Savage Lands

About

"Savage Lands" is a brutally unforgiving open-world survival game set in a harsh, frozen landscape. Players must gather resources, craft tools, and build shelters to survive against the elements and dangerous creatures. With a focus on player-versus-environment gameplay, cooperation with other players is key to survival, but ultimately, only the strongest will prevail.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

53%

Audience ScoreBased on 4,406 reviews

graphics147 positive mentions

optimization65 negative mentions

The game has seen significant updates and improvements since the new developers took over, making it more enjoyable.
The atmosphere and lore of the game are intriguing, providing a sense of exploration and discovery.
The crafting and survival mechanics are engaging, allowing for a rewarding gameplay experience.

The game suffers from a clunky inventory and crafting system, making resource management tedious.
Combat mechanics are simplistic and can feel unresponsive, leading to frustrating encounters with enemies.
The graphics and overall polish of the game are lacking, making it feel outdated compared to other titles in the genre.

graphics
567 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
60%
14%
The graphics of "Savage Lands" have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that they appear dated and unpolished, reminiscent of early 2000s titles. While some appreciate the game's aesthetic and atmosphere, others criticize the low-quality textures, graphical glitches, and poor optimization, which can lead to performance issues even on high-end systems. Overall, while the visuals may not be impressive by modern standards, they do not detract significantly from the gameplay experience for some players.
- “The graphics are very nice and give a good representation of the bleakness and cold of the islands.”
- “The graphics look good, and the world just feels right.”
- “The graphics are gorgeous, the enemies are fun, and the devs are very active and constantly improving the game.”
- “The graphics are unpolished, the textures stretched and mushified, grass is flat like paper, the contrast between the ground, objects and sky is very odd, old style, it conflicts, it's not easy on the eyes.”
- “The graphics look like they are from around 2008, I'm talking about first generation PS3 games, worse than Fallout.”
- “The graphics are terrible, multiplayer is dead, and it's just a copy of Minecraft which is not fun to play at all.”
gameplay
505 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
64%
12%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it dull and repetitive, often revolving around basic survival mechanics like resource gathering and combat against simplistic enemies. While some appreciate the potential and solid core mechanics, others criticize the clunky interface, poor inventory management, and lack of engaging content, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, the game shows promise but requires significant improvements in mechanics and variety to enhance player enjoyment.
- “This game has a solid foundation and the core gameplay loop is engaging.”
- “Great overall gameplay; give it a go if you're into survival games and open world building games.”
- “The gameplay is fun and co-op is a blast; some bugs and minor problems, but like I said, it's on the right track.”
- “The gameplay is dull and close to the bare minimum you'd expect from a survival game; there is a lot of running around the same places, getting respawning materials, smacking trash mobs here and there, and then boss hunting when you want to progress the game further.”
- “The gameplay is really not state-of-the-art; stuff falls into and on the ground when farming or sorting your inventory, and there are barely any features to handle inventory like auto-stacking, etc.”
- “The world is, I'm assuming, deep and interesting, but the game is so riddled with bugs and bad gameplay that it is honestly unplayable.”
optimization
232 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
54%
28%
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players reporting poor performance, frequent stuttering, and high system requirements that limit accessibility. While some updates have improved stability and performance, numerous users still experience low frame rates and bugs, indicating that the game remains poorly optimized overall. Despite the developers' efforts to address these issues, many players recommend waiting for further optimizations before fully engaging with the game.
- “While it's not perfect (yet), I can now play the game reliably without it crashing, having detrimental performance issues, or other odd things that I remember having.”
- “The new devs have made some great progress improving performance and fixing bugs since they took over.”
- “Fired it up today and found it to be wonderfully coherent, optimized to a night and day difference from before, and genuinely fun and exciting.”
- “It's poorly optimized; it doesn't look good graphically, the combat is pretty bad, and there are many more flaws, but I appreciate the devs still trying to make things work and hope many more updates are coming sooner rather than later.”
- “The game has an awful optimization! Even with a high-end graphics card, it runs poorly on low settings.”
- “This game has been in early access since 2015 and is so poorly optimized with frame rates and stuttering along with horrible controls, completely ignorant enemy AI and animals that don't move half the time or they glitch and skip around chaotically.”
story
218 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
72%
8%
The game's story is often described as fragmented and lacking depth, primarily conveyed through scattered notes and environmental lore, which some players find intriguing while others see it as insufficient. Many reviews highlight the potential for a richer narrative and clearer objectives, suggesting that the current storytelling approach feels incomplete or secondary to the survival mechanics. Overall, while there are elements of an interesting backstory, the execution leaves much to be desired, with calls for more structured quests and character development.
- “Great lore and well thought out placement of lore objects, notes, etc. There is an actual story here which a lot of survival games miss the mark on.”
- “The story you piece together comes in the order you find it but is all relevant; there are enough materials in the world to keep you occupied but not focused on gathering.”
- “The game has a solid core with its story being better than most survival games, and its crafting menu is vast.”
- “This game has no story.”
- “Not much story, pretty boring maps almost without landmarks which makes navigation awfully difficult.”
- “There is no story, but a lot of the landmarks and actual geography is really cool-- stuff you really can't get from randomly generated worlds.”
stability
184 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
91%
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting persistent bugs, glitches, and a clunky interface that detracts from the overall experience. While some users note improvements in recent updates, others still find the game to be a "buggy mess," particularly in multiplayer mode, leading to frustrations with gameplay. Overall, while there are moments of enjoyable gameplay, the game's stability issues remain a significant concern for many players.
- “It seems that it's more important for the Savage Lands crew to put out bug-free content than prolific content, which I'm fine with.”
- “The old map is solid and complete and is a great way to learn the game in a relatively bug-free environment.”
- “It looks like there's a lot more planned for the game, but even in its early access form, it's polished and (so far) bug-free.”
- “Stay far away, this game is a buggy mess.”
- “The game is buggy and unplayable.”
- “From constant crashes that erase progress to a barrage of glitches that disrupt gameplay, it's an exercise in frustration.”
grinding
156 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
1%
98%
The reviews highlight a pervasive sense of tedium associated with grinding in the game, with many players finding resource gathering and crafting to be excessively time-consuming and repetitive. While some enjoy the grind as part of the survival experience, others feel it detracts from overall enjoyment, leading to frustration and boredom. The lack of meaningful rewards for the effort invested in grinding further compounds these issues, making the gameplay feel unnecessarily drawn out.
- “Resource gathering is well balanced, not tedious or grindy.”
- “There's no farming in this game, so you can expect to be dependent on hunting, though it's not a problem.”
- “It's absurd how frustrating this is, and how tediously long it keeps me from the parts of the game I'm trying to get out and enjoy!”
- “The game was not very good when I played it about a year ago, got very repetitive and grindy very fast.”
- “The visuals are a dreary mess and the progression is needlessly tedious and complicated.”
atmosphere
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
33%
3%
The game's atmosphere is frequently praised for its immersive and engaging qualities, with many players noting its dark, foreboding environments and rich lore that enhance the overall experience. However, there are mixed opinions regarding sound quality, with some users highlighting issues with volume levels and ambient noise that detract from the atmosphere. Overall, while the visuals and setting create a compelling atmosphere, there are calls for improvements in sound design and gameplay mechanics to fully realize its potential.
- “The atmosphere is enthralling, making those first hours really challenging when you need to get clothed, fed, and find some shelter.”
- “The game shows good promise, and is interesting with some nice progression and good atmosphere.”
- “Love the atmosphere, the sounds and feel of it are great.”
- “Sound is really bad too, volume levels are all over the place, quality is uneven, and the ambience that could add to the atmosphere is almost completely missing, leaving visuals to do all the heavy lifting.”
- “The atmosphere is bland, animals are scarce, the only sound is the ambient noise of wind and nonexistent birds.”
- “The atmosphere is bleak and bland, but seems intended.”
humor
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is often derived from its glitches, over-the-top animations, and the absurdity of gameplay mechanics, leading to many players finding it entertaining, especially in multiplayer settings. While some appreciate the comedic value of the developers' responses to criticism, others note that the initial laughter can fade as gameplay becomes repetitive. Overall, the game is described as hilariously broken, providing moments of joy and laughter, particularly when played with friends.
- “I love this game, it's hilariously broken but still fun to play with my friends.”
- “10/10 made me laugh more than Goat Simulator or any other game I have ever played.”
- “All in all, this game is hilarious if you don't mind dying a few times to get the hang of things.”
music
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
69%
11%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its minimal presence and forgettable quality. While some appreciate the ambient sounds and occasional standout tracks, others find the lack of a cohesive soundtrack irritating, often opting to listen to their own music instead. Overall, the audio experience is seen as underwhelming, with calls for more substantial musical content to enhance gameplay.
- “The music, playing in only a few locations, is incredible and worth listening to.”
- “Furthermore, the music complements the gameplay extremely well.”
- “Audio-wise, I actually quite like it; the ambient audio is really nice, it's fairly good quality, and simple enough to be both pleasant and immersive.”
- “The game has almost no soundtrack.”
- “I found it irritating and ended up listening to my own music.”
- “The music is forgettable and the overall experience is about the same.”
monetization
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews overwhelmingly characterize the game's monetization strategy as a "cash grab," with many users expressing frustration over perceived exploitation through early access models and lack of meaningful development. Players feel misled by marketing that suggests depth and quality, only to encounter a product that appears rushed and unfinished, leading to calls for better consumer protections against such practices. Overall, the sentiment is one of disappointment and distrust towards the developers' intentions.
- “Early access forever, just a stupid cash grab, no progress at all for years.”
- “From the second you see the main menu, you will realize that this is a sole cash grab.”
- “This game not only isn't good to buy, it shouldn't be on Steam at all; it's a cash grab 100%.”
replayability
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
71%
18%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players find it infinitely replayable, others criticize it for lacking replay value due to limited content and optimization issues. Many users express hope that future updates will enhance the game's scope and overall playability, potentially improving its replayability in both single and multiplayer modes. Overall, the current state of the game suggests that replayability is hindered by technical limitations and a lack of content.
- “The game has great replayability and I expect great things from it for no other reason than how much the devs love this game.”
- “If the devs ever get the new build more playable, I'll honestly feel like I got 2 games for the price of 1.”
- “This is a fun game, but it has no replay value whatsoever.”
- “Exploring the world, working through the tech tree and fighting enemies is great the first time around, but it lacks any replayability because of the limited scope of the game at the moment.”
- “This specific issue kills the replayability for the game in both single and multiplayer mode.”
emotional
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, highlighting its immersive and wholesome experience that can evoke tears and deep feelings. Despite some technical issues and a lack of updates, the emotional interactions and bonds formed within the game are praised, making it a memorable experience for many. Overall, the game is seen as a masterpiece that resonates on an emotional level, especially when played with good audio equipment.
- “It was probably the most wholesome thing I have sunk twelve hours into.”
- “Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized what exactly was at stake.”
- “Honestly, if you play games for their immersion and emotional interactions, this game is priceless.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game has been criticized for its outdated design and poorly executed customization options, with users expressing a desire for a more engaging storyline and better representation, particularly for female characters. Overall, the aspect of character development has received a mixed review, scoring around 5/10.
- “Character design hasn't been touched in the entirety of its creation, leaving it far behind the times, though good intentioned updates in other areas have been pushed.”
- “The tattoo design is also one of the ugliest things I've seen in a game, and it has possibly the most awful character design menu I have seen in my life.”
- “Character development: 5/10 (hope to see a storyline develop - and hey, lots of us gamers are girls - we need a female model).”