Subnautica: Below Zero Cold water, warm blood

You arrive with little more than survival equipment and one question: what happened to your sister? The answer is scattered across an arctic region that the company Alterra abandoned in a hurry after a mysterious incident. Abandoned research stations sit where the scientists left them. Logs, items and databanks among the debris slowly paint a picture of a deadly cover-up, and of the aliens who came to this planet long before anyone from Earth. The story is voiced and character-driven, with cutscenes that stage key moments, and it asks a heavier question than most survival games dare: can finding the truth ease grief?

This is an all-new region of Planet 4546B, and it shows. Swim beneath the blue-lit arches of the Twisty Bridges, past glittering mammoth crystals in the Crystal Caverns, through giant Titan Holefish and around erupting Thermal Vents where ancient alien artifacts wait. Clamber up snow-covered peaks and into the icy caves of the Glacial Basin. The biomes are dense with life and colour, more bioluminescent than before, and the weather above the water matters too: wind, fog and freezing rain roll in and change how the surface looks and feels.

The wildlife runs from adorable to alarming. Pengwings waddle around being charming, Sea Monkeys will cheerfully snatch tools out of your hands and drag them off to their nests, and somewhere in the deep dark the Shadow Leviathan is waiting. The game is tense rather than constantly terrifying: exploring is often calm and even relaxing, right up until something very large decides you look like lunch, and then it is a panic swim back to base. Keep your wits about you, and maybe check that dark cave before swimming into it.

Survival here has an extra enemy: the cold. Below-zero temperatures are a real threat, so you craft a toasty cold suit, sip piping hot coffee and warm up next to Thermal Lilies between trips. Base building got a big upgrade, with more decoration options, and weather conditions blanket your above-ground habitats. On the move, you blast across the snowy tundra on a Snowfox hoverbike or cruise between biomes in the modular Seatruck, attaching the modules you need. Resources are limited, so every dive is a decision about what to grab and how deep to push before turning back.