Subnautica: Below Zero PS5 gameplay and DualSense features revealed in new trailer

Subnautica: Below Zero, a sequel taking place a year after the original game, got some new PS5 gameplay footage and upgrade details during today's State of Play event.

Both the original Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero are getting free PS5 upgrades, meaning if you own the PS4 versions of either game, you can upgrade to the digital current-gen version without having to make another purchase. 

As detailed in the new trailer, Subnautica: Below Zero will come with two graphics modes: one that runs at 4K and another that focuses on a stable 60FPS. Whichever mode you play, if you're playing on PS5 you'll get the benefit of the DualSense's unique haptic feedback features, allowing you to feel a variety of different actions, surfaces, and effects. In an email to GamesRadar, Unknown Worlds confirmed that the first Subnautica's PS5 upgrade includes the same 60FPS "performance mode" as Below Zero, but won't come with DualSense support "just yet."

Unknown Worlds says the PS5's DualSense features immerse "explorers deeper in the mysterious, watery world of Planet 4546B, delivering visual and audio cues linked to key game moments ranging from tool implementation to terrifying creature encounters - all to enhance the experience for PlayStation 5 users."

Subnautica: Below Zero is launching on May 14 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The sequel includes new biomes, new underwater flora and fauna, and a number of new mechanics including a temperature gauge for when you're on land, which, by the way, will happen more often than in Subnautica.

If you haven't checked out Subnautica yet, what are you waiting for? We didn't include it in our list of the best survival games for nothin'.

Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.