GLACIAL DRIFT

SUBNAUTICA: BELOW ZERO is a survival game with depth.

- Rick Lane

So Subnautica: Below Zero is almost as good as Subnautica. This may sound like damning with faint praise, but since Subnautica is, to my mind, the best survival game ever made, I’d argue the praise is pretty darned clear. Although less consistently brilliant, Below Zero shares the wild imagination, adventurous spirit, and richly tactile systems of its modern classic of a predecessor.

Below Zero returns players to the marine planet 4546B, this time donning the flippers of a new protagonist named Robin Ayou. Robin is searching for her sister Sam, who according to Sam’s employer Alterra, was accidentally killed while on a research expedition to the planet’s arctic region. But Sam’s previously recorded messages to Robin tell a different story. Arriving alone with minimal supplies on an unsanctioned search and recovery mission, Robin must follow her sister’s trail while surviving the harsh climate of 4546B’s arctic.

This environment is Below Zero’s primary new feature, and the main area where the sequel improves over