Curiously, the way Below Zero oscillates from long restive stretches between points of interest to short bursts of perilous activity absorbed my attention in ways many more-frenzied popular horror games don't. Finding a longed-for resource and then losing it on account of running out of oxygen before Robin can replenish her tank is the sort of exquisite pain the game offers, and bumping Robin's head on a ceiling where I expected open water provoked a sharp, fleeting sense of dread. It's easy to become disoriented exploring the game's numerous underwater caverns. My favorite parts of Subnautica: Below Zero were those which sparked anxiety. Rubies, for example, are located hundreds of meters down, often in places where simply animated and far-from-frightening predatory creatures lurk.
#Subnautica below zero map life pod upgrade#
Before she can build and upgrade a Seatruck to explore the ocean without constantly having to retreat to the surface to replenish her oxygen, she'll have to take risky dives to acquire rarer resources. However, as Robin's mission continues, she has to travel farther afield to acquire the stuff she needs to brave more treacherous areas. The more useful the item, the more difficult it is to collect resources for it.Įarly resource-gathering expeditions in the game typically don't require players to venture very far from the lifepod. Using a hand tool, she can scan items to acquire blueprints for the fabricator. She must also keep an eye out for wreckage or equipment left by previous explorers. To fashion the necessary tools that will allow her to explore the ocean's depths - like an oxygen tank and flippers - Robin must scour her surroundings for minable resources: titanium, copper, quartz, etc. The fabricator also cooks fish and extracts drinkable water from them. The lifepod is equipped with a storage locker and a fabricator which 3-D prints tools and equipment. After receiving a vaguely worded notice from Alterra informing her of her sister's death, supposedly due to Samantha's "negligence," Robin takes it upon herself to investigate.įollowing a rough crash landing on the surface of the planet 4546b, Robin seeks shelter in a small underwater lifepod to escape the dangerous weather conditions that regularly roil the planet's surface. The sequel to 2014's Subnautica, Subnautica: Below Zero slips players into the wet suit of Robin Ayou, a scientist who travels to an alien world to try to suss out what happened to her sister, Samantha, who worked for the ethically dubious company, Alterra. And so it was that Subnautica: Below Zero, which largely takes place underneath an ocean, elicited no small number of panicky reactions.
Maybe it's because I'm a lifelong swimmer, but situations like this make it all too easy to imagine myself in risky aquatic situations. Sometimes, when I play a video game where a protagonist might drown, I'll unconsciously hold my breath until my avatar finds oxygen or dies.
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