying secrets, like cruel experiments, ancient alien technology, and contraptions to keep anything from leaving the planet. The first two editions of the game were thoroughly enjoyable and provided a sense of adventure and horror. Even now, I can’t look at the ocean the same. It puts into perspective just how tiny you can feel in the ocean, and how hard it is to wrap your head around the depth of the ocean.
The trailer of Subnautica 2 introduced teasers into features fans were long waiting for, like multiplayer mode and new terrifying leviathans. The player can also continue exploration in new biomes with friends. It’s going to be interesting to see how Subnautica adapts itself to the multiplayer features, such as adding more vehicles to carry multiple players, and different side quests and story lines to explore. Not only will the addition of friends be exhilarating, but new creatures were showcased, like a crab in the coral reef area, which could be put into the leviathan class of creatures due to its huge size. These additions will surely contribute to the wonder and adventure present in the game, and I cannot wait to play it when it releases.
This game has a lot of potential to be fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed playing the other two games, and I’m just as excited for the release of this one. The new mechanics being added will really change the game play, but it will be a change for the better. I really liked most of the ideas showcased in the new trailer, and my hopes are incredibly high for this addition to the series. Myself and every other Subnautica fan are waiting patiently for the release, and I hope it lives up to the expectations and hype the trailer has brought on.
