This drastic thematic shift immediately sets the tone for the rest of the game, which is at one moment peaceful and relaxing, and the next is unsettling and often downright terrifying. Once you actually begin a playthrough, however, the shot of serene nature is replaced by a giant spaceship as it’s buffeted by flaming meteors above a frozen world, and an aggressive synth soundtrack that’s almost vaporwave-esque in its sound. When you first load into Below Zero, you’re greeted by a flock of adorable penguin-like creatures called pengwings frolicking on an iceberg before jumping into the icy waters. In her path to answers stands a frigid and unforgiving subaquatic wilderness full of exotic creatures to encounter, rare minerals to mine, and more than a few mysteries to uncover. This new entry in the series trades the tropical environments for one that’s a bit colder, and adds in a fully voiced-acted story which puts players in the role of Robin Ayou, a scientist on a mission to uncover what has become of her missing sister Sam on the mysterious Planet 4546B. I went into Subnautica: Below Zero not knowing what to expect and was genuinely wowed by what I found in Unknown Worlds’ subaquatic survival sim on Switch. As an unashamed lover of fish and all things tropical, that’s an absolute crime against myself, yet having not played it before turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Let me get this out of the way first and foremost: I never played the original Subnautica.

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