Subnautica + Subnautica: Below Zero

Genre: Compilation / Open World First-Person Survival Adventure

Players: 1

The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

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Review:

Subnautica + Subnautica: Below Zero is the retail compilation package that naturally includes both of the games in the title: Subnautica, first released on multiple platforms in 2018 and ported to Nintendo Switch in 2021, and its sequel Subnautica: Below Zero, released alongside it in 2021 for the first time on multiple platforms, including Nintendo Switch. Both games are Open-World First-Person Survival Adventure games where players take the role of a space traveler who crashes down on an ocean-covered alien world, with Below Zero having players explore a different, arctic region on the same planet

Here’s what I thought of each of the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Grade
Subnautica	Open World First-Person Survival Adventure	1	B
tl;dr Subnautica is a downgraded but competent port of the Open-World First-Person Survival Adventure game that has you exploring a hostile aquatic alien world after your spaceship crashes. The world here is beautiful and enticing, but the gameplay is frustrating in numerous ways due to its almost complete refusal to hand-hold the player in any way. Fans of the Survival Adventure genre should definitely give this game a look, but others may find its flaws make it too hard to appreciate.
Subnautica: Below Zero	Open World First-Person Survival Adventure	1	B+
tl;dr Subnautica: Below Zero is an Open-World First-Person Survival Adventure game that improves on its predecessor with some stunning visuals that make the gameplay somewhat smoother, especially in the earliest parts of the game which is designed to allow for somewhat easier progression. Having said that, this game’s lack of direction given to the player will undoubtedly be daunting to some, and as a result this won’t be a game for everyone. However, if you’re a fan of Survival Adventure games, this is an absolute must-have.

Both of these games feature the same style of survival and exploration gameplay, and share most of their controls, mechanics, and enemies. Having said that, I felt that Below Zero improved on the original game in multiple ways, namely with more impressive visuals that seemed to suffer less for their transition to the Nintendo Switch, which in turn made it a bit easier to gather your bearings in the game’s environments. In addition, Below Zero also featured a somewhat less steep difficulty curve in the early portions of the game, making it the more accessible of the two. However, both games do share largely the same flaws – they staunchly refuse most forms of hand-holding resulting in it often being unclear how to progress, their complex underwater environments are disorienting and hard to navigate without any sort of effective map, and fending off predators underwater is a chore that requires manually selecting the tool you need quickly. Also, neither game makes use of the Nintendo Switch’s motion-sensing or touchscreen functionality.

The compilation package these games find themselves in isn’t going to save you any money over buying the games separately, but it doesn’t cost more either. Really, what you’re getting here is the ability to play both these games in physical form rather than downloading digital versions of the game. Whether that’s worth it to you is a matter of personal preference more than anything.

Regardless of which way you approach these games, this is a pretty good pair of solid ports to the Nintendo Switch, both visually striking though not without flaws (especially the first game), and fans of Survival Adventure games in particular should definitely give this pair a look. For other players, I feel like some will love it and others will hate it. The lack of direction given here can be daunting to players, but if you’re looking for a strange, beautiful, dangerous new world to explore, this may be worth a look for you.

tl;dr – Subnautica + Subnautica: Below Zero is a Compilation of two Open-World First-Person Survival Adventure games that made the transition to Nintendo Switch fairly well, particularly Below Zero. Both games feature massive, beautiful aquatic worlds to explore, but also don’t give players much guidance for where to go to progress. On balance, these are excellent games well worth looking into, but they won’t be for everyone.

Grade: B

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The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

Subnautica + Subnautica: Below Zero

Genre: Compilation / Open World First-Person Survival Adventure

Players: 1

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Review:

Technically the Subnautica + Subnautica: Below Zero bundle hasn’t received a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition like the individual games have. But it also doesn’t really need one, since the individual games both received free Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Upgrade Packs. That means that if you buy this Nintendo Switch bundle, you can upgrade the individual games to Nintendo Switch 2 Editions at no added cost.

The improvements to both games are similar, but different in terms of scale – the original Subnautica had a lot more room to improve, so the improvements to graphics, performance, and loading times are much more impressive than the improvements Below Zero received, but both games look and run beautifully on Nintendo Switch 2. It’s just that the difference is so stark for the original Subnautica that it actually made my jaw drop.

Both games also receive added Mouse Mode support, but this isn’t dynamic Mouse Mode, meaning that it has to be activated in an options menu, and then you can’t use the right analog stick to aim and must use the right Joy-Con as a mouse. It’s still a nice feature to have, but I do wish they had gone a step farther to fully integrate this Mouse Mode support.

Overall though, this is an excellent pair of games that are greatly improved on Nintendo Switch 2, and since this upgrade is free, it’s a no-brainer for Nintendo Switch 2 owners who own the Nintendo Switch versions of these games, whether through this bundle or separately.

tl;dr – Subnautica + Subnautica: Below Zero is a Compilation of two Open-World First-Person Survival Adventure games that made the transition to Nintendo Switch fairly well, but look significantly better on Nintendo Switch 2. Both games feature massive, beautiful aquatic worlds to explore, but also don’t give players much guidance for where to go to progress. On balance, these are excellent games well worth looking into, but they won’t be for everyone.

Grade: B+

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