Five pengwings sit in the foreground. The environment is a snow landscape, snow falling from the sky. Several more pengwings sit in the background. The pengwings in the foreground are one adult and four babies standing around a captured fish. One of the babies has its mouth open atop its head, revealing its many sharp teeth.

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Subnautica: Below Zero

The cover art for Subnautica: below zero. In the foreground, protagonist Robin swims away from an aggressive octopus-like fish that pursues her with its circular mouth agape. The fauna of the game litters the sea floor. Atop the image, a furry, fanged creature with white fur is running across an icy landscape. Above that creature, a white, wormlike beast covered in jagged black spikes arches in waiting. A red-hot spike juts from atop its head.Subnautica: Below Zero was a Subnautica expansion released in early 2021. Instead of the crater where the original game takes place, Below Zero focuses on “Sector Zero,” an icy tundra located on the other side of 4546B. The story follows Robin Ayou as she looks for truth about her late sister’s involvement in an Alterra Corporation research project.

Though it’s often referred to as Subnautica’s sequel, Below Zero is officially just an expansion. Despite not being a standalone game, it has several hours of playtime within it and is a great addition to the world of Subnautica. The icy waters of Sector Zero are much more claustrophobic than what players were used to on the more open crater that the original game takes place in. It is also much more story-driven with several different storylines the player needs to follow. It also has penguins, which is definitely a win. Anyone who enjoyed the original Subnautica should give Below Zero a play-through, as it expands on the story of the Architects and the corruption of the Alterra Corporation.

Subnautica Mods

Like many popular games, Subnautica has a strong modding community behind it. Many of these mods can be accessed through nexusmods.com, where there is a wide range of mods to choose from.

There are mods to help with quality of life within the game, like resource monitoring mods," a mod that gives the player a map of their area, and mods that expand the game's quick slots so more items are easily accessible.

But there are also mods to make the game a little more terrifying than it already is. Want scarier creatures in your game? There are mods like The silence leviathan mod that will add terrifying new creatures into your gaming experience. There are also mods like The Red Plague Mod, which adds a terrifying new disease that spreads through all of 4546B and turns creatures into haunting, zombie-like monsters.

The modding opportunities for Subnautica are vast, so if that is something you're interested in, poke around, and see if there are any that catch your eye!

"Abandon Ship" Remix I Really Like

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Subnautica 2, Coming 2025

The popularity of the original Subnautica game all but demanded a sequel, and on October 17, 2024, Unknown Worlds Entertainment officially announced Subnautica 2, to be released sometime in 2025. Not much is known about the game; fans speculate that it will not take place on 4546B due to the published concept art and teaser trailer. Though it has been confirmed to be co-op, a feature that players desperately wanted in the original Subnautica game. So, when early access comes out, grab your friends, and get eaten by a leviathan together!

Early access will be available sometime early-to-mid next year. Add it to your steam wishlist here.

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