A dive into the new world and philosophies of ‘Subnautica 2'
The problem with making “Subnatuica 2” is that players can’t go back and re-experience the sense of discovery and wonder of the original. It’s like knowing the twist at the end of a movie. You can’t unlearn it. The team at Unknown Worlds Entertainment understood this challenge and tried to solve it by introducing a new frontier, while also sticking with the gameplay that made “Subnautica” a hit.
For the sequel, which launches this week for $29.99, the team dropped players into a new alien water world with a fresh story. The silent protagonist wakes up on a planet with a failed human colony. The survivor will have to explore the depths and adapt to an inhospitable world.
ELEMENTS OF THE ORIGINAL
Game design lead Anthony Gallegos said, “The starting section of the game has familiar tones as ‘Subnautica 1′. It’s the guideposts of where things start. They find water, food, go cave dining.”
Of course, being a sequel, the developers wanted to refine the gameplay and bring new ideas from other survival titles such as “Grounded 2” that have improved quality-of-life elements to make the game easier to play. The team wanted to focus on the exploration aspect and the nonviolent nature of survival.
That’s an element that often clashes with what some fans want. They want to build weapons to defeat the Leviathans that threaten players’ exploration. Gallegos acknowledges that, “The optimal play is to remove the big creatures, but you’re meant to co-exist with the creatures.”
He said it creates tension and a fear factor that’s eliminated when they’re defeated. To avoid killing, Unknown Worlds is inventing gameplay mechanics to mitigate these encounters by creating weapons to distract Leviathans or put them in a different mindset.
‘NAKED AND AFRAID’
The way he explained it is reminiscent of the show “Naked and Afraid.” in each episode, survivalists have to stay alive for 21 days with a pot, a map and two survival tools. They can hunt deer and pigs, but obviously, being stuck in places like Africa, lions and elephants are out of bounds because A) they can kill you and B) they are protected species. If an elephant or lion is near a watering hole, where survivalists hunt, the “Naked and Afraid” contestants have to leave them be and find alternatives.
Developer Scott MacDonald, who worked on the early phases of the original, said, “Fans are vibing with a nonviolent video game. We let players think their way out of things.”
In “Subnautica 2,” players will have more tools and abilities at their disposal to explore. The most obvious one is a revised building tool that lets players sculpt their base, making base-building more creative than ever. “You can make internal walls and make T-junctions,” Gallegos said. “You can make a coach on the corner. Wrap it around a corner.”
Players will also have a progression system divided into two buckets. The first is a Biomod system that lets them swap out abilities and perks. The other is adaptations. These are permanent upgrades, obtained by touching alien creatures, that change the makeup of a player. For example, one creature will bestow the players the ability to eat native creatures so they don’t starve. The altered DNA of the protagonist reveal subtle changes. Players won’t see them morphing into alien.
NEW BIOMES
When they explore the world itself, players will discover more than 10 biomes at the start of Early Access. They’ll also find an ally in the artificial intelligence system called Noah, but the AI stays in the background, leaving players alone. It’s not a chatty and in-your-ear companion.
The team said the plot will explain why there aren’t guns or other weapons that pioneering people need for self-defense.
In addition to base building, players will also build vehicles, including a new one called the tadpole. Unfortunately, though players can craft their own structures, the vehicles won’t have that same modification. The team said they had to keep the vehicles within a defined shape for the level design.
Lastly, “Subnautica 2” will support multiplayer. Players who jump in will have access to what the most advanced player has, so they won’t feel the need to catch up. The game also features crossplay so that players on Xbox can hook up with friends on PC. MacDonald also said they’re working on other co-op mechanics such as a revival system and more vehicles.
Players can jump into the Early Access now for $29.99, and they can have fun with about 14 hours of gameplay, but like the original, “Subnautica 2” is expected to grow over time, and they’ll have a chance to shape the world with their feedback.
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