Subnautica: Below Zero

Subnatica: Below Zero is an excellent survival game, being equally beautiful and terrifying. The narrative is strong but can feel out of place at times.

86%Game Brain Score

graphics, optimization

story, stability

90% User Score Based on 165 reviews

Critic Score 83%Based on 29 reviews

Platforms

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About Subnautica: Below Zero

Subnautica: Below Zero is a single player survival action adventure game. It was developed by Unknown Worlds and was released on May 14, 2021. It received positive reviews from both critics and players.

Brave the cold

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+10

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Reviews

90%Audience ScoreBased on 165 reviews

graphics10 positive mentions

stability2 negative mentions

Excellent port of the game to mobile with smooth performance and good optimization on mid to high-end devices.
Retains the core exploration, survival mechanics, and compelling underwater atmosphere of the original game.
Supports controller and keyboard/mouse input, providing a versatile and enjoyable mobile gaming experience.

Some bugs present including terrain collision issues, lighting glitches, and occasional crashes.
Smaller map and less content compared to the original Subnautica, leading to a shorter gameplay experience.
Certain gameplay elements like resource gathering and locations lack guidance, causing frustration for some players.

graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56% positive mentions, 27% neutral mentions, 17% negative mentions
The game's graphics are generally praised for their quality and smooth performance across various devices, closely resembling the PC version with impressive visuals and atmosphere. Some users note occasional blurriness, rare glitches, or lag, especially on high settings or during complex scenes, but overall the graphics optimization is well-received for mobile play. A few users, however, express dissatisfaction with the graphics quality.
- “Runs incredibly smooth and graphics are excellent.”
- “Im amazed im able to play this on my phone with the quality of graphics and controller support 10/10 from me”
- “Really awesome game and awesome port.. and I like the new bloom graphics and scan settings.. amazing game love your work devs ❤️”
- “The game crashes after the loading screen on my Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 device, even after multiple reinstalls. I know my device can handle Subnautica 1 at high graphics and 30-60 FPS, so this is likely a game issue.”
- “The entry cutscene lags and sometimes gets stuck on high graphics. I had to switch to medium graphics to play smoothly. I hope future updates improve this.”
- “The game experiences stutters when building large bases with multiple rooms on max graphics (tested on S24 Ultra). Also, the Seatruck's performance issues add to the frustration.”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43% positive mentions, 14% neutral mentions, 43% negative mentions
The story is generally praised for its engaging and exciting storyline, comparable to the original game. However, some players find it confusing or lacking in guidance, particularly regarding key locations and objectives, which could benefit from clearer prompts. Despite minor glitches and optimization issues, the narrative and cutscenes are well-executed and contribute positively to the overall experience.
- “Very great game just like the original and the story and gameplay is excellent.”
- “Best game story line insane, I like this game. Graphics and story line offer much more to explore.”
- “This port is functionally fine, but what a ridiculous mess this game's world and story are.”
- “For the typical mobile gamer who's more superficial, it would be good to provide more guidance on the locations of the ship (and its three components needed to advance the story) and the final location, as the clue is very basic.”
- “Superb experience but needed more to the story and need for survival unlike the first one.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71% positive mentions, 29% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game offers excellent optimization, running smoothly even on mid-range mobile devices, with better performance compared to its predecessor. Users appreciate the top-tier optimization that allows for max graphics settings without significant lag, making it a worthwhile purchase.
- “It runs significantly smoother than I anticipated, and the optimization is top-tier.”
- “Mobile optimization is good, runs smoothly on my mid-range device.”
- “I'm playing it with max graphics, and it runs smoothly.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50% positive mentions, 50% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for its faithful adaptation from the PC version with intuitive touch controls, offering engaging survival mechanics and exploration. Fans appreciate the epic game modes, underwater world, and base-building features, though some prefer the original version and note minor UI layout differences. Overall, it delivers an excellent and immersive gameplay experience.
- “This is the best survival game because it's the same as the PC version with touch screen gameplay. The game modes are great, and the mobile controls are easy to understand.”
- “Imagine if the features from Subnautica 1 and Below Zero were combined, along with updates to base building, submarines, biomes, and other gameplay features.”
- “I’m absolutely loving both of these games — the exploration, survival mechanics, and underwater world are amazing.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 67% negative mentions
The game runs smoothly with stable performance and responsive controllers, though occasional rare graphics glitches are present. Despite minor launch-day glitches, story triggers and cutscenes function flawlessly, providing a reliable play experience similar to Subnautica.
- “Runs great just like Subnautica. No issues so far and 3 hours in.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 100% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
Users appreciate the music quality but express a desire for the ability to add custom jukebox tracks, similar to the PC version, to enhance their experience.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
The game's monetization is well-received for offering an ad-free experience and offline support, providing great value for a quality survival game on mobile.
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
Users praise the game's atmosphere for its excellent design, highlighting immersive graphics that enhance the overall experience.

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Critic Reviews

83%Critics’ scoreBased on 30 critic reviews

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