"On one level, I've spent a compelling ten hours exploring a new alien ocean, uncovering its storyline, and building a base that feels like home, often really enjoying myself. On another, I have been astonished by just how much Subnautica 2 wants to tell me how to play it, with heavy-handed over-direction and a gated ocean that necessitates I experience the game in the order it intends."
"One of the great features of the original Subnautica was the way the crafting and exploring underwater game was so blissfully quiet. There was a story-a superb one-but it was there for you to stumble upon, your impetus to progress based on the joy of exploring ever further and ever deeper as your technology allowed. Subnautica 2 is never quiet. It never bloody shuts up."
"There's so much dialogue, so much capital-p Plot, that I've never felt like I could just swim off in a new direction just to see what's there. And, if I try, I encounter some gating that prevents me: it's too hot, it's too deep, it's too far from oxygen... When I then go in the direction of the next quest marker, oh, what's this, an upgrade that allows me to survive more heat, more depth, less oxygen."
"That story begins with you, a Pioneer looking for a new planetary home, crashing into the seas of a planet y"
Subnautica 2 offers ten hours of exploration in a new alien ocean, including uncovering storyline elements and building a base that feels personal. The experience is also marked by frequent, heavy-handed direction and a gated ocean that forces progression in a specific order. Unlike the quiet exploration of the original game, Subnautica 2 includes constant dialogue and plot delivery that reduces the sense of freedom to swim off independently. Attempts to explore alternative directions are blocked by environmental limits such as heat, depth, and oxygen distance. Progression is then tied to quest markers and upgrades that increase survivability for those constraints.
Read at Kotaku
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