Survive and thrive on the open sea
Raft, developed by Redbeet Interactive and published by Axolot Games, delivers a survival adventure focused on resource management and cooperative gameplay. Players begin stranded on a small raft with minimal supplies, relying on a hook to collect floating debris and materials crucial for survival. The game's core emphasis on hunger and thirst management, combined with a detailed crafting system, provides a demanding yet rewarding survival experience.
Players start with a fragile raft and must gather resources from the ocean using their hook. Managing hunger and thirst is constant, requiring careful attention to sustain life. Crafting plays a central role, allowing the creation of equipment, weapons, and survival tools that improve longevity in a hostile environment, including threats like Boars and Screechers, which require different combat and defense strategies. The game incorporates farming directly on the raft, where players can grow crops and care for animals to establish renewable food sources. Additionally, cooking adds depth by enabling the preparation of meals and smoothies that provide significant health and stamina boosts.
A dynamic survival challenge on the ocean
The game’s environment revolves around an open sea setting, which creates an immersive but repetitive experience, especially in the tedious early game grind. Most gameplay occurs on water, but the story progression involves discovering destinations such as the Balboa Island, Vasagatan, and Tangaroa, which introduce new biomes, enemies, puzzles, and item blueprints to break the monotony of the open sea exploration.
Collaborative exploration and expansion
The game supports both single-player and multiplayer co-op modes, but there is a noticeable increase in difficulty for solo players, as there is no one to quickly revive a downed player, which results in losing all inventory upon death or to defend the raft while scavenging an island. The multiplayer component encourages teamwork in gathering resources, expanding the raft, and defending against threats such as shark attacks. This cooperative aspect adds strategic layers, as players must coordinate to build a more formidable floating base amid the vast ocean. Exploration extends beyond survival to discovering islands and underwater reefs, enriching the gameplay through a combination of crafting, research, and environmental navigation.
Focused and effective for ocean survival enthusiasts
Raft excels in delivering a survival adventure centered on resource management, crafting, and team-based exploration on the open sea. Its detailed systems for hunger, thirst, farming, and cooking complement a robust multiplayer experience. The limited environmental variety is noteworthy but does not overshadow the game’s strengths. Without confirmed system requirement details or integrations, its technical reach is unclear. Overall, Raft presents a focused survival challenge best suited for players interested in collaborative, ocean-bound gameplay.
Pros
- Open-world exploration
- Several unlockable islands
Cons
- Tedious early game grind
- Increased difficulty for solo players
