The original features a silent male protagonist Ryley Robinson focused purely on escape after a spaceship crash, while Below Zero shifts to a voiced female protagonist Robin Ayou investigating her sister Sam's death and encountering the alien entity Al-An. Both titles keep the narrative centered on personal loss, corporate intrigue, alien technology, and environmental hazards, with no romance systems, pronoun options, identity arcs, or social justice lectures inserted into the story or dialogue. The fixed original female protagonist Robin Ayou in Below Zero comes with no gender or skin customization, keeping the choice story-driven rather than a vehicle for messaging.

Studio DEI statements and earlier internal controversies exist but show no sign of consultancy influence or any central ideological premise. Player complaints about the protagonist choice remain incidental to the experience and do not alter the core survival and mystery focus, resulting in a low level of progressive content overall.