I’ve always thought the expression “Too much of a good thing” was a bit dumb. If a thing is good, why not have more of it? Why not cram good thing after good thing into yourself and revel in their goodness? Admittedly, this speaks volumes of my role as a professional game addict—a guide writer who regularly chows down on massive RPGs, and continues to play them for myself afterwards as a kind of dessert.
But for once, I’m feeling full. Subnautica 2 in its current early access state is such a satisfying little morsel: a wonderful episode of aquatic exploration that doesn’t overstay its welcome and honestly has me salivating for the next course. Okay, enough food metaphors.
Sean Martin
Despite my mild fear of the abyssal depths of the sea and what lurks within, I’ve still spent around 30 hours with Subnautica 2 in early access. I’m not usually that into survival-crafting games (with the exception of Valheim and Sons of the Forest), but Subnautica 2’s mysterious alien ocean has me squarely on the hook.
After a lengthy legal battle involving some questionable use of ChatGPT (honestly, I find any use of ChatGPT questionable), Subnautica 2 finally released in early access, selling a mere 2 million copies in twelve hours. Despite a few foibles, such as a EULA agreement so severe some (not me) might speculate it could have been Krafton’s attempt to sabotage the game further, Subnautica 2 has been a stonking success.
In Subnautica, you’re delving deeper, building the tools that allow you to explore the abyss
Some are certainly bemoaning the limited content—only about 20 hours as it stands—but I think Subnautica 2’s early access makes such a strong case for episodic survival-crafting games. It’s a story structure I’d never even considered applicable for this genre, but it suits the unfolding sense of discovery that exploring an uncharted alien ocean should have.
Subnautica 2 is a game that revolves around depth. Where in other survival-crafting games, you’re mastering stone, bronze, and iron like some ancient human, in Subnautica, you’re delving deeper, building the tools that allow you to explore the abyss. It’s a structure that lends itself well to gradual exposition, as you explore new biomes, encounter new (and often hungry) creatures, and slowly uncover the truth that lies at the bedrock of everything.
Seeing how deep the world goes and shedding our humanity along the way is a pretty timeless narrative—there’s a reason Made in Abyss remains popular despite its grizzlier and often post-human elements. Here, it’s the colonists who came before you, crash-landing into a mysterious ocean instead of arriving on the desert planet of Zezura, your original destination.
Most of Subnautica 2’s story is a found narrative, told through your sus AI companion, NOA, and the black boxes of these mysteriously absent characters, as you hear them slowly change due to a mysterious condition called Masefield Syndrome. All of this is apparently thanks to the gigantic alien tree rising out of the ocean—your first sight as you emerge from the Lifepod.
This World Tree is really the centerpiece of the game and, in typical videogame-style, will presumably be our final destination at its end.
What really makes Subnautica 2 feel special to me, though, is that this structure of gradual exposition suits the survival-crafting genre so well. The game’s first “episode”, so to speak, concludes in the Alien Ruins with a really wonderful set piece moment and some important lore discoveries about the planet, which I obviously won’t divulge. However, it perfectly teases future biomes, while also deepening the mystery surrounding the planet and its colonists.
It’s got me super excited for future areas to explore as we draw closer to the tree, but also for the fancy new tools and gadgets which will be introduced, and all the more fun to play with when added alongside a context for their use. In this version, for example, you have to build a Tadpole mini-sub to safely close a stretch of open ocean.
I love that Subnautica 2’s tools and gadgets have a context and a purpose. It’s not like I’m unlocking fancy new tech just to play around with in a sandbox—there’s a reason I need this new tool to progress, to go deeper, and to inch ever closer towards that eventual truth. It’s no wonder Subnautica feels so unique in the survival-crafting genre.
Despite being someone with a mild case of thalassaphobia, who’s made understandably nervous by vast abyssal expanses and what lurks therein, Subnautica 2 managed to transform my trepidation into wonder. The real moment for me came when I happened upon a group of friendly Deepwing leviathans just swimming on by.
It made me reflect on why people venture into scary unknown places: I guess a lot of the time they turn out to be really bloody beautiful as well. Kind of impressive for a $30 early access game, huh?
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