SUNKENLAND – Dive, Build, Survive
Sunkenland is an exciting survival game that will have you gasping for air on the edge of your seat at times. Let's face it: running out of air underwater can be stressful!
Sunkenland Game Overview
In Sunkenland, you are dropped randomly into a Water World survival game almost naked, as you would expect if you woke up on a deserted island. The plus part is that you can swim and dive for nearly everything you need.
The game's premise is to build a base and survive the first night and then days. Oh, and I recommend killing the crabs at every opportunity until you get your food under control.
Like most survival games, you pick up a few bits of food at the start, along with some timber and essential foods (strawberries & mushrooms), and then it's time for a dive.
I did mention Water World.
Sunkenland Game Play
Even though the game is still in early access, it is available on Steam. Sunkenland is very playable, and I found myself diving deeper and deeper as I spent more hours (45 hours at the time of writing) in the game.
Survival – Food and Water are the key; clothes are irrelevant to your immediate survival, although they have an Armor value that will become apparent as you progress through the game. Food can be found in the form of meat from various sea creatures and fish; this progression is quite good as you play through the game.
For those vegetarians out there, there are many alternatives, from chocolate bars to growing different vegetables and upgrading cooking stations that give you buffs for soups and salads.
Base Building
Base building is relatively easy; the game has a true mad max / apocalyptic theme that is quite immersive. I sometimes found myself wishing for comforts that come in the later stages. The building system is very "snap to grid", which makes it easy to manage how and where structures get built. I found placement for windows and doors relatively easy, and overall, you can knock up a building very quickly once you have the mats.
Combat
Like most survival games, you start with the basics. In Sunkenland, it's a spear, and then you begin upgrading as you build the base and research better tools and weapons. Gun parts are good, and you eventually end up with something you can do real damage with. Tip: Take lots of food and meds on an incursion to other islands. Some steel will also not go astray.
Mutants will show up, hammer them, plant a flag, and take their island.
Also, explore the waters for the vendor straight up!
Vehicles
Did I mention post-apocalyptic, transport options in the game include sea scooters, peddle boats, sailboats, power boats and jet skis. I found the sailboat the best when getting started; timber and cloth are readily available. You will have one in no time… just go dive some more!
Powered vehicles look cool but chew gas, which again can be addressed when you hit stage 4…currently the furthest science progression in the game.
Multiplayer
If you don't like playing alone on an island of death waiting for mutants and pirates, sure, invite a few friends to the end of the world; why not? Sunkenland does offer multiplayer on player-created servers.
As an early access game, there are still some bugs to work through, but the game is most enjoyable with a few friends. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, there are no locks on your storage chests, so anyone can help themselves, which is disappointing when you want to share your game with random players.
Likes and Dislikes
I like the early experience in the game's first few hours. It feels like a cross between 7 Days to Die and Icarus. The game brings a sense of loneliness and an actual want for survival. The first time 4 mutants showed up, I kicked their ass, just like the first zombie in 7 days!
I dislike being unable to open up the server to the general public due to not being able to lock chests. I think this function will reduce the interaction opportunity to build community within the game because no one likes to log in and find all their loot missing.
Overall
It's a fun game to kill some hours when you have the time; it's worth playing now that it's into 2.0, and it's very fair for money, I think. Sure, some improvements are still to come, but that's early access for you.
I give it 7.5 / 10
