KOTAKU SUBNAUTICA REVIEW FULL
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There is a more action focus over extended tension building overall. You're constantly trying to manage your inventory weighing up every bit of ammo and health as to what you can afford to leave and take. The Callisto Protocol has a classic survival horror feel in that sense.

No one's trying to be a hero, just survive. The alien issue is very much on a list of things to deal with along the way, giving everything a pleasingly grounded feel. go! Like Dead Space, which was co-created by Striking Distance Studios founder Glen Schofield, The Callisto Protocol is focused on survival and problem solving over anything more noble, like saving the galaxy – get out of prison, find a ship to escape in, reach it, and so on.

It's nothing groundbreaking, but good enough for a solid sci-fi adventure – you're a cargo pilot who crash lands on Callisto, one of Jupiter's moons, along with the terrorist that sabotaged your ship.

It's a weirdly cool little detail, as well as a useful one. When monsters are moving through air vents you can actually follow their position from the audio, and know where they're going to pop out. Sound design overall is excellent, with the station clanging, creaking, and groaning like it's alive. There are some great tonal shifts in terms of lighting, space, and atmosphere as well that add some really nice vibes – areas awash in blood red light (because of all the blood on the lights) a section in an oxygen processing forest that's tense as all hell, while the trees around you rustle and chitter.

KOTAKU SUBNAUTICA REVIEW FULL

It's full of levels and environments that I actively enjoyed exploring and finding things to look at – the level of detail, texture, and ambience to everything is incredibly well done, from grimy metal to haze in the air, and it's never less than a beautiful thing to see. Developer Striking Distance Studios has done an amazing job at creating something this polished and visually strong. For starters, The Callisto Protocol is a fantastic looking game.

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Platform(s): PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox One You’ll be able to pick up the expansion for $19.99 on Steam, and Unknown Worlds will be holding a special developer stream to show it off when it launches on the same day.(Image credit: Striking Distance Studios) There’s a massive content expansion coming for the game later on during its time in Early Access as well, including a new hover bike that users can jump on to explore the planet’s surface. This expansion will clock in at around an hour or two while in Early Access, but it shouldn’t remain in Early Access that long.

You have plenty to investigate – what are all these alien creatures, anyway, and what did they leave behind below the crashing waves? You’ll be able to delve deeper than ever before, which is pretty exciting since the original Subnautica had so much to offer in terms of content. It looks a bit less stressful than the main campaign mode of Subnautica, of course, but there’s still plenty to take care of, as this is a survival game, after all. The game will arrive in Early Access, bringing a wide selection of freezing new biomes, new alien flora and fauna, and even adorable little alien penguins called “Pengwings.” The player character is being sent out to investigate a series of alien artifacts. Unique underwater game Subnautica is welcoming its first standalone expansion Subnautica: Below Zero to Steam, Discord, and the Epic Games Store on January 30.

Kotaku subnautica review