20$ is not expensive, but some people on a very tight budget can't afford it. It's that simple. But no problem, I'll keep up with ads until I can.
The whole metaverse shtick was ridiculous. Nobody asked for it, and yet they spent billions promoting it anyway
I still halfway through, but I feel like the map is more compact, which I personnaly don't mind. I understand why people would consider it a (fully fleshed) expansion though. Just like the first, I still have those "holy shit" moments when discovering a new biome or something of importance. It also took me a long time to get going in the first time, and I appreciate the fact to be far more efficient right from the start. The above water areas are not that bad imo. Oh, and the sound design is still amazing.
This game is just so massive and definitely has a flow of its own. At some point, I just had to push through the main campaign, otherwise I woul've never seen the end of it. Maybe one day I'll come back to dig the side activities.
I'm playing Subnautica: Below Zero and I'm enjoying it very much. Even compared to the first one. It even runs better on my modest rig and I don't mind the new additions as much as some people seemingly did. Playing those games without checking infos/wikis on the net is what make them specials imo (just like Outer Wilds). It's all about the sense of wonder and figuring out stuff by yourself.