If you have never heard of Subnautica, this isn’t the review for you. Go look up the original game, play it, and come back and talk to us then. For the rest of you, you’re probably fairly familiar with Subnautica whether you’ve played it or not. This was an indie game that shocked everyone both with its immersion level and subtle horror nods that made it into a communal must-play list way back in 2018. Three years later, we were treated to Subnautica: Below Zero, a new adventure on planet 4946B with a whole new area to explore and plenty of new surprises.
Now let’s jump 5 years into the future. It’s 2026, everyone has played Subnautica and for many people, it’s a cozy safe space to explore, swim around and relax. Sure, there are monsters, but it’s just as fun to catalog fish and chill. It’s time to make things mobile! Brought to you by developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment and indie publisher Playdigious, Subnautica: Below Zero is now available on mobile devices, both Android and Apple!
We’re not going to get into a detailed breakdown of Subnautica: Below Zero because the fundamental gameplay hasn’t changed since 2021. This is the exact same game with tons of reviews up everywhere and it’s a damn fine experience. You are Robin Ayou, a xenologist looking for her sister who crash lands in the arctic areas of 4946B. You’ve got a pod to keep you alive but you’re mostly on your own and it’s time to both study the local flora and fauna and find your sister! There’s a lot more to the plot here with ruins to uncover, land to explore, and a fair number of surprises, but again, you can look all that stuff up online.
Instead, it’s time to look at the game on mobile. You’ll definitely need a robust device to run Subnautica: Below Zero because even with optimization, it’s a resource hog. However, it’s a tiny install on a modern phone at only 2.4 GB and runs entirely offline which is utterly fantastic. If you need a micro-getaway on your phone, this is the way to do it! For our quick look into Below Zero, we used a Samsung Galaxy S23+, a fairly modern phone that’s somewhat powerful, even if it isn’t a flagship device anymore. As you might expect, this is a game that’s absolutely going to drain your battery. We lost about 15% in the initial intro and some early play and 20-25% per hour seems to be pretty standard for the game’s performance. That’s not that bad for such a complex game but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to plug in with a fast-charge power supply. Just for fun we also tried to install it on a Samsung S7 tablet, but no dice…incompatible.
Next are the controls. While Below Zero is compatible with controllers and that’s the ideal way to play the game, there’s also a full touch interface build in that allows you to play by just booting up with no extras. Since this is a game that plays in landscape mode, it’s more than a bit of a pain to play while it’s plugged in, but you absolutely can. All of the controls are touch contextual on-screen buttons and are very responsive. While it’s not easy to navigate in a fully 3D environment without a control pad or stick, it is at least playable. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to control the game with touch controls though. It’s difficult to track fast-moving enemies, hard to aim the camera effectively, and more a pain to surface regularly for oxygen and catch fish to eat.
Some of the action buttons have independent aiming controls too, so you’ll be moving with your left thumb while trying to aim the scanner with your right thumb and it’s fairly tough with no resistance like you’d get with a controller. Honestly, we found that making progress was challenging at best, like there’s an additional layer between the game and the player to overcome in order to succeed at the rather complex gameplay in Below Zero. For younger players that are more used to this type of control scheme, it might not be so bad, but for players used to controllers and keyboards, the transition to touch controls is more than a bit of a struggle.
If you’ve got a controller to sync up to Subnautica: Below Zero, all the better. The game is fully compatible with the game, eliminating the need for on-screen controls. If you also hook up your phone to a TV using an HDMI convertor, you could even realistically play on the big screen without having a console, pretty wild stuff! The sheer versatility here is excellent and with controller support, touch screen support, and potentially even larger screen support if you have a compatible tablet or an HDMI out, there are plenty of ways to dive into Subnautica: Below Zero.
All in all, this is a fantastic port and there are plenty of options for players. The visuals are intact, smooth, and gorgeous, the music is still excellent, and the game itself is both immersive and fun. Sure, the touch controls are more than a bit of a challenge, but it’s a trade off for the portable access to Subnautica: Below Zero and as long as you know what you’re getting into in advance, it’s perfectly acceptable and the $11 price point is quite reasonable. Just make sure your phone can run the game first!
This review is based on a digital copy of Subnautica: Below Zero provided by the publisher. It was played on a Samsung S23+. Subnautica: Below Zero is also available for Apple devices and on consoles and PC.
Nate Van Lindt has been a gamer since the days of yore (aka Commodore 64), and has played a bit of virtually everything out there. He's also an avid comic book collector, both vintage and current, and reads a fair amount of sci-fi and fantasy. On top of that, he watches a fair number of movies and TV shows as well. Oh, and he has a family, a full-time job, and lives somewhere in the urban wilds of Southwestern Ontario, Canada, foraging for old video cables and forgotten game soundtracks.