This review may contain spoilers
[spoiler] I heard some not so positive opinions on this game, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt. But it really is bad. The main issue, and what I find unforgiveable, is the story. It achieves absolutely nothing, you can finish the game without even bothering to find out what happen to Sam, what was supossed to be the main objective.
The info we get in the beginning sets out a mystery kind of plot, but it really isn't. What happens to Sam is exactly what Alterra wrote in the note about her death. The moment I encountered the Frozen Leviathan and read all the logs I thought that I was missing something, it felt incomplete, but no, that was it.
I feel like Al-An's existence is just so Robin has a reason to talk and also to point out some locations with Architect technology that have no purpose in the plot. You know what, they have a purpose, thanks to them you can find biomes otherwise you wouldn't even bother to check out. I wouldn't find the adult Vent garden Leviathans if it weren't for that one Architect artifact.
Al-An's and Robin's dynamic is so generic it's actually unbelieveable. Al-An is constantly confused about human biology and behaviour (even though he is supposed to be a superintelligent alien), and Robin explains it to him in the most exalting and pretentious way. I also think introducing Architects in the flesh and mind really takes away the charm they had. I loved how mysterious they are in the first game. When you introduce an alien species that are supossed to be the most (or one of) intelligent beings in the universe, It really is difficult to write a beliveable standalone character of this race, Al-An being the example.
I don't know why I bothered to build a fun base if Robin just left the planet with Al-An. The ending feels so unsatisfying. She seriously just gave up on her life to go with an alien centaur? yeah she is an adult, but she just left her mother without even giving her a chance to come back. And she is supossed to live with that now both of her daughters are probably dead? And besides, does Robin really doesn't have any reason to come back home? No friends? No loved ones beside her mom?
It's really hard to sympathize with Robin, since she is so unbothered by everything and there are no fate at stakes.
The moment I found out that Sam somehow synthesized a cure for Kharaa was the moment I lost every hope I had left for this game. I thought that maybe I didn't find some crucial explanation for it, but again, no. It's the biggest slap in the face you could ever get after finishing the first Subnautica. And it doesn't even have any impact on the plot! Curing the Leviathan is purely optional! Also, how even was the Kharaa cured from the creature if there was no blood circulation? How does that make any sense?
About the gameplay. The backtracking is insane, especially on the part when you find the formula for Architect organs and the Fabricator Base. You just really do whatever with no clear chronology, so there are a lot of times you just don't know what else to do to progress the story, what information you need or don't need.
And oh my god, the Shadow leviathans. I find their design gorgeous, when I first encountered one it was scary in a good way. But when the backtracking moment happened, I genuinely started to hate them because of how much of a nuisance they are.
You can't effectively hide from them because The seatruck is so bulky and inefficient, you constantly bump on the crystals and can't fit in spaces that might give you safety. When the Leviathan notices you, no matter what you will do, you will be caught, no upgrade saves you from that. They damage you vehicle and you have to find some place away from them and fix it. When you do, you continue the exploration, but you eventually run into another Shadow Leviathan and the cycle continues. I was so sick of them in the endgame, playing this became genuinely frustrating and unfun, I just wanted to get it over with and finish it. I found out later that you can avoid them if you just step away from the wheel and walk in the modules they should ignore you. Haven't tried that myself, but still, that really isn't good game design, isn't it?
The game looks pretty, some creature designs are really cool. I love the Vent garden Leviathans. Honestly, it was such a missed opportunity to place a material that you can only find in them. it could be some material for the Architect body parts. It would made it a unique farming spot. [/spoiler]
While the underwater biomes were okay, it was frustrating exploring them with the Seatruck, there is so many tight spaces that you have to squeeze through with this vehicle, you physically cannot avoid hitting everything around you. While on that, why the hell some of the plants are rock hard? There were so many moments where I thought I could pass some small weeds, only to be stopped because there were hard as stone for no apparent reason. [spoiler]
The land biomes are unremarkable, nothing really makes you think "oh wow". Another thing, I absolutely hate the Snowfox. Tried using it, but it was so annoying, that I switched to Prawnsuit. I like the idea for the Ice worm, but it's just another nuisance. You don't even have to build the device that is supposed to distract it, because it really isn't a true threat, you can easily avoid it. Every other hostile animal is the same, not a threat, just annoying. [/spoiler]
I guess the penglings are cute.
After finishing first Subnautica and current story in the EA Subnautica 2 I thought that I will finally give Below Zero a shot. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I played it, since I love the universe of these games, but if you aren't a big fan of the first game, it really isn't worth it. Unless you don't care about the story and just want to swim in the water, I guess it's fine.
So far it seems like the devs learned their mistakes from Below Zero, Subnautica 2 looks very promising. I just hope it stays that way and the same bad decisions won't happen again.
