Subnautica 2 released in Early Access on May 14, 2026. I played the game for the first time on that day. I started a single player game and loaded the game. From the moment you are given control, you are thrown into a very strange and stressful situation. You are a printed body with a consciousness that cannot breathe air. To survive, you must immediately add an adaptation to breathe air. To do this you must immerse your hand into a plant that becomes a part of you, and grants oxygen. But the suspense and challenges keep coming, one after another. You are also bombarded with a massive amount of information at the same time as you are coming to grips with the dire situation that faces you. Without spoiling everything, you’re over 500 meters underwater, and not on the desert planet which was supposed to be your destination, joining 40,000 other souls to colonize this new discovery. Instead, you eventually reach the surface via a survival habitat, and that is where the game introduction happens. You exit the habitat to see a massive tree towering above a water covered surface, with the text Subnautica 2 greeting you.
When you dive into the water for the first time, you are again overwhelmed with the beauty, diverse creatures and bizarre underwater areas. Like the original Subnautica, you must collect items, and then use a fabricator to create basic tools, gear, water and food. You also realize that your body (known as the Qualified Inspector QI), and you have a digital assistant known as NOA or Noetic Advisor. This device, located inside your habitat, gives you basic survival instructions, and guides you along the story. Also inside the habitat is a damaged fabricator which doesn’t allow you to fabricate everything available, which forces you to eventually fabricate a habitat builder, so you can create a new working fabricator, which is a great way to prod you out into the water world, and not stay confined to your starting habitat. Also inside the habitat in addition to NOA, the fabricator and a small storage locker, is the Bed, from which you can be reprinted if you expire.
Like Subnautica, you must explore in every direction, and as you come across wrecks, underwater labs and even a welcome base, you start unlocking blueprints to new technology, allowing you to build your own bases, more advanced tools and equipment, including a standard, high capacity and Ultra High capacity air tank and basic and improved flippers. Thankfully you also get a Rebreather. You’ll also be tracking down new adaptations, to allow you to eat, and resist heat as well. To gain these adapatations, you must find these blooms, and first destroy the Protevirus, then stick your hand into the bloom, gaining a new adaptation.
In addition to tools and gear, you do get some wrist/forearm powered device called a Wavemaker. For vehicles, you get a tadpole, which has two add-ons, a sting ray wing attachment, or a haul chassis. Both of these can be coupled or decoupled. The Sting Ray gives a bit more speed. The Haul chassis allows two other players to ride with you, and also has a storage space to store items collected. In addition to bases, interior items and both internal and external power options, there is a dive elevator, which up to four players can use to quickly descend or ascend into the depths.
Eventually you learn about a Tadpole pen, which houses the Tadpole blueprints but is in the middle of a heat zone, which elevates the water to fatal levels without a heat adaptation. Beyond the heat area, across a massive void, guarded by a Leviathan, is a massive, abandoned Alien Base. If you make it across, you discover an expansive, large alien base area, known as Karokorum. It is in this area where, in my opinion, the game really excels. Multiple times while playing, I was amazed at the amount of content included in the game, versus how Subnautica Early Access had. And one of my favorite changes was that in Subnautica Early Access, the edge of the map was just an invisible wall. Well, unless you ventured into the black void. However, in Subnautica 2, they designed a geo fence, that was a visible orange wall of vertical lines. When you cross through it, you are warned you are entering into an Early Access area still under development. To keep you out, a different, massive Leviathan with two additional smaller Leviathan children are riding on each side. It will quickly approach you, with a quite suspensful music and terrifying growl. You quickly learn it is an area you do not want to visit.
As of today, nearly the end of June, with the game out in Early Access for about 45 days, I’ve recently completed the Alien base area storyline as far as I can tell. And I have to say I’m really impressed with the story line, the game play, the graphics, performance and the diversity of the creatures, locations and materials to be collected. Being based on a totally different alien world, almost everything is new, as far as creatures, materials, and story.
Come back soon, as I’ll update this review as more content and updates are released. In the event that I have other players join me in game, I’ll add that experience too. Thanks for reading! Early Access review — subject to change as development continues.