Subnautica: Below Zero

Steam Reviews

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• Recommended Posted April 23, 2026 on Steam There's a lot of negative opinions about Below Zero, especially compared to the first game. But going immediately from first game to BZ, I don't get the issues. The first game is more open world, environmental storytelling, Below Zero is more enclosed, personality and character driven storytelling. Both are good in their own ways, and both feel unique to each other. Some things feel more lacking than the first, such as vehicle options and biome diversity. Other things feel more fleshed out, such as base building and environmental exploration. Overall, don't let the negativity influence you, go into it knowing it is similar but different to the first game, and settle in to the cold.
• Not recommended Posted March 4, 2026 on Steam No spoilers ahead! This is no longer Subnautica. It's a story-driven game with survival elements. The problem is that the story makes no sense. You could remove half of the cast and nothing would change. The sister quest line could be completely removed and nothing would change. The sister's actions have zero meaning. The main character, described as a typical superwoman, didn't even prepare for the 'rescue' mission on a dangerous planet from which there is no means of returning home. No questions from the original game were properly answered. Some lore was completely forgotten by the writer. What was the point of replacing the beta's almost complete story with this trash? All survival systems have been simplified. Resources are scattered across the map without any logic to their placement. Without proper gear, you can complete most of the story – so what's the point of most of the recipes? The graphics are good and the music is ok. There are the same bugs with lightning, movement and inventory crashes as in the first game. If it weren't for the 'Subnautica' part of its name, this game would have received far worse reviews. I do not recommend it. It's better to play the original game and then this one.
• Recommended Posted May 2, 2026 on Steam I have about 250 hours in the original Subnautica and I just got around to playing BZ. I'd heard so much about how disappointing it was compared to the original so I put off playing it for a long time, but having finished it now I can say with 100% certainty it is still an amazing game. It definitely has its problems; the map is smaller so to compensate you move slower but it doesn't make the map feel bigger it just makes you feel slower. Gathering resources is still a slog. The A and B plots don't feel particularly connected. But even with that it still left me breathless in places. The environments are beautiful. The speculative biology of 4546B is still stunning. The story is emotional and driving. All in all, while it may not be as good as the original, Below Zero is still an amazing game and an awesome continuation of the Subnautica story. I really hope more people give it a chance, especially now that Subnautica 2 is releasing early access.
• Not recommended Posted June 12, 2025 on Steam If you liked Subnautica but thought it needed 1/3 of the game to be barely-traversible land segments set in identical white corridors and a protagonist who constantly says 'Erm... well that just happened' while the alien in her head constantly says stuff like 'this human concept of "hope"... i find it illogical', coupled with an unsatisfying story that gets derailed pretty much immediately in favor of a side story with a pointless conclusion, you'll probably be able to tolerate Below Zero long enough to beat it. For the love of god let Subnautica 2 be good
• Recommended Posted March 21, 2026 on Steam "The first Subnautica is better". Brother, Subnautica 1 is the best survival game ever, of course it is better. This is a stand-alone dlc worth every penny.
• Recommended Posted December 22, 2025 on Steam It's like Subnautica but slightly disappointing. A less magical version. If you can't get enough Subnautica buy it, preferably on sale. If you only played the first game once this might not be a good purchase for you.