I'm Deeply Upset Subnautica 2 Won't Let Me Mutate Into A Little Aquatic Freak

"“I would say, even though [Subnautica 2] is one of the biggest games the studio has made, we're still a pretty small studio--when you look at AAA developers, they often have more designers than we have people on the entire team, for instance, we're pretty small,” Subnautica 2 game design lead Anthony Gallegos told me. “So we're not trying to focus on genetic adaptations that change the player's look very often.”"

"Taking place on Alterra, an alien planet that humanity tried and failed to colonize years prior, Subnautica 2 sees you play as a pioneer who must find a way to make the entirely water-covered world a home after your colony ship crashes on its surface while you and your fellow colonists were on your way to a completely different planet. Playable in single-player or in online four-player co-op, you're tasked with diving beneath the waves in search of resources to survive and build a makeshift base."

"As part of your explorations, you'll occasionally stumble across a strange flora that, when touched, rewrites your character's DNA to allow them to better adapt to the planet. During the media conference, we saw an early example of this, with the player character unlocking an adaptation that allows them to eat the food they gather--prior to unlocking this adaptation, your character is incapable of digesting the proteins present in Alterra's native species."

"“We have a couple [adaptations] in the game that do very, very minor [transformations], but we didn't want these to”"

Subnautica 2 launches in early access and is set on Alterra, an alien planet covered entirely by water. Players act as pioneers after a colony ship crash, working to survive and build a makeshift base while exploring for resources. The game supports single-player and online four-player co-op. During exploration, players can touch strange flora that rewrites character DNA to enable better adaptation to the planet. An early example shows an adaptation that allows digestion of native proteins, which is not possible before unlocking it. Adaptations are designed to be very minor in terms of visual transformation, reflecting the studio’s small team and focus on gameplay rather than frequent appearance changes.

Read at GameSpot