Skip to main content

About

Flotsam is a single-player strategy game with stellar mechanics, excellent visuals, and sensational music, but is held back by frequent bugs and grinding. Players build and manage a floating garbage town in a post-apocalyptic ocean, scavenging for resources, repurposing scrap, and navigating through ruins and reefs. Despite a few drawbacks, Flotsam offers a unique and often hilarious twist on survival and city-building gameplay.

Flotsam screenshot
Flotsam screenshot
Flotsam screenshot
Flotsam screenshot
Flotsam screenshot
Flotsam screenshot
Flotsam screenshot
Flotsam screenshot
Flotsam screenshot
Flotsam screenshot
Flotsam screenshot
+19

83%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,175 reviews
gameplay55 positive mentions
stability37 negative mentions

  • Charming art style and unique concept of a floating city in a post-apocalyptic world.
  • Relaxing gameplay with a satisfying resource management system.
  • Active development with frequent updates and responsive developers.
  • Limited content with only a few hours of gameplay before reaching the end.
  • Numerous bugs and AI issues, such as villagers getting stuck and not completing tasks.
  • Lack of challenge and replayability, making the game feel repetitive after a short time.
  • gameplay
    201 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay in the reviewed titles is characterized by a repetitive loop of resource gathering, crafting, and city building, which can become tedious over time. While the mechanics are generally easy to understand and the art style is appealing, many players find the current content limited, with only a few hours of engaging gameplay before it becomes stale. Despite these criticisms, some users appreciate the relaxing nature of the gameplay and the potential for future updates to enhance the experience.

    • “The gameplay loop is satisfying and addicting: starting with a small vessel, expanding into a floating town, keeping survivors fed and happy while continuing to expand and explore is a great way to while away hours.”
    • “The game is very pretty, gameplay is very relaxing.”
    • “Flotsam keeps a relaxing gameplay during all city stages: initially water and food will be short, but there’s never really the need to do everything very fast to survive.”
    • “It wasn't long before the gameplay loop of 'move - gather materials - wait - craft - wait' started to feel tedious and repetitive.”
    • “The early version was buggy, but the gameplay was boring and so difficult to manage that it wasn't at all fun.”
    • “The game offers only a few hours of gameplay before it becomes repetitive and boring.”
  • graphics
    186 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of *Flotsam* are widely praised for their charming, cartoonish art style and detailed animations, creating a visually appealing and relaxing atmosphere. Players appreciate the vibrant colors and unique design elements that enhance the gameplay experience, although some note that the game could benefit from better optimization and graphical settings. Overall, the visuals are considered one of the game's strongest aspects, contributing to its engaging and enjoyable city-building mechanics.

    • “The graphics and sound of the water are so calming, and once you get the hang of things, it's really fun.”
    • “The art style is gorgeous, and I love all the unique animations and seeing your town slowly grow in complexity and layers.”
    • “Beautiful graphics and soundtrack - really cute to look at, smooth animations - feels very polished overall.”
    • “I can't stand a simple graphical game like this can run so badly on mid-end PC.”
    • “Overpriced, there isn't much to do... limited number of islands, lots of graphical bugs.”
    • “It has potential to be great, but it is not optimized (graphics) and the AI is stupid.”
  • music
    50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its relaxing and pleasant qualities, enhancing the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience. Many players appreciate the combination of cheerful soundtracks and calming background music, which complements the cute graphics and engaging mechanics. While some note that the music can become repetitive over time, it generally contributes to a delightful and immersive environment that players find enjoyable.

    • “The music is gentle and relaxing to play to.”
    • “The game looks amazing, visually and the music fits very well.”
    • “The soundtrack is very fitting, relaxing and overall nice to listen to.”
    • “I could fall asleep to the soundtrack.”
    • “The background music does get repetitive after a while.”
    • “Don't let the soothing animation of the sea and the music fool you though, if you lay back and relax you'll be sleeping with the fishes in no time...”
  • story
    41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and direction, with many players expressing a desire for a more engaging narrative or quest system to enhance gameplay. While the mechanics and city-building elements are enjoyable, the absence of a storyline or end goals leaves players feeling unfulfilled after a short playtime. Overall, there is a strong hope among users for future updates to introduce meaningful content and a cohesive story.

    • “Awesome game and played the heck out of it; hope we get more campaign/storylines to do as you can finish the game's basic functions quite quickly.”
    • “The handcrafted map should be used for a campaign with a story.”
    • “A new way of playing a management game, interesting story, brilliant execution, beautiful design, great sound and music.”
    • “The gameplay is great but it's still lacking a storyline.”
    • “There isn't a quest system or story line to drive you forward.”
    • “If you're looking for a complete game with fleshed out mechanics and a story, this game isn't yet for you.”
  • stability
    41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of the game is a mixed bag, with many users reporting minor glitches and bugs, such as character pathing issues and occasional freezes, which are typical for an early access title. While some players find the game surprisingly bug-free for its stage of development, others experience significant performance issues that hinder gameplay. Overall, the game shows promise but requires further improvements to enhance stability and user experience.

    • “Surprisingly bug free for an early access game, with frequent updates, and it doesn't take much space on your drive.”
    • “Now it's not buggy; actually, I don't think I encountered a single bug, but there isn't a lot of game here.”
    • “Fortunately, pretty much bug free for an early access title, but next to nothing in terms of end-game goals.”
    • “Game is still really buggy; I do hope they will fix it as it could be a really fun game. I wouldn't recommend buying it right now though.”
    • “I'd recommend this game based on style and uniqueness, but it is frustrating to spend $25 on something that is unplayable, frequently freezes, and doesn't allow you to save your game.”
    • “Interesting idea, fun to play but definitely early access with lots of glitches, heavy performance issues, frame drops, and items getting lost or stuck or characters glitching out and standing around until they die.”
  • optimization
    31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag, with many players reporting performance issues such as stuttering and lag, particularly as gameplay progresses. While recent updates have improved stability and fixed some bugs, significant optimization work is still needed, especially regarding AI and graphics. As the game is in early access, players are hopeful for continued improvements in performance and content.

    • “Most early bugs have been gracefully fixed and the game runs smoothly and enjoyably as of the last patch.”
    • “The performance has risen incredibly, though there are still plenty of bugs that totally halt your game progress the longer you get in.”
    • “They've fleshed out the gameplay a lot since my review below and the performance issues have largely been resolved.”
    • “I never ran into any issues with bugs, but the optimization is not that great.”
    • “Performance is truly my main technical complaint, since the game runs poorly and it seems to get even worse the longer you play.”
    • “Interesting idea, fun to play but definitely early access with lots of glitches, heavy performance issues, frame drops and items getting lost or stuck or characters glitching out and standing around until they die.”
  • replayability
    31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players enjoying the variety of characters and gameplay mechanics that encourage multiple playthroughs, while others criticize the lack of content and endgame features, leading to a limited overall experience. Many reviews suggest that, despite its initial charm and potential, the game currently offers only a few hours of gameplay with minimal incentive to replay. Frequent updates may improve this aspect, but as it stands, players are divided on its long-term replay value.

    • “The overall replayability of the game is excellent, with different characters and skill sets to explore, creating an engrossing and unique experience each playthrough.”
    • “Great game, with decent replayability to build things better and more efficiently each time you start fresh.”
    • “Tons of replayability also, make a new save and try some different things.”
    • “That said, the game doesn't have a whole ton of replayability right now.”
    • “Due to the lack of end game, I would say the game has a solid 5 hours of gameplay right now but not much replayability as you will always end up in the same place.”
    • “There really is only about 6-8 hours of gameplay with no replayability value.”
  • grinding
    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly due to the gameplay loop of gathering materials and crafting, which can feel monotonous over time. While some appreciate the chill nature of the game and the challenges it offers, many express frustration with pacing issues and the need for constant resource resupply, especially in mid to late game. Overall, the grinding can detract from the enjoyment, making it difficult to engage for extended periods, though short bursts of play can still be fun.

    • “It wasn't long before the gameplay loop of 'move - gather materials - wait - craft - wait' started to feel tedious and repetitive.”
    • “I feel that this particular update has made the game more grindy and convoluted than it should be, and that in general the direction the game is going is the opposite of what made me like the game in the first place.”
    • “On the other hand, if the expectation is that you can't build a sustainable base and you have to constantly go traveling to find resources, then that makes this game pretty tedious to play.”
  • humor
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is highlighted by its quirky character animations, amusing building interactions, and the lighthearted portrayal of post-apocalyptic survival challenges, such as fussy villagers and funny fishing mechanics. Players appreciate the cute art style and the comedic elements, including character voices and humorous bugs, which contribute to a relaxed and entertaining gaming experience. Overall, the game successfully blends humor with its city-building mechanics, making it a delightful choice for players looking for a fun distraction.

    • “Hilariously, your post-apocalypse villagers are as fussy about food as I am; an endless diet of seaweed and fish bits will tank morale, especially on a raft full of foodies.”
    • “Flotsam had individual animations for the different building interactions which was really adorable and the building designs were creative and humorous.”
    • “The voices of the characters are funny and fitting.”
  • atmosphere
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its addictive quality, beautiful art style, and immersive soundtrack, creating a relaxing and enjoyable experience. Players appreciate the attention to detail and the balance between a cheerful aesthetic and an apocalyptic theme. Despite some concerns about content limitations, the overall ambiance is considered a significant highlight of the game.

    • “The atmosphere is well executed, a pleasantly cheery and bright world yet still thoroughly apocalyptic.”
    • “I generally stay on the slowest pace to play, enjoying the atmosphere, the music, and watching my little drifters scurry and swim around.”
    • “I agree it needs more content; in about 40 in-game days I basically had unlocked everything, but it's still worth your time in my opinion for the art, atmosphere, soundtrack, and general feel of the game.”
  • emotional
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by its wholesome and heartwarming elements, appealing to players who enjoy city-building management games like Frostpunk but prefer a less punishing experience. Overall, it evokes a sense of warmth and positivity, enhancing the survival gameplay.

    • “It's a wholesome survival game.”
    • “The details are absolutely heartwarming.”
  • character development
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    While the character designs and animations are praised for their charm and appeal, there is no specific mention of character development in terms of growth or depth. The focus seems to be more on aesthetics rather than narrative progression or complexity.

  • monetization
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization of the game is widely criticized as a blatant cash grab, with players feeling that the developers are prioritizing profit over player experience.

    • “This game is a cash grab and everyone involved knows it.”
    • “The monetization system feels exploitative and takes away from the overall experience.”
    • “It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind paywalls.”

Buy Flotsam

6h Median play time
7h Average play time
3-8h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 43 analyzed playthroughs

Videos

Games Like Flotsam

Timberborn Image
Havendock Image
The Universim Image
Surviving the Aftermath Image
Stonehearth Image
Settlement Survival Image
Clanfolk Image
Buoyancy Image
Surviving the Abyss Image
Going Medieval Image