I just 99% percent finished SBZ after having got it at a Steam half off sale not too long ago, I only issue I had was that it seemed pretty short, but a lot of fun.
I didn’t see any other threads on It, just several on Subnautica, which I am avoiding for spoiler reasons. Because I never finished it, really never even started it. It seems very much “my kind of game” but for some reason, just never got it to work. I tried maybe 4 times, each time having a blast for half an hour or so. Then I would get stuck on some blueprint with some early game resource, different each time IIRC. Which then turned into a couple hour of reloaded saves, searches in a new direction for the missing stuff, and getting killed by creatures, losing what I had found, getting frustrated and quitting. Then trying again a few months later to repeat the whole process.
So I took the middle difficulty for SBZ, no food or water concerns, and it went so much better. I focused entirely on the story which I greatly enjoyed. Although now I feel weird that I never really built anything more than a minimally functional base, before coming to what seems like the end game(being vague to avoid spoilers.
Fir folks who played both, how would you compare them, in a general enjoyment, spoiler free, rating? As I decide If I want to give the original one more try.
I’ve yet to read a review, or see anyone in a thread who didn’t think the original was better than the sequel. It’s longer, more mysterious, scarier, more rewarding, etc. If you finished every story path in Below Zero then you’ve been spoiled somewhat on Subnautica, but I would still strongly recommend starting over on Subnautica.
And though they’re building games, there’s no real need to build a big base at any time, besides the fun of it. Don’t be worried if you only built the minimum each time.
And spoiler hint for Subnautica for the early resource that drives everyone crazy - after an exploding fish attacks you, go check out the nest that it swam out of.
My thoughts on comparisons between the games:
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I like the story in the original better, both because it’s a tighter story and because it’s less, um, complete? It’s fragments that you discover and piece together, and while by the end you have a good picture of what happened there’s lots and lots of mystery still left. Below Zero on the other hand pretty much spoon-feeds you the complete tale of what happened with Sam, and Alan mostly clears up all the questions about the more distant past. I still like the Below Zero story, but it was more ‘go to next location, get next installment’ and less ‘I’ve discovered the next piece of the puzzle and I think I might be beginning to make sense of what the everloving f is going on in this place’
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The game doesn’t work as well on solid ground as it does in the water, to Below Zero’s detriment. I found the Snowfox horrible to use (I mean it’s a speeder bike how can it not be awesome???) and in general the above water exploration unrewarding compared to the deeps.
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Below Zero is much, much more generous with resources and blueprint fragments than the original, which makes building stuff feel like less of an accomplishment.
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How in the hell did Marguerit survive Kharaa for the ten years or whatever it was between when the Degassi crashed until Riley cures the disease in the first game?
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I really appreciated the technical advances in Below Zero. Subnautica suffers from low draw distances and obtrusive pop-in, and it’s frankly a miracle that it manages to build atmosphere as well as it does with those giant mushrooms suddenly appearing out of nowhere, etc. This is greatly improved in the sequel.
But in general, Below Zero’s biggest problem is that it’s a sequel to one of the best games ever made, and it’s merely very good. I’m looking forward to Kerbal Space Program 2 with trepidation for the same reason.
The subnautic gameplay was glorious in Below Zero, in much the same way that it was in the first. Swimming is a delight.
The vehicles were better in the original subnautica. The Seamoth is zippy, the Cylcops is hulking. The seatruck was clunky and clumsy. According to lore it was a very workmanlike vehicle, and it sure felt that way; the problem was that I didn’t want it to feel that way. I wish they’d come up with an in-game reason to have an awesome vehicle.
The surface game was frustrating enough that I almost dropped the game entirely during that section. For some reason I found it almost impossible to navigate. More unique landmarks would’ve been really, really helpful for me: a mostly-white maze is a great idea, but not fun.
And the story–great idea, disappointing execution. None of the big story moments had any emotional impact for me. It was like, “Oh, okay? That’s the answer to the mystery. Cool, I guess?” The final ending to the game left me feeling like there was supposed to be one more big twist, but the company was like, “The hell with it, we gotta ship this game, wrap it up.”
My expectations were almost certainly too high. I enjoyed certain aspects immensely but was overall disappointed.