[b]First of all, thank you UWE, for making Natural Selection canon for Subnautica. We already knew the common name "Kharaa" existed in both games, but acknowledging the war between TSF and Kharaa in the data logs is a really nice touch.[/b]
Some of the problems I had in Subnautica 2 are possibly coming from it being an Early Access title.
[h3]First of all, the good things:[/h3]
+ Art style is great. Every creature, every landscape fits together. So far, no immersion breaking creatures so far. (There is an exception, will talk about that in negatives)
+ [spoiler]Taking a risk to develop a different world and ecosystem. Unlike 4546B, Proteus is very dangerous to human physiology, water has immense pressure, is high in metal, and even the amino acids have high metal in them, leading the human body not being able to digest and suffer from health hazards, bringing us the new "adaptation" system, which is lorewise a good addon. Also, the lifeform classifications are different, as there is no fauna and flora differentiation. Making something fully "alien" is appreciated.[/spoiler]
+ Leviathans are big. I do mean big. And I hope we'll get even bigger leviathans in the future.
+ The game helps you with how to progress, but not giving a distinct objective except "just go here and investigate" then the responsibility of what to do falls upon you. (There is also a negative side.)
+ Modular base building. Being able to change the size of the rooms, parts, and shaping them however you want is a great addition, though sometimes a bit too buggy.
+ Biomod system adds some type of customisation of how you play.
[h3]Every good thing must come to an end. The bad things:[/h3]
- I don't like the soundtrack. Very repetitive, and most of them I feel like don't fit the "exploration" or sometimes "danger" situations. Both Subnautica and Subnautica Below Zero had soundtracks that helped with the environmental storytelling. I didn't get the same feeling in Subnautica 2.
- Everything is so aggressive and so persistent. You can't kill any lifeform in Subnautica 2, which is fine, but even the most important defensive skills don't really apply to most organisms. Two examples, there is a small electrical fish called "Electric Geordie", it works like Lava Larva from Subnautica. You hit them with defensive abilities or with your axe, they detach from your vehicle, swim around you and wait 10 seconds, then attach themselves back. Epicureans lose aggro when hit with a defensive ability, and start chasing you 5 seconds later to take a bite from your body. Twin Sitarays don't even flinch when hit in any way and are probably the most annoying and most persistent lifeform on the planet.
- Most biomes don't have a distinct appearance. Coral Garden biomes have no very distinct biome differences, except the [spoiler]Graveyard.[/spoiler]
- The map is too small, but it's definitely due to Early Access, you'll understand when you play.
- The biggest biome, [spoiler]Sparse Plains[/spoiler], is the emptiest one. I thought it was just an empty, placeholder biome with nothing in it, but it seems it is an actual biome. In other Subnautica games, sparse biomes were smaller and had some unique lifeforms and materials in them.
- Some lifeforms have texture quality problems, but again, probably due to the game being an Early Access title.
- Not enough leviathans. Another possibly Early Access problem.
- The game holds your hand too much. That AI needs to shut up. I'm glad it's helping me to progress, but it needs to shut up from time to time to give me enough time to explore.
- Adaptation system forces a lazy linear progression, as it sometimes blocks your natural progression.
[b]Even with the negatives, I really did enjoy my time. I played multiplayer as my first playthrough, but if you can, play it in singleplayer for a more immersive experience. Can't wait for the story to continue. Can't wait to explore cooler upcoming biomes![/b]
