Sunkenland
- August 25, 2023
- Vector3 Studio
- 16h median play time
Get on Steam"Sunkenland" is a post-apocalyptic survival and exploration game set in a water-covered Earth. Dive into sunken cities, scavenge resources, and build your underwater base while defending against pirates and mutants. With a modular building system, customize and protect your base to ensure your survival in this submerged world. * Navigate underwater environments, gather resources, and avoid dangers * Customize and defend your base using a modular building system * Fight against pirates and mutants to ensure your survival in a post-apocalyptic world
Reviews
- The game has a lot of potential and offers a unique underwater exploration experience.
- Base building mechanics are engaging and allow for creativity.
- The crafting system is intuitive and rewarding, with a good sense of progression.
- Combat mechanics are frustrating, with poor hit registration and AI that can shoot through walls.
- The game can feel grindy, especially in resource gathering and crafting.
- Frequent updates can render old saves incompatible, leading to loss of progress.
- gameplay555 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Sunkenland" offers a mix of engaging survival mechanics, crafting, and exploration, set in a visually appealing underwater environment. While many players appreciate the core mechanics and the potential for cooperative play, there are significant criticisms regarding the game's repetitiveness, clunky combat, and building mechanics, which need refinement. Overall, the game shows promise but requires further development to enhance the gameplay experience and address existing issues.
“Its stunning underwater environments and engaging survival mechanics create a rich, immersive experience that’s both visually captivating and intellectually stimulating.”
“With its waterworld-themed setting, modular base building, sunken city scavenging, and intense bandit invasions, Sunkenland offers a unique and engaging gameplay experience unlike any other.”
“The gameplay loop is fantastic and extremely fun.”
“In particular, the quest design is very mechanically rough and also boring.”
“Most survival aspects disappear entirely and are replaced by tedious grinds that add nothing to the gameplay or interest in the game.”
“The gameplay loop is incredibly boring and unrewarding.”
- graphics365 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players praising the stunning underwater visuals and overall aesthetic, while others criticize the need for significant improvements and optimization. Some users noted graphical glitches and a lack of polish, particularly in character models and textures, suggesting that while the game shows potential, it requires further development to meet modern standards. Overall, the underwater graphics are highlighted as a strong point, but many players feel that the game still has a long way to go in terms of visual quality and consistency.
“The graphics are stunning and will get even better once the update on the PTR goes live.”
“The graphics are excellent, but as with any early release game, there are things that need to be worked out.”
“The underwater graphics are amazing, and the overall concept of the game is great.”
“The graphics could use a rehaul and enemy pathing is a tad jagged, but there's lots to explore and the mechanics are good.”
“The game has a lot of potential, but the gameplay and graphics look like a game from 2008; hell, 2008 probably has better graphics than this.”
“The graphics are pretty bad, and the game feels cheap with very clunky gameplay.”
- story344 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 77 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story is currently minimal, with many players expressing disappointment over the lack of a compelling narrative or meaningful quests. While there are missions to complete, they often feel repetitive and disconnected from a larger storyline, leading to a sense of aimlessness once players finish available content. However, there is hope for future updates to enhance the story and mission design, as developers have indicated plans to expand these elements.
“There's more of a quest line with some story and lore than I thought there would be this soon in early access, so I am super pleased having some direction to drive me forward.”
“With further development and adjustments, particularly in gameplay balance and storytelling, Sunkenland could become a more compelling entry in the survival game genre.”
“I love that you have to dive for loot, fight sharks, fight other factions, sail the seas to visit other islands, etc. I really hope the devs put more work into a story-line and quest-line.”
“The later missions all felt kind of pushed out very quickly without that much effort; the earlier mission islands were huge and had lots of enemies, while the later ones were kind of small and had few enemies.”
“And finally, the game just kind of ends once you complete all the missions - there's no acknowledgement of the success or failure of the revenge quest that's been the framing device for the whole plot.”
“The story is completely missing.”
- stability206 mentions
- 3 % positive mentions
- 1 % neutral mentions
- 95 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous players reporting various bugs and glitches that affect gameplay, such as freezing, enemy AI issues, and problems with base building mechanics. While many acknowledge that these issues are typical for early access titles and express optimism for future updates, the frequency and severity of the glitches have led to frustration among users. Overall, while the game shows promise, it requires substantial work to improve its stability before it can be fully recommended.
“That said, the setting is cool and it's bug free for the most part.”
“Runs great on my old dinosaur PC also.”
“It runs great, it looks great, and so far I haven't really found any game-breaking issues.”
“Far too many game-defining glitches to have justified distribution in its current state; it could be a fun game eventually, but it needs a lot of work.”
“The game is fun/good but does start to suffer from glitches and kicks you out of the game or freezes completely.”
“It's still quite buggy since it's in beta currently, and I noticed that a lot of people say it's no more than 25 hours of gameplay, but I am personally a slow game explorer who also works outside of playing Steam games, and I haven't even explored half the map on single player.”
- grinding175 mentions
- 2 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 89 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting it can be excessively tedious and time-consuming, particularly in resource gathering and crafting. While some appreciate the depth and challenge it adds to gameplay, others find it detracts from overall enjoyment, leading to repetitive tasks that can feel pointless. Overall, the game offers a significant amount of grinding, which may appeal to dedicated players but could frustrate those seeking a more streamlined experience.
“Gathering resources is also fun and not tedious (think Subnautica).”
“Not grindy and the progression is exciting in my opinion.”
“I have to work just a little harder to get the things I need to upgrade/craft what I need, but it's not grindy at all, which I really appreciate.”
“The enemies are laughable, the workbenches are bugged, making you lose resources that you spend hours grinding on.”
“Most survival aspects disappear entirely and are replaced by tedious grinds that add nothing to the gameplay or interest in the game.”
“The only complaint I really have is that the end game requires so much iron it gets super grindy.”
- music77 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as peaceful and atmospheric, often shifting from calming melodies to intense battle themes that signal danger, enhancing the gameplay experience. However, many players find the soundtrack repetitive and lacking variety, with requests for additional tracks to maintain engagement. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's ambiance, it could benefit from a broader selection to avoid monotony.
“The music perfectly complements the atmosphere and enhances the emotional impact of the game.”
“Absolutely gorgeous, and goodness gracious, this music combined with the atmosphere of the game is so calming.”
“The soundtrack is meditative and relaxing; a perfect complement to the time spent scavenging, building, and surviving.”
“Once you defeat the last base/island, the passive music starts again and there's zero sense that you accomplished anything meaningful.”
“What it lacks is a decent soundtrack.”
“Hopefully new music gets added to the game because hearing the same 2 music tracks for hours on end gets understandably old.”
- optimization74 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant performance issues, crashes, and stuttering, particularly on higher settings or with larger groups. While some users report smooth gameplay and good performance on lower-end hardware, others express frustration over the game's current state, calling for urgent improvements. Overall, the game shows potential for better optimization in future updates, but many players feel it is not yet at an acceptable level.
“While still smoothing out some rough spots, such as occasional bugs and performance issues, 'Sunkenland' is on a promising path reminiscent of 'Rust's' early days—initially rough but continuously improving with each update, thanks to the developers' commitment and responsiveness to feedback.”
“Beautiful, well optimized, and enjoyable in both solo and co-op modes!”
“The optimization for my rig is absolutely superb; I play on what is basically a potato yet I am able to play on the highest settings.”
“As much as I want to recommend the game, I can't do it before they fix the performance of the game.”
“Great game has great potential but it's very badly optimized; very heavy on GPU, my 3090 Ti goes crazy on low settings even.”
“The game is poorly optimized but has a lot of potential; I will check it out again in the future, but for now, it had to be refunded.”
- humor35 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely derived from its numerous glitches and bugs, which players find amusing rather than frustrating. Many reviews highlight the comedic value of the game's rough edges, such as funny animations and unexpected interactions, making it a fun experience, especially when played with friends. Overall, while the game has its flaws, the lighthearted and goofy nature of its humor adds to its charm, appealing to those who enjoy early access titles.
“Very fun with someone to play with, ignore all the hate and get past some of the funny AI and it's a great time.”
“I saw a friend clip through a wall so violently that I was coughing up phlegm from how hard we were laughing.”
“Boating around and fishing with guns is hilariously fun!”
- replayability21 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is seen as a mixed bag; while it offers fun and engaging mechanics with multiple paths and choices, many players feel it lacks sufficient endgame content and resource respawn features, which limits long-term replay value. Some users express optimism for future updates that could enhance replayability, particularly with the introduction of dedicated servers and resource regeneration. In its current state, the game is considered replayable but has significant room for improvement.
“Replayability: Sunkenland offers multiple paths, choices, and outcomes, which encourages replayability.”
“This makes the game more replayable without having to start over as you can do the raid again later.”
“One of the best alpha releases I've played, and with the roadmap of things to come, there is a lot of replayability in the future.”
“It is lacking in endgame replay value and has a long way to go in terms of development.”
“The enemies in island outposts don't respawn; once you clear it, that's it. You can only ever come back for scrap piles and loot boxes. I would like them to respawn together with the loot for the replayability factor.”
“Replayability may be an issue after you have cleared all of the current islands/landmarks.”
- atmosphere16 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and well-designed environments, enhanced by thoughtful lighting and a fitting soundtrack that creates a calming experience. While some players find certain elements, like combat, lacking, the overall exploration and crafting aspects are highlighted as brilliant, contributing to a captivating post-apocalyptic setting. However, a few users noted that repetitive music and visual strain can detract from the experience.
“They've paid a lot of attention to lighting and atmosphere.”
“The music perfectly complements the atmosphere and enhances the emotional impact of the game.”
“From the moment I stepped foot in this sunken world, I was immediately drawn into its breathtaking landscapes and atmospheric soundscape.”
“Combat feels awful, everything looks jank with very little atmosphere.”
“I absolutely love the environment and overall atmosphere of this game.”
“Played a number of survival games in early access, Sunkenland just hit the spot with the topic, atmosphere and gameplay.”
- monetization8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has drawn criticism from users who perceive it as a cash grab, particularly due to the presence of intrusive features like the green reticle and the overall quality of the game, which some describe as unfinished. Players express frustration over the monetization strategies that seem to prioritize profit over gameplay experience, reflecting a broader concern about the industry's trend of releasing incomplete titles for sale.
“This game is starting to seem like another cash grab.”
“I feel it will come to nothing and may well be seen as a cash grab.”
“This is just yet another implicit 'cash grab' monopolizing on the absolute greed of the Valve Corporation by allowing people to 'publish' and sell unfinished games as alpha or beta garbage or pre-release nonsense.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report a strong emotional investment in the characters' stories and relationships, which adds depth to the gameplay experience. The music is noted for enhancing the emotional atmosphere, contributing positively to the overall impact. However, some users express frustration with the game's mechanics, which detracts from their emotional engagement.
“As you progress through the game, you'll become emotionally invested in their stories and relationships, adding an extra layer of depth to the overall experience.”
“The music perfectly complements the atmosphere and enhances the emotional impact of the game.”
- character development2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Character development in Sunkenland is praised for its well-crafted characters with distinct personalities and motivations; however, players express a desire for more extensive customization options, including character design and additional interactive elements in the game world.
“Character development: the characters in Sunkenland are well-crafted with distinct personalities and motivations.”
“Melee combat is a bit sketchy, boats need vastly more options and the ability to be upgraded, a boat/boat combat system is needed, more sea creatures, land animals, interactive furniture, snap points on some things (ladders, stairs), ability to drop items, and there needs to be a big expansion of character design (hair, build, looks, etc).”
