Years ago, a really cool indie game called The Escapists was released and I remember having so much fun watching people play on Youtube and eventually I got to play it myself and ended up having even more fun. Then a sequel came out and then years later, a brand new game in a similar style was released called The Survivalists.

Before getting it, I knew that I had to try it out because it seemed like the gameplay was very similar but had a slightly easier difficulty which would make the game a bit more enjoyable for me. But the price was always a bit on the high end so I didn’t bother getting it when it was first released but did much later on and was very happy when I got around to playing it.

GRAPHICS: 8/10

The graphics are very good for what they’re supposed to be. From a visual standpoint it looks a lot like if you took the style of The Escapists or Golf Story and mixed it with the environment of Don’t Starve. The game definitely has its fair share of beauty and no two islands are the same. Each island is pretty big and full of life, even if not all of it is human. You’ll find a variety of monkeys, birds, and other animals across each island and even though they have small sprites, they do look good.

For the most part, all the detail of each island is really well done as well. There might be some areas with lots of trees and some trees might even look different than others. In some areas you might even find the bones of something huge that used to live on the island before you arrived.

The game is full of color and the more you play it, the more beauty you will find, even if the entire game uses very simple barebones sprites and graphics.

SOUND: 10/10

The sound of The Suvivalists ended up being so much better than I thought it was going to be. The generic button pressing sounds and menu noises can get a bit annoying at times but all the other noises were really good and added so much to the immersion of the game in more ways than one.

For instance, if you’re just walking around your island in the middle of the day and you just stop to listen to the island, you’re hear everything that’s going on. There is music, and the music is good, but I’ll get to that later. If you stop moving and stand still, the music will eventually stop and that’s where the really beauty of the sound kicks in.

There was one spot on my island where I stopped to just listen to what was going on and it was amazing. First of all, you hear the sounds of all the animals that are around you. You’ll hear the birds chirping and the animals making noises and you’ll hear the flapping of wings or the animal movement. But you’ll also hear much more nuanced sounds as well. If you pay attention you’ll also hear the wind calmly whistling or the quiet waves hit the beach.

I’m pretty sure I also heard things like crows (or ravens), woodpeckers, squirrels, and other animals along with a bunch of other island and forest sounds as I travveled across the island. The music is also pretty good too. Sometimes it’s a calm tune that plays during the day or a scarier one while you explore at night. Or even an epic track with drums beating when you’re in the middle of battle.

The forest sounds mixed with the music create the perfect atmosphere. It can be calm and relaxing at times or scary and suspenseful at other times, all while keeping a constant level of immersion. Another good thing that I liked about the game is that you can change the volume of both the music and the sound effects so depending on what’s playing and what you want, you can directly affect your immersion in the game.

You can completely turn off music for instance and all you’d hear all day and night are your footsteps, the animals, the wind and water, and the things that go bump in the night. I did this for a while to see what it was like and it was a whole other experience entirely.

STORY: 7/10

If you’ve played other survival games, then you pretty much know what to expect from The Survivalists. Games like Minecraft and Don’t Starve have prepared you for this moment. It’s a very simple story though and it’s more the gameplay that matters here. You’re shipwrecked on an island and your goal is to survive. You get the entire island to call your own and you have to keep yourself alive as long as you can, and boy are there a lot of things that want to kill you.

At night, bats and other scary beings will try to strike you down, while at day you may make enemies with the locals and certain bigger animals. But if you die, you just wake up again so you don’t lose much progress other than losing your inventory, very much like Minecraft. But other than that, the main goal of the game is to survive as long as you can and build a ton of cool stuff. Make your own empire on the island if you can.

ADDICTIVENESS: 9/10

The game is so much fun. If you are a fan of these kinds of survival games, then you will have a blast because each island is a whole new experience and just exploring each land and fighting the locals is an experience of its own. But on top of that, gathering, crafting, building, and taking care of yourself is another big aspect of the game that’s lots of fun.

There are two points I want to make that will keep bringing you back to the game. The first is that there is no perma death. It’s not like Don’t Starve where once you die, that game is over and deleted. It’s more like Minecraft where once you die, you just respawn and lose your inventory. That means that in one playthrough, no matter how many times you die, you can build up a playthrough and island of epic proportions.

But. If you get bored of your island, you can go to a brand new one. That’s not something that I see all the time. In Minecraft, if you get bored you can always just keep travelling further away until something interesting happens but other than that, people who want a fresh start usually have to just start a new game. In The Survivalists, it’s different. You can start a new game but you keep the same character.

Let’s say you played for 20 hours on your first island and you built so much and explored everything but you got bored of your island because there was nothing left to do. Well, if that happens, you can just go to a new island but all of your unlocked recipes and customization options, along with 5 monkeys and all your inventory items will be ported with you to the new island. That way you can start a brand new adventure on a new island with basically the same character. It’s very much like a New Game Plus mode that you can start whenever you want.

DEPTH: 8/10

There’s lots to do in The Survivalists and I already talked about many of the things available. Each island is pretty big with lots of space to explore and if you get bored of one, you can go to a new one with your same character. There’s also a lot of animals to uncover, both good and bad. More than 20 in total and a ton of shells, insects, and bones for you to find. On top of that, there’s a bunch of monkeys that you can find and they add a whole extra level of gameplay because they can basically run the island for you.

There’s also a ton of stuff for you to find and gather, lots of stuff to craft and build, things to farm and cook, and blueprints to be made. The Survivalists really does have enough depth to cover a dozen of hours or more on a single island. Plus you can play online and have an island with a bunch of friends and that will add so much more to the experience.

DIFFICULTY: 6

Yes, the game can be very difficult, especially when you are first starting out. If you have no weapons or are low on health and food, then the days can be tough because big wild animals could attack you or the locals might want your head. Sometimes they can be hard to outrun and that’s just during the day. At night, things can get even tougher. But once you start playing and you craft, build, and have a whole lot of stuff in your inventory, the game will become so much easier and even more enjoyable.

It's a really good thing that the game doesn’t have perma death too because if it did, many playthroughs would end up being very short and wouldn’t have been ad enjoyable.

OVERALL: 8.5/10

Overall, if you want to scratch that survival itch, then The Survivalists is the game for you. Minecraft is a game about farming, crafting, and surviving that’s for everyone and can be really easy depending on how you play while Don’t Starve is a tough game that will kill you if you make one mistake. The Survivalists is the perfect middle between both games. The game is affordable, and you can end up spending many hours on one island and then once you get bored, you can end up spending many more hours on another island.

If you’re having fun, that cycle will only keep repeating and costing you more and more hours, which isn’t a bad thing. If this is your kind of game, it’s going to be a very enjoyable experience and gets an 8.5 out of 10 from me.