Subnautica 2 Review

A deep, evolving survival experience still taking shape.

Ten years after the first Subnautica changed the way underwater survival games could be made, Unknown Worlds has developed Subnautica 2, the second game in the series. One thing is clear from all three points of view in the early access debate: this is a big step forward. The whole thing is an attempt at development.

The developers say it's an adventure game where you have to stay alive underwater on a brand-new, strange ocean world. You can play by yourself or with up to four other people. You can build bases, make tools, and slowly find out what's going on below the surface. It sounds familiar on paper, but when it's done, it feels like a more up-to-date take on everything the series has learned so far.

When it comes to growth, trust is the first thing that stands out. This is not a "safe follow-up." It's clear that this is meant to be a long-term early access project that will change over the next two to three years.

Systems were built to be expanded rather than finished. Players are already saying they have to play for dozens of hours before reaching the end of the current content. Some people finish the current story structure in 10–15 hours, while others play for much longer than that because they like to explore, build bases, and try out new systems.

Also, it's important to note that the tone stays the same across impressions: what we have now feels polished, even though it's not finished.

Like its predecessors, Subnautica 2 relies more on storytelling through the environment than on straight information. There isn't a steady voice guiding you or holding your hand like in movies. The story is told instead through travel, audio logs, and the things that people who came before you left behind.

You crash into a strange ocean world. You're not sure why you're there. Little by little, as you go deeper, you start to find pieces of past missions, many of which failed. The story is built around these random logs, which push you toward interesting parts of the story instead of directly leading you. One key modification suggested across multiple experiences is the design of progression.

It doesn't leave you feeling confused or directionless, though; it just gives you little clues, sort of like the radio system in previous games, that point you to intriguing spots without giving away the entire secret. But it’s still obvious the agreement is early access. Some parts of the plot feel like they end way too early, and it's obvious that much of the content is unfinished or a placeholder for future updates.

But what's already here is strong. The puzzle is interesting, and the way you find out about things still feels like the original Subnautica: you're curious first, and then you find out the answers. There’s also a more defined effort to organize progress into “milestones” – moments when story, craftsmanship, and adventure all come together to offer you a sense of completeness before pushing you onward again.

Not finished, these pieces go a long way to preventing the experience from seeming split up. Subnautica 2 is still the essential survival loop: keep an eye on your health, food, oxygen, and water, and explore even more threatening underwater landscapes.

You collect materials such as copper, lead, titanium, and biological matter. You look at plants and animals. You pick up broken things. You also gradually gain access to new upgrades and tools that help you explore further into the world.

What makes this sequel different is that it adds more elements to that loop.

The biomes system is one of the most important new features. Players can now change their character directly on a biolab screen, rather than just upgrading the outside. There are two types of biomod abilities: active and silent. Active skills include dashes, which let you move quickly, and tracking tools that use scents to help you find your way through caves.

Passive upgrades make things work better by, for example, reducing the amount of oxygen used when the item is not moving or speeding up movement near objects. Getting something is the key twist. You can't just find these upgrades; you have to scan certain combos of plants and animals to get them. This connects progression to exploration and supports trying new things instead of always getting better.

But in the current early access build, some biomods don't seem to work with the game's current progression. Some upgrades are locked behind late-game areas, which means that they might not have a big effect on your current gameplay by the time you open them. 

The adaptation method uses biomods and is more closely linked to story progression. You don't just unlock tools; instead, you evolve your character to deal with challenges in the world. For instance, some meals could make you feel awful until your digestive system adapts to them. Similarly, the ability to withstand heat is needed to travel to deeper, more dangerous locations.

This leads to a progression system with plenty of levels where story, biology, and discovery are all interwoven.

You’re not simply upgrading your stuff, you’re adapting to the world. Subnautica 2 is supposed to be more of an exploration game than a fighting game. Creatures are more detailed and more complex in their behavior than in prior games. The audio is improved, too, and the monsters move in more dramatic ways. But the actual level of threat they pose varies a lot.

Most non-leviathan animals behave more like threats to the world than actual predators. Even though they can hurt, they don't feel very dangerous by themselves very often. Instead, danger usually arises from a combination of factors, such as low oxygen levels, environmental risks, and many small threats.

This choice of style is controversial. On the one hand, it keeps the series' character as an exploration-first show. On the other hand, it makes things less stressful for players who were expecting tougher survival pressure. At certain points in the story, certain creatures are presented as major threats, but in reality, they may only hurt your health and not really be dangerous.

Because of this, death feels pretty rare and easy to avoid in the current build. When it does happen, it's generally because of too much going on around them instead of direct combat failure. Puzzle-like success is mostly expressed through exploration gates. To access some areas, you need to use specific tools, make certain changes, or meet specific scanning goals. These "soft puzzles" are more about finding things and getting ready than they are about logic.

The XP method isn't the same in Subnautica 2. Instead, success is completely tied to scanning and exploring.

You can get crafting recipes, biomods, and upgrades by studying and finding new plants, animals, and environmental factors. This sets up a cycle in which interest directly leads to power. Building bases is also a big part of moving forward. Building is a lot more flexible than the previous titles.

Structures can now be grown and shaped more freely, rather than being composed of rigid modular pieces. This allows the construction of very precise underwater bases. This system is all about resource management, generating and storing stuff. “Vehicles, particularly the early ‘tadpole’ submersibles, let you carry more stuff and go further.”

Thanks to variable vehicle upgrades, you can play in different ways. Some designs focus on speed and maneuverability, while others prioritize cargo space, even if that means sacrificing mobility. This involves important trade-offs based on the needs of exploration.

But the latest build doesn't have many different vehicles. Currently, players are limited to one major vehicle line. This encourages fans to look forward to future upgrades, which will likely include larger submersibles akin to those in past games.

Subnautica 2 is still in early access, but it looks good. Lighting, underwater distortion, and diverse biomes all add a great sense of realism. Each zone feels different, even in the little early access stuff. According to classification, some players can name between 5 and 10 biomes.

However, the real differences come from a few distinct environmental places with very different tones and ways of exploring. It also works well with many different devices. The game can be played at a stable frame rate on even average systems, with only small drops in frame rates in heavy places or during complex base scenes. 

One of the best things about the series is still the sound design. The sound of a creature is multilayered, directed, and often scarier than what you see. The ocean has a lifelike quality that keeps players on edge, even when there isn't much danger.

The result is the same no matter what: Subnautica 2 is already a very polished early access game, but it is still very much unfinished. Depending on how you like to explore, what we have now gives about 10 to 20 hours of structured progression. That alone makes the current price point sensible for many players, especially since it's likely to go up as development continues.

It's easy to see the good points: better systems, more customization options, better base building, and a more modern take on survival tactics.

The biomod and adaptation systems have significant long-term potential. But it's also clear what the limits are. Combat isn't really dangerous besides stacking environments, there aren't many car options right now, and the story isn't finished yet. There is no doubt that the game is good; that is the main point. The question is when to do it.

This is already worth getting into if you like seeing how a game evolves over time and helping shape it through comments. There is a better way to get a full, organized survival experience: wait for the full release. What's already here is a strong base for something much bigger, no matter what.