Subnautica 2‘s early access journey reaches a new milestone today as developer Unknown Worlds releases the underwater survival sequel’s first major update. It’s notable in a number of respects; not least because it adds the ability to stun fish – which, while far from the all-out fish murder some players have been begging for, does at least provide a new defensive option for getting out of sticky situations.
Creative director Anthony Gallegos detailed Subnautica 2’s 1.1 update, AKA Adaptive Measures, in a new developer video, explaining the ability to stun certain life forms arrives as part of a “creature work” pass. First up, a “bunch of” creatures now have stun states, and can be clearly halted using the game’s Sonic Resonator, giving players some space to escape.
It’s a decision that might go some way to appeasing the contingent of Subnautica 2 players who’ve clamoured for more proactive (and usually murderous) means of defending against hostile predators. Unlike in the first game, it’s not possible to kill creatures in Subnuatica 2, and while Gallegos has previously described the sequel’s non-violent approach as something the team feels “strongly about”, he added, “We want to listen to feedback from players who feel they can’t defend themselves in an area or something like that, then we want to ideate on the means in which they can do that.”
To that end, 1.1 also includes work on creature flinching to make their responses more noticeable after smacking them with the survival tool. Together, these adjustments are designed to make players feel like they’re “having the mitigation on creatures that [the studio wants them] to feel”.
Elsewhere, Blight creatures provide a better transition between their passive and aggressive states, so players aren’t so surprised about where their attacks are coming from, and BioMods have seen improvements too. Firstly, BioMod stations are now more plentiful, making it easier to switch out abilities as you explore the ocean. Additionally, after acquiring a specific tool, players can now scan creatures to unlock more passive BioMod slots, meaning they can reap the benefits of numerous passive abilities at the same time.
And there’s more! New wreck improvements introduce “a little bit more gameplay” – including “very light” puzzling – and a “lot more work on the visual cohesion of the wrecks”, while the PDA has also had a bit of an overhaul. The latter changes are primarily focused on clarity, bringing improvements to its UI and categorisation, and providing a playback function so players can listen to audio logs “at will”, rather than having “them all autoplay whenever you find them in the world”. Still in the realm of audio, VO lines have received a prioritisation pass so certain critical lines now override others instead of queuing up. And there’s a new buildable personal storage option for bases.
Full details of Subnautica 2’s 1.1 update will be available in Unknown Worlds’ latest patch notes once it goes live, and the studio reminds players there’s still more to come. Expect early access update 1.2 to arrive “some weeks after” today’s update, for instance, introducing the multiplayer features – including proximity chat and player revive – previously outlined by Gallegos and highlighted in the studio’s roadmap.
As for the more substantial stuff – AKA the “big content drop” – that’s set to arrive as part of a 2.0 update “later in the year”. It promises a new region to explore, new creatures, new story, new vehicle chassis, and new progression.
Subnautica 2 is off to a great start, of course; Eurogamer’s Kelsey Raynor celebrated the “immense” joy of discovery in Unknown Worlds’ sequel when it launched into early access, and I was equally impressed, even if co-op didn’t feel like the best way to appreciate its many successes.
Less positive is the drama that’s surrounded Subnautica 2’s release, with the game arriving amid a high-profile – and extremely messy – legal tussle between ousted leadership at Unknown Worlds and the studio’s owner Krafton. That continued last week with the news Krafton had finally agreed to pay promised bonuses to all Unknown Worlds staff, albeit as it also confirmed the departure of only recently reinstated studio CEO Ted Gill.
