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Some sequels take everything from the first game and are able to not only expand on the mechanics, but recontextualize what you learned in the first one. Some sequels aren’t so ambitious, but still provide an interesting continuation to a story couched in familiar mechanics. Then there are some sequels that add practically nothing new to the series and can, in fact, lower your opinion of the original entry.
Below Zero does not do much as a sequel. Mechanics are almost identical, locations are far less interesting, and the few changes that have been made detract more than they add. Story-wise, it is more a coda to Subnautica than a true sequel – addressing some questions about the alien race from the first game some years after the original player returns home. Also story-wise, there are quite a few more voiced log entries – even two NPCs – which unfortunately started to break the verisimilitude and feeling of aloneness that the first game did so well.
And sadly, you also don’t actually get any satisfactory answers about the alien race in Below Zero. Instead, you get three stories: one about a crashed ship that had no significance (much like the Degasi of the first game, but without the time component that made them interesting). One about a terrorist attack on a research facility. And the last, the one about the aliens (who are now called “Architects”). The story about the terrorist attack is why you are here – your sister was a researcher at the facility and you’ve come to the planet to find out what happened to her. Without spoiling the story, I can only say that it pushes hard for a message I found unscientific and based in fear. The story about the aliens is worse – the aliens turn out to be incredibly stupid given their vast technological and biological prowess and the protagonist pushes a strangely vehement naturalistic message which, in the sci-fi world of Subnautica, simply reminded me of Dresden Codak’s lampoon of such views.
I played with two mods installed: one to add a map and one to make crafting easier while at your base. Because of the map mod, I realized I hadn’t explored a good quarter of the map near the end of the game. Since I was also at a loss for what to do at the time (unlike the original, you don’t really have a solid objective to work towards), I decided to fill it all in to see if I missed anything. While doing this, I discovered that there was nothing interesting there – absolutely nothing at all. Vast swaths of the map are simply empty hills and valleys with almost no reason to visit.
Vehicles are particularly hard-hit in this installment. Instead of the trusty Seamoth, you now have a Seatruck which sacrifices speed, durability, and maneuverability for extensibility. Thing is, by the time I beat the game, I only knew the blueprints to a couple modules – neither of which were useful enough for me to want. The Cyclops, previously your mobile operating base, is entirely gone and the Prawn suit, while now less buggy, sat collecting dust (or algae, I guess) from the moment I built it as there was never any use for it.
The one new vehicle, the Snowfox, is a hoverbike. Before you get too excited, let me say that it was boring to use. How can you make a hoverbike boring, you ask? Three problems: it has no durability to speak of, so you’ll be hopping off every 30 seconds to repair it (though this is now true of all vehicles in Below Zero, it is particularly egregious with the Snowfox). The control scheme is truly horrendous – your mouse easily decouples from steering to looking, and it is impossible to both turn and strafe at the same time (without also moving forward). Finally, it isn’t actually useful – other than one jump you can make, there really isn’t much reason to travel using it; it’s not much faster than running, your jump and boost are highly limited, and most importantly it can’t travel over water – in Subnautica.
Sadly, there is very little reason to play Below Zero. While there were problems I had with the original installment (mostly due to buggy behaviors), it was a well-crafted experience and one I can see myself revisiting. I cannot say the same for Below Zero. Tier Three.