Subnautica 2 will have a bigger map and a silent protagonist, say devs

Get yer flip-flops retired and particulate past year's soil disconnected the boogie board. Subnautica 2's satellite representation volition beryllium bigger than erstwhile games successful the soaking endurance series. At slightest that's what the developers accidental successful a caller Q & A video. They've besides said they're returning to the storytelling benignant of the archetypal game, with a soundless protagonist and "player discovery" being the large operator of the story.

"The playable representation size volition beryllium bigger than what we primitively launched successful aboriginal entree connected the archetypal Subnautica, and adjacent Below Zero's aboriginal entree release," says originative shaper Scott MacDonald successful the video. "But conscionable however large and however heavy you'll beryllium capable to spell implicit the people of aboriginal access, we're not precisely definite yet."

"The full satellite is being handcrafted by a talented squad of satellite designers and situation artists," helium said, "and they're pouring everything into the satellite close now. We're aiming for this to beryllium the biggest and astir breathtaking Subnautica crippled ever erstwhile we deed 1.0 successful a fewer years time."

It's not wholly astonishing for Unknown Worlds to spell bigger for the sequel. But outright saying truthful whitethorn beryllium reassuring to those players who complained that Below Zero's representation felt smaller and shallower than the archetypal endurance splashabout. One player, for example, made examination images to amusement the quality successful representation size betwixt games.

Image credit: Krafton

I wasn't that bothered, to beryllium honest. Much of the archetypal game's representation is unfastened expanse and bare water - bully for evoking a consciousness of vastness but not needfully required successful Below Zero's frosty crystal fields. The acold spinoff was inactive beauteous and inviting, adjacent if each the bitter snowstorms raged successful a tighter space. But hey, I get wherefore radical are endlessly bare for much watery depths to explore. The archetypal Subnautica remains 1 of our champion endurance games.

The devs screen immoderate different communal queries. They accidental a batch of players privation to spell backmost to the biology storytelling basics of the archetypal game. So the crippled is "returning to having a soundless protagonist", alternatively than a tailored protagonist arsenic successful Below Zero. "But that doesn't mean that we won't person the accidental to showcase immoderate astonishing dependable acting successful PDA entries and successful different areas," says MacDonald.

But not everything is returning to tradition. The vehicles you'll get present won't see the nippy Seamoth submersible oregon hulking Cyclops submarine from the archetypal game, we're told, due to the fact that the squad privation to marque "new vehicles that are designed successful the aforesaid spirit, conscionable much suited to the marque caller environment". Meanwhile afloat quality customisation won't beryllium disposable from the archetypal moments of aboriginal access, they say, but it volition get added later.