Personally, I found myself losing interest due to the amount of time that needs to be invested in leveling up and unlocking new crafting skills. On that same coin, it has to be repetitive to help the player level up their skills and eventually be able to explore the other islands. Stranded Deep is a little repetitive, especially after a few days/cycles in-game, due to its premise. The crafting map has a lot of options to pick from, but the way in which each item must be crafted is always present when the option is picked.

After that, it’s up to the player on how they want to approach their days in this new and strange land. Stranded Deep revels in crafting and creativity, and it fantastically teaches the basic mechanics in an easy-to-understand way. Some tasks require the player to chop down trees or hunt fish for food, and these sometimes must be done quickly so the controls complement these actions perfectly. Stranded Deep does get this right with a compact, easy-to-navigate inventory system. Oftentimes, survival games can be subject to clunky menus and offputting U.I. Planning out foraging routes and being unable to sleep in time is particularly thrilling as the main quest unfolds. Saves are sparse and need to be used effectively, as sleeping is the only way to guarantee your progress is maintained.

This particular mechanic was a simple one yet effective: as the days pass, night-time would occur, so I liked that the night-time is when the game encourages the player to save. Night-time is dark to the point where it becomes pitch black, forcing the player to sleep/save in their island-made shelter. Visually, it looks vibrant during the daytime segments, with the initial island resembling a stereotypical tropical paradise: palm trees with coconuts fence the mainland, crabs wander across the white sandy beaches and fish aplenty can be found underneath the picturesque blue ocean.

The transfer over to the Nintendo Switch is wonderful.

Stranded deep current version review