- Primary Subject: Subnautica 2 (Early Access)
- Key Update: Early Access launched May 14, 2026
- Status: Review based on Early Access build 0.10.1-113933
- Last Verified: May 22, 2026
- Quick Answer: Subnautica 2 Early Access is a polished underwater survival game featuring an intriguing AI companion, cooperative multiplayer, and a new gene modification upgrade progression system.
There is a moment, maybe an hour into Subnautica 2, where you glance upward through the water and realize the surface is very, very far away. Your oxygen counter ticks down with the quiet inevitability of borrowed time. Somewhere below you is something enormous. You cannot quite see its visage, but you can absolutely feel and hear it circling you.
That is the Subnautica formula, and Unknown Worlds has not broken what doesn't need to be fixed. Subnautica 2 launched in Early Access on May 14, 2026, and it arrives as one of the more polished early access builds that the genre has seen in years. It's a new world, the story is great, and the improvements from the original game can be seen and felt throughout.
NoA Knows Best
Subnautica 2 drops you onto an ocean moon called Proteus. Your colony ship, the ISV Cicada, was transporting colonists away from the spread of the Kharaa bacterium, the same deadly plague from the first Subnautica game, when something went catastrophically wrong. And just like the first game, the ship crashes. Your crewmates are either missing or dead, and you wake up in a lifepod, uncertain of anything except NoA.
NoA stands for Noetic Advisor Shell, and it is your AI companion for everything that follows. It is also very clearly suspicious. NoA speaks in the warm, measured tones of a customer service representative who's been told to your friend but has not quite figured out how to do it naturally. It gives you your next mission objectives with very little enthusiasm. But more than that, NoA just really wants you to stop asking questions.
The story that unfolds around NoA is the biggest surprise of this Early Access build. It is more structured than the first game's near-total silence, it's more emotionally layered, and it compels you to go forth and discover something new. Where the original Subnautica left you almost entirely alone to piece things together, Subnautica 2 has more characters (or what's left of them), an alien faction, and big revelations. By the time I finished what the current build has to offer, I wanted more, because there are so many questions that need answering.
Saltwater and Stranger Things
The ocean is both your greatest ally and greatest threat. Proteus may be dense with life, but much of that life is hostile, constantly reminding you that you're an outsider. That this world functions perfectly well without you.
Yet despite that grim reminder of why you're stranded here, it's surprisingly easy to lose minutes just floating and watching the marine ecosystem move on its own. There's a real beauty in seeing the bioluminescent flora and fauna put on a light show every time night settles in.
The world rewards curiosity. An underwater tunnel might spell your doom as the last of your oxygen slips away. You'll still want to take the risk, because what you find might be clues left behind by the deceased colonists, or they could be valuable blueprints that you can use in your base.
Your DNA, Compliments of a Murder Fish
The best thing that came out of Subnautica 2 is the gene modification system. Rather than tying your entire progression to better tools and bigger submarines (which may come out later), the game also lets you evolve your own biology. You scan creatures of Proteus and convert their traits into an upgrade back in your base. In this Early Access build, however, you can only activate one active and one passive biomod at a time, but you're free to mix and match them depending on what you need.
For example, you can increase your lung capacity for longer dives, then pair it with an active ability like an underwater dash to cover huge distances. Or you can use a passive that lets you sense predators and combine it with an active ability that allows you to emit electricity.
It's easier said than done, though, since getting these useful upgrades means getting dangerously close to the creatures that are most capable of tearing you limb from limb. That is a compelling trade-off. And one that I had no problem making just to survive.
Borrowed Air
The survival mechanic is what you can expect out of a Subnautica game, and most of them are carried over from the original. You will manage oxygen, hunger, and thirst. You will gather materials, build better tools, build a base, unlock a submersible, and slowly push further into the hostile waters below. Things are a little bit better this time around, though, because recipes feel more accessible, resources are plentiful, and it's easier to navigate around once you get the hang of it.
For the story, I found the pacing to be better. The first few hours moved at a solid clip, and I always felt like I knew roughly what to chase next without the game holding my hand. There are times when NoA doesn't provide you with a marker, but gives you clues as to your next objective, even if the chain of "find the next black box recording" can start to feel a bit repetitive by the end of what is currently available. More variety in storytelling would go a long way in later updates.
Survival By Committee
For the first time in the series, you do not have go in alone. Subnautica 2 supports 4-way co-op, and it works better than I expected. Which is to say, it works fine, just not in ways that feel designed specifically for co-op. Why? Because the isolation that makes Subnautica memorable can be significantly dulled when someone else is swimming next to you. Having a friend to tag along short-circuits a particular tension in ways the story plays out.
That said, base building with another player is genuinely a good time. You move fast with shared resources, either through farming or foraging, and the natural division of labor is both fun and satisfying when done with a friend. Some bugs still exist, such as getting clipped by a corner of a room or instantly teleporting to somewhere else, but nothing so bad that it can tarnish your overall experience.
Should You Play Subnautica 2 in Early Access?
The current Early Access build is bound by some hard edges. The massive tree visible from anywhere is where the story starts and where we can all guess it will end. But you cannot get there yet. There are some boundaries gated by a digital perimeter that warns you that this area is still in development. You can push through anyway to see what's currently out there, but if you were killed, your items will be scattered in that open water. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Right now, Subnautica 2 is still far from being complete. That much I can tell you for sure. But as an Early Access, this is already a good version that can go toe to toe with its predecessor, with a more interesting story, clever system, and a map that will eventually be much, much larger.
If you love Subnautica and want to swim those waters again, this is an excellent time to jump in, since it's looking like it's going to be one hell of a game for 2026. Either way, that tree and that giant squid are not going anywhere.
Subnautica 2 (Early Access) is available on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, and on Xbox Series X|S as a Game Preview title.