It's more Subnautica, but it's not as good as the original. Honestly my favorite part of this game is the base building, which is one of the things this game beats the original in. Other than that there isn't much that is an improvement over the original game. There is an above water biome, which has one of the most annoying enemies in either of the Subnautica games, but to be honest that is the only part of the game that feels large. The original game's map was more open, while this game's map (outside of the above water biome) feels more claustrophobic. With that out of the way lets look at some of this game's pros, cons, and mehs.
Pros:
- Base building (can actually build a home underwater now)
- Above water biome*
- Main character is now voiced
- Weather (it adds some variety to the world and gets bonus points for the aurora borealis)
Cons:
- Lacking 2 vehicles from original
- Above water biome*
- Lack of scary enemies (except perhaps one of them)
- The enemy in the above water biome (it's scary and annoying, which is a very bad combo)
- Weather (I also hate this games weather with a passion...when I am trying to traverse the above water biome.)
- Snowfox (it's a levitating motorcycle thing, it zips and zooms, and the steering is absolutely atrocious. Also don't fall in the water unless you would like to move the same way/speed a fishing bobber moves in a very slow stream.)
Meh:
- Seatruck (I feel it is a downgrade to the vehicles in the previous game, but it is an all-in-one vehicle unlike the specialized vehicles in the first game)
- Above Water Biome*
Grade: 7.5 out of 10
* I feel that above water biome fits in all three categories due to a few reasons. For the pros, it being a new biome type, and having the scariest monster in this game. For the cons it is kind of a maze, is at the whims of the weather (so be prepared to not be able to see anything when a whiteout happens.) For the meh well it's kind of boring. Sure there are some interesting parts to it, but for the most part it looks like a big snowed in canyon/plain.
If you like Subnautica you might like this game. Would I recommend this game to others? Yes, but I'll also say the first game is better.