Subnautica 2 Early Access Review: Fun, But I Miss My Stasis Rifle
Okay – I’m about 25 funderful hours into Subnautica 2 and I’ve come to three very important conclusions:
First, this might be one of the purdiest underwater games I’ve ever played.
Second, absolutely everything under the water has chosen violence.
Third, I would commit unspeakable acts to get my damn Subnautica 1 Stasis Rifle back.
Now, before anyone starts typing angry comments, this isn’t a full review. Subnautica 2 is still in Early Access, and there’s plenty left for me to discover. These are simply my first impressions after spending an unhealthy amount of time swimming around, building bases, scanning some fishes, and getting chased halfway across the seemingly endless ocean because some underwater asshat decided I looked like a fun-sized snack.
Honestly, The Ocean Is Absolutely Gorgeous
The OG Subnautica was already one of gaming’s most immersive worlds, but somehow Unknown Worlds managed to crank that feeling up another notch.
The biggest surprise for me wasn’t even the environments themselves. It was nighttime.
Image: Nighttime Bioluminescence of Awesome | Subnautica 2 | Unknown Worlds
There are moments where you surface from a cave system, look out across the open water, and the entire ocean seems alive. Strange glowing creatures drift through the darkness while coral formations pulse with bioluminescent colors. It almost feels less like a survival game and more like you’re floating through some alien aquarium designed by somebody with way too much imagination.
I’ve legitimately stopped what I was doing multiple times just to stare at the scenery for a minute.
Of course…that’s usually right before one of the relentless denizens of the deep comes flying out of the darkness to ruin the moment with some unwanted touching.
Classic funsies.
Building Finally Feels...Fun?
One of my favorite changes so far has been the base building.
It feels smoother, cleaner, and a whole lot less like you’re fighting the game’s UI every five minutes. Placing rooms, organizing your little underwater fortress of solitude, and expanding your base all feels incredibly natural.
I probably spent way longer decorating than I probably should have in a single-player game that I have no one to flex to…was I supposed to be progressing the story?
Probably.
Image: Locker Shadow Clone Jutsu | Subnautica 2 | Unknown Worlds
Was I instead making sure my wall-to-wall lockers lined up perfectly because my OCD-laden brain demanded it?
Absolutely. Don’t judge me.
Subnautica 2 does a really good job of making your base feel like an actual home instead of just a crafting station with extra steps.
Biomods Might Be The Best New Feature IMHO
One mechanic that really surprised me was the new Biomod system.
As you scan different forms of wildlife, you unlock some pretty interesting passive and active abilities that you can equip to your character. Some of these (like the Dash that you unlock by default) are extremely helpful, while others can be considered laughably useless. Regardless though, it’s a really cool layer of progression that rewards exploration without feeling like some boring experience bar slowly filling up.
Image: Biomods | Subnautica 2 | Unknown Worlds
The funny part is that I honestly don’t think that the game does a particularly good job of explaining how cool this system actually is.
You sort of stumble into it.
Once I started unlocking more abilities and experimenting with different combinations, it became one of my favorite parts of the game and I think it adds just a dash of RPG flavor to the survival formula without completely changing what makes Subnautica feel like Subnautica.
I have a feeling that by the time the game fully launches, Biomods might end up being one of its defining features.
I Really Miss Having Ways To Defend Myself and Hunt
This is probably my biggest complaint so far.
Subnautica has always been about surviving – not conquering.
I understand that.
I don’t need machine guns or underwater rocket launchers, but I do miss having options and I feel like it’s an almost awkwardly unrealistic choice to not only be unable to hunt for food in a survival game – but that the thought of crafting some sort of weapon to defend yourself against the underwater army of angry fish never comes across as even a thought to your character.
In what world do you ever find yourself waking up as a clone in a foreign world and your main concerns aren’t going to be finding something to defend yourself? And if you’re hungry in a world that is literally packed with fish – you don’t think “hey, one of these Hammerheads keep trying to headbutt me and my damn base to death…time for lunch!”.
No, no, no. You need 48 tiny half moon fish snacks instead. Sorry, it’s just not realistic.
Image: Big Ass Leviathan | Subnautica 2 | Unknown Worlds
The original game gave players tools like the Stasis Rifle, the Repulsion Cannon, and tons of vehicle torpedoes. You still weren’t some sort of unstoppable action hero, but if a damn giant sea monster decided to ruin your day, you had at least a couple ways to convince it to reconsider!
Subnautica 2 takes a…different approach and for the most part, your forced strategy is to pretty much avoid everything. If something in the deep notices you – congratulations!
That’s your life now.
You can eventually unlock things like the Feedback Resonator, and flares technically exist, but the flares kind of suck and the Resonator isn’t unlocked until what I would consider to be late game.
That means for a huge portion of the game, you’re just sneaking around trying not to get spotted and half the time it feels less like a Subnautica title and more like somebody dropped Solid Snake straight into Finding Nemo.
Personally, I think the game swings a little too far toward helplessness.
I don’t necessarily want to kill everything I encounter. I just want the semi-realistic option to politely inform the local murder fish that I’m busy at the moment.
Sometimes The Game Could Point You In The Right Direction
Exploration has always been the heart of Subnautica.
Figuring things out on your own is part of the magic, and I definitely wouldn’t want the game to start throwing giant objective markers everywhere and break the immersion.
That being said, there were several moments where I genuinely just wasn’t sure what the heck the game expected me to do next.
Some players will probably love that complete freedom. Super happy for you.
Others are going to spend an hour swimming in circles wondering if they missed a PDA somewhere. Spoiler alert – you did.
I think just a few more subtle breadcrumbs wouldn’t hurt. The quest system itself is actually pretty solid. Sometimes the information just feels a little too vague.
The Krafton Drama Is Hard To Ignore
It’s impossible to talk about Subnautica 2 without mentioning the absolute clown fiesta that surrounded its release:
For those who somehow missed it, the publisher Krafton and the former leadership team at Unknown Worlds have been locked in a funderful legal battle over a performance bonus reportedly worth up to a whopping $250 million.
According to the former executives, Krafton delayed the game and removed key leadership figures to diliberately avoid paying that bonus. Krafton has pushed back against those claims, arguing that management had failed to meet expectations and that changes were necessary.
The lawyers can spend the next few years sorting out who said what and when.
But from a fan’s perspective though, it’s hard not to root for the devs who created one of gaming’s most unique worlds.
Maybe Krafton simply paid too much for the studio (they absolutely did) and got cold feet when the bill came due. Maybe there’s more to the story behind closed doors. Who truly knows.
Either way, if the allegations are true, trying to back out of a deal by suddenly deciding the people who built your entire billion-dollar franchise aren’t qualified anymore would be a pretty scummy move.
The good news is that none of that drama seems to have stopped the team from making a genuinely fantastic game.
So Far, I'm Really Loving Subnautica 2
At the end of the day, the world is incredibly stunning and exploring this hostile alien ocean is every bit as addictive as it was back in the original.
Sure, it’s not perfect.
I think wildlife encounters can become annoying because you have so few ways to defend yourself and I think the game occasionally leaves players (me) wandering around with a little too much ambiguity.
But honestly?
Those complaints feel pretty small compared to everything the game gets right.
25 hours later, I still find myself saying, “I’ll just explore one more cave,” before realizing two hours have disappeared and I’ve somehow adopted another inventory of crap for science…and funsies.
If Unknown Worlds can keep polishing the rough edges over the next couple years, Subnautica 2 has a real shot at becoming the new benchmark for survival games.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have more to explore and more leviathan to stare at from afar – waiting to remind me that I am, in fact, adorably low on the food chain.
This was a commentary article based on publicly available information and personal opinion. Readers are encouraged to form their own conclusions based on the sources cited.
All images, logos, and video clips used in this article are the property of their respective owners. This content is used for the purposes of commentary, criticism, and news reporting under the guidelines of Fair Use (17 U.S.C. § 107). No copyright infringement is intended. If you are the copyright holder and believe your content has been used improperly, please contact us directly.
Want More?
Check These Out Next!
About Report AFK
A place for gamers, by gamers, untarnished by corporate gaming media and their nonstop attempts to elevate bad games while denouncing any developers brave enough to stand up to them.
Site Links
Copyright 2026 ReportAFK.com
Be the first to leave a comment