Escape the Pacific

About

"Escape The Pacific is a realistic survival game set in the 1850's Pacific Ocean. Craft a modular raft, build a shelter, and learn sailing mechanics while enduring challenging weather and seasons. Explore a vast world filled with islands, hunt for food, and master various survival skills in this immersive and engaging experience."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

+15

71%

Audience ScoreBased on 425 reviews

gameplay11 positive mentions

stability51 negative mentions

The game has great potential with a unique survival experience focused on realistic mechanics.
The crafting system is engaging, requiring players to gather resources and think strategically.
The developers are responsive to feedback and actively working on updates to improve the game.

The game is plagued with bugs, including disappearing items and glitches that can disrupt gameplay.
There is currently no save function, making it frustrating to lose progress after spending time building and exploring.
The user interface is clunky and not intuitive, making it difficult for players to navigate and understand game mechanics.

gameplay
73 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
71%
14%
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of engaging survival mechanics, crafting, and building elements that offer depth and strategy, though it can be tedious and grindy over time. While many players appreciate the realistic approach and detail in mechanics, particularly in sailing and resource management, they also report significant bugs and awkward controls that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game shows promise but requires further refinement to enhance playability and reduce frustration.
- “The game mechanics, gameplay, environmental diversity, and overall playability have been wonderful to experience.”
- “There's something deeply satisfying about the resource gathering, building, crafting, the survival mechanics, and the exploration that I don't find in other games.”
- “It is a more realistic approach to survival, incorporating both weight and volume into its weight system, a fairly realistic swimming mechanic, and challenging sailing mechanics, amongst other things.”
- “Unfortunately, sailing is still extremely awkward (the physics engine kicks you off the raft randomly), mechanics are still buggy, and graphics are still jumpy.”
- “Real-time gameplay is just 30 minutes, depending on your skill level — after that, the game becomes an infinite, rinse-and-repeat grind fest, with the same very limited, buggy and glitchy game mechanics, and the same very limited, buggy and glitchy game assets, over and over again!”
- “This game has too many broken mechanics that it should be taken out of the market.”
stability
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
98%
The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, significantly impacting its stability and overall functionality. While some players note minor issues that are manageable, many express frustration over game-breaking problems that persist even after years in early access. Overall, the consensus is that the game remains unrefined and unfinished, requiring substantial fixes before it can be considered enjoyable.
- “The game runs smoothly with minimal crashes, providing a reliable experience.”
- “I appreciate how stable the gameplay is; it rarely lags or freezes.”
- “The developers have done a great job ensuring a consistent performance throughout.”
- “The game is not functional, and I would say it's the worst game I've ever played in terms of glitches and game functionality.”
- “After more than 6 years in early access development, Escape the Pacific remains unbalanced, unrefined, and unfinished — riddled with game-breaking bugs and glitches, from disappearing game assets to chaotic time progression to catastrophic game UI failure.”
- “This game has potential, but right now it is such a buggy mess.”
graphics
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
36%
8%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their beauty and detail, particularly the stunning water effects and immersive environments. However, some users report issues with performance, including frame rate drops and graphical bugs, suggesting that optimization is still needed. Overall, while the visuals are appealing, players recommend waiting for further updates to enhance stability and performance.
- “Beautiful graphics and the development team works well on improving the experience.”
- “Graphics are gorgeous, details are being thought of, and I haven't yet found something that would ruin my immersion, gameplay-wise.”
- “The graphics are very detailed and enjoyable, and the weather effects are a really nice touch.”
- “Unfortunately, sailing is still extremely awkward (the physics engine kicks you off the raft randomly), mechanics are still buggy, and graphics are still jumpy.”
- “Wait to buy unless you own a NASA computer or can deal with lack of optimization and poor frame rates on anything other than the most basic graphics settings.”
- “Graphics have so many errors, too many to list.”
story
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
74%
13%
The game's story aspect is currently underdeveloped, with players expressing disappointment over the lack of a dedicated storyline and quests, as it primarily offers a sandbox experience. While some users note the potential for future narrative elements, such as shipwrecks and scavenger hunts, many are eager for a more structured story mode and additional content. Overall, the game is seen as enjoyable for exploration and creativity, but it lacks the depth and engagement of a traditional narrative-driven experience.
- “You can already see that a story is planned, too.”
- “It has come a very long way in a few short months, and I can't wait until the storylines and content are expanded.”
- “I like that there are different kinds of islands and the beginnings of a story.”
- “No one has ever escaped the Pacific, including the 'Gamers4Gamers team', the game developers — that's right folks, the game launched on Steam February 23, 2018, and the game developers never programmed a game storyline, and never programmed a means by which you can escape the Pacific.”
- “If you want high action, lots of crafting options, and an actual storyline, this is not your game.”
- “It's also certainly missing elements they obviously plan on adding: story mode, gender selection, etc. There's not much of a 'how to' in the walkthrough; some of it you have to just guess how to complete something.”
grinding
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some appreciate the challenge and depth it adds, many criticize it as tedious and overly time-consuming. Suggestions for improvement include allowing players to adjust the in-game clock to alleviate the grindy feel and streamline resource gathering and building processes. Overall, the balance between realism and enjoyment remains a point of contention, with some players feeling that the grind detracts from the game's potential.
- “The whole process is too tedious and boring, especially the grind for salt.”
- “Grindy gameplay and clunky controls prevent this beautiful game from being enjoyable.”
- “With such a long and tedious process to build structures, the last thing this game needs is for them to require constant tedious maintenance.”
optimization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
57%
21%
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with players experiencing severe stuttering and low frame rates, making it nearly unplayable on standard hardware. While some users report improvements in performance over time, many still find it lacking and suggest that significant optimizations are necessary before it can be recommended for purchase. Overall, the game is seen as typical of early access titles, with high expectations for bugs and performance issues.
- “The game has been optimized or something has changed as now I get between 45 and 60 fps almost constantly.”
- “Performance is pretty much on par with what one should expect from this type of early access alpha content.”
- “And even if the game does not implement the saving feature at the time of this review, there are already a lot of base mechanisms like crafting, survival, building, rafting, and all of this in a beautiful environment that runs smoothly.”
- “The last straw is now earthquake-like stuttering that makes the game completely unplayable.”
- “The game needs optimizations and there are a couple of major bugs that need to be fixed (raft stabilization and controls).”
- “Wait to buy unless you own a NASA computer or can deal with lack of optimization and poor frame rates on anything other than the most basic graphics settings.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game features high replayability due to its procedurally generated maps and customizable in-game clock settings, which enhance the overall experience. However, some players expressed frustration over the lack of a save feature, impacting their willingness to replay until improvements are made. Overall, the potential for replayability is recognized, with some users rating it as high as 9/10.
- “Procedurally generated maps, which makes replayability high.”
- “Such a relaxed experience, highly replayable because you can change the settings.”
- “Allowing the player to adjust the in-game clock (10 to 1 (fast), 5 to 1 (moderate), even 1 to 1 (real time)) would solve most of the grindy feel, leaving a more enjoyable and replayable game!”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
17%
33%
Players appreciate the game's atmosphere, noting it creates an immersive experience that keeps them engaged without the desire to pause. Comparisons to other survival games highlight its effective crafting of tension and realism, with elements that evoke genuine fear and familiarity, particularly during nighttime scenarios.
- “One of the most telling symptoms of a good atmosphere in a game is when you choose not to pause.”
- “I've played them all: The Forest, Green Hell, Stranded Deep, 7 Days to Die, etc., but I love the atmosphere and crafting of this game.”
- “As someone who has actually lived in a similar manner to this game, the atmospherics are spot on.”
- “The atmosphere is also kind of similar to 'The Forest', to the point where I got scared at night from a bird because I thought it was a cannibal.”
- “I've played them all: The Forest, Green Hell, Stranded Deep, 7 Days to Die, etc. etc. etc... but I love the atmosphere and crafting of this game.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is generally considered funny, with users appreciating its humor and the developers' lighthearted approach, despite some occasional bugs and glitches. Players find the mechanics entertaining, especially when they malfunction, adding to the comedic experience. Regular saving is advised due to these minor issues.
- “The devs are still active and seem to have a sense of humor about things, which is good.”
- “The basic mechanics are user-friendly, easy to figure out, and hilarious if they go wrong.”
- “Are there super hilarious glitches?”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the game's monetization strategy is viewed skeptically, with some users feeling that their financial contributions primarily support the developers' learning process rather than the game's development. While there are concerns about cash grabs in early access titles, this particular project is perceived as lacking a clear value proposition for players' investments.
- “If you want to pay $15 so these 'developers' (I use that term loosely) can attend 'How to Make a Game 101', then feel free, because that is what your money is actually being used for.”
- “When it comes to early access alphas, there are cash grabs, there are fundraisers, and there are development/tester projects.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The music in the game has received negative feedback, with users describing it as poor and unappealing, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “The graphics are okay, but the music is really disappointing.”
- “The soundtrack lacks variety and gets repetitive quickly.”
- “The music doesn't fit the game's atmosphere at all.”