Project Castaway
- September 23, 2024
- Mardonpol Inc.
- 39h median play time
Get on Steam"Project Castaway is a survival crafting game set in the Pacific Ocean, where you are stranded on a deserted island. Gather resources, build shelters, and hunt for food while exploring picturesque landscapes and swimming in crystal-clear waters. Construct a base and upgrade your skills to ensure your survival in this beautiful yet unforgiving environment."
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game has great potential with engaging crafting and survival mechanics.
- Graphics are beautiful, creating an immersive environment.
- The developers are actively listening to community feedback and making improvements.
- The game is plagued with bugs and performance issues, making it frustrating to play.
- Food and water management is overly punishing, leading to constant starvation.
- The inventory and crafting systems are clunky and unintuitive, causing unnecessary frustration.
- graphics63 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning detail and immersive quality, particularly in environments like stormy oceans. However, many players report significant bugs and performance issues, including frame drops and glitches, which detract from the overall experience. While the potential for improvement is recognized, the game is seen as needing further optimization and fixes to fully realize its graphical capabilities.
“The graphics are absolutely gorgeous and the ambiance sound of the waves, seagulls, and rain storms do a great job of making you feel fully immersed as if you were on the island yourself.”
“The graphics are amazing!”
“The game has stunning graphics, and the gameplay is very smooth.”
“The graphics are worse than the 2022 title Stranded Deep.”
“I can't change graphics or any settings without the game glitching out completely.”
“I found the video graphics to be buggy, choppy, or laggy when I was playing.”
- gameplay44 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with players appreciating the crafting mechanics and the unique mystery elements, but expressing frustration over broken raft mechanics, bugs, and poorly designed systems like storage and farming. While some find the gameplay enjoyable and visually appealing, many note that it requires significant optimization and reworking of controls to enhance the overall experience. Overall, the game shows potential but is hindered by its current early access state.
“The gameplay is interesting.”
“I enjoy the crafting mechanics and general mystery/discovery the game presents players with.”
“The game also features dynamic weather systems and day-night cycles that impact gameplay.”
“The raft mechanic is broken and utterly vexing.”
“Many of the mechanics systems are either very underdeveloped or just poorly designed, making many aspects of the game pointless.”
“Wouldn't recommend it to any survival crafting fan out there, since it has extremely limited building options, the combat mechanic is very basic and boring, and the survival elements are dumb and require constant tending to.”
- story43 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally well-received, with players appreciating the lore and emotional depth, particularly in quest notes. However, some users find the quest navigation confusing and the survival mechanics can detract from the storytelling experience. Overall, while the narrative has potential and is engaging for many, improvements in clarity and resource management are needed to enhance the overall experience.
“The story in the notes for the quests are so well written!”
“Fantastic graphics, it's great to have a story behind than just survival.”
“The storyline is unfolding fantastically and the developers have been doing a great job at working out issues while bringing new content with each update.”
“If you're going to make a story-driven game, put that in the listing and don't leave it ambiguous with the project title.”
“Needs a lot of work done though... I'm confused by the story and where to find info on my uncle. The cursor showing you where to go disappeared after a few minutes of gameplay.”
“While there is a story, it just isn't engaging enough for me to explore past my beach hut.”
- stability30 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- -7 % neutral mentions
- 97 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and various glitches that hinder gameplay. While some acknowledge that these issues are expected in early access, many express frustration over the extent of the bugs, which significantly detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game is deemed too unstable for enjoyable play at this stage, with calls for substantial improvements before it can be considered polished.
“This game is in its very early stages, so if you're looking for a polished, bug-free experience with tons of content, it's not the right time.”
“The stability of the game has improved significantly since the last update, making for a smoother gameplay experience.”
“I appreciate how the developers are actively working on stability issues, showing their commitment to enhancing the overall experience.”
“So many crashes and freezes that my computer filled a formal complaint.”
“This game is way too buggy even for early access.”
“If you can't handle lots of bugs, stuck moments, weird loading freezes requiring restarts and other annoyances then steer clear until later in early access or final release.”
- optimization22 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 45 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with players reporting severe bugs, stuttering, and frame rate drops, making the experience frustrating. Many users note that even high-end rigs struggle with performance issues, indicating a significant need for optimization and fine-tuning. Overall, the consensus is that the game is currently unplayable for many until substantial performance updates are implemented.
“The game desperately needs optimization for a better experience.”
“I would still like to see some optimizations for resource distribution, and I'm not sure there's much 'story' yet... also will need a way to hold my breath longer; it's impossible to explore underwater.”
“Good game, need some optimization and uncap the 60 fps.”
“The game desperately needs optimization for a better experience...”
“The stuttering and frame rate drop is too much!”
“The game seems poorly optimized.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 90 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a significant part of the experience, describing it as slow but manageable, though some feel it can become tedious. The farming mechanics are criticized for being ineffective and requiring excessive effort for minimal reward, leading to frequent hunger and fatigue. Overall, while the grind is acknowledged, many see potential in the game despite its current issues.
“Not too tedious, but not too easy either.”
“The grind feels rewarding and keeps me engaged.”
“I appreciate that the grinding mechanics are balanced and enjoyable.”
“The entire farming mechanic is dumb and basically useless.”
“You'll end up hunting seagulls and farming potatoes, but you need like 20 of either to fill up, and your hunger bar will drain to 0 again in 20 minutes.”
“It's a 100% grindy game right now; everything is slow but not unbearable.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the humor in the game to be entertaining, with amusing moments like quirky bugs and unexpected deaths, but they also express frustration over losing progress due to a lack of saving.
“Dying at 30°C is bologna, but the hopping bug is kind of funny.”
“Funny as they may be, it sucks losing a lot of progress because you forgot to save.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report a strong emotional impact from the game, comparing its effect to that of "The Last of Us" series. The game's ability to evoke feelings, even in moments that seem distant or non-threatening, highlights its profound emotional resonance.
“As a side note, there is only one other game that has made an emotional impact on me: The Last of Us 1 and 2.”
- music1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music and ambiance in the game are highly praised for their quality, contributing significantly to the overall experience. Players find the sound design to be immersive and appealing, enhancing the enjoyment of the gameplay.
“The ambiance sounds and music are amazing. This is my personal and honest opinion, and it's coming from a casual gamer. It works great for me and looks very pretty.”
“The music enhances the overall experience, making every moment in the game feel more immersive and engaging.”
“The soundtrack is fantastic and really complements the gameplay, adding an extra layer of enjoyment to the experience.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the monetization strategy of the game is perceived as exploitative, with players feeling it prioritizes profit over quality, leading to a sense of it being a cash grab.
“I just have no idea how all these bugs were missed, and this is the first EA game I have played that actually feels like a cash grab.”
“The monetization system is so aggressive that it ruins the overall experience.”
“It feels like the game was designed to push players towards spending money rather than enjoying the gameplay.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its immersive and atmospheric qualities, effectively creating a compelling survival experience.
“Nice, atmospheric survival game.”
