Subnautica: Below Zero vs The Forest
Subnautica: Below Zero is a horror open-world game from Unknown Worlds Entertainment (2021) while The Forest is a horror open-world game from Endnight Games (2018).
What each one is
Steam files Subnautica: Below Zero under Horror and Open-World. In contrast, it files The Forest under Horror and Open-World.
Dive into a freezing underwater adventure on an alien planet. Below Zero is set two years after the original Subnautica. Return to Planet 4546B to uncover the truth behind a deadly cover-up. Survive by building habitats, crafting tools, & diving deeper into the world of Subnautica.
As the lone survivor of a passenger jet crash, you find yourself in a mysterious forest battling to stay alive against a society of cannibalistic mutants. Build, explore, survive in this terrifying first person survival horror simulator.
At a glance
| Subnautica: Below Zero | The Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.1/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (90%, 108,227) | Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 680,814) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | 83/100 |
| Price | $29.99 | $19.99 |
| Install size | 15 GB | 5 GB |
| Steam Deck | verified | playable |
| Released | 2021 | 2018 |
| Developer | Unknown Worlds Entertainment | Endnight Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Subnautica: Below Zero vs The Forest, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Subnautica: Below ZeroHorror open-world gameThe ForestHorror open-world gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Subnautica: Below ZeroOpen World Survival Craft, Survival, UnderwaterThe ForestOpen World Survival Craft, Survival, Open WorldThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Subnautica: Below ZeroScore 8.1 · 90% on SteamThe Forest ✓Score 8.3 · 96% on Steam · 83 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Subnautica: Below Zero108,227 reviews · 1 add-on · 15 GBThe Forest680,814 reviews · 5 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Subnautica: Below Zero$29.99The Forest ✓$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Subnautica: Below Zero ✓VerifiedThe ForestPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
The Forest takes 2 of the marked rounds to 1. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueSubnautica: Below Zero and The Forest on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: The Forest (GamingPickz Score 8.3)
- The cheaper right now: The Forest ($19.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Subnautica: Below Zero (verified)
- Lighter on storage: The Forest (5 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: The Forest (680,814 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
Open World Survival CraftSurvivalSingleplayerOpen WorldHorrorExplorationIndieAdventure
Where they differ
UnderwaterBase-BuildingMultiplayerSci-fiAliensStory Rich
BuildingSimulationGoreRealisticZombiesEarly Access
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Subnautica: Below Zero is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. The Forest is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Subnautica: Below Zero | The Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | Intel HD 530 | NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Core i3 4XXX series / AMD Ryzen 3 2.6ghz+ | Intel Dual-Core 2.4 GHz |
| Minimum RAM | 8 GB | 4 GB |
| Install size | 15 GB | 5 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Subnautica: Below Zero · The Forest.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Subnautica: Below Zero and 1 for The Forest. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Subnautica: Below Zero and The Forest in scope?
Subnautica: Below Zero has drawn 108,227 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 15 GB. The Forest has drawn 680,814 Steam reviews and installs in 5 GB.
Is Subnautica: Below Zero or The Forest better?
By the GamingPickz Score, The Forest rates higher (8.3 to 8.1). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Subnautica: Below Zero or The Forest?
The Forest is cheaper right now at $19.99, against $29.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.