The Archipelago Promise

About

Explore a forgotten Archipelago deep in the Bering sea. Sail the cold seas, learn about the environment, evade the dangerous wildlife, and survive the harsh Alaskan weather to find your lost brother.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

40%

Audience ScoreBased on 73 reviews

graphics5 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game has a promising concept and interesting story elements that engage players.
Graphics and sound design are commendable, especially for a student project.
It's free to play, allowing players to explore the game without financial commitment.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, making it frustrating and often unplayable.
Critical gameplay mechanics, such as saving progress and adjusting settings, are broken or non-functional.
Survival mechanics, including hunger and thirst depletion, are overly harsh and contribute to a negative experience.

story
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
The story in "The Archipelago Promise" is generally well-received, with players expressing interest in the narrative surrounding characters Dina and Thomas, and appreciating the integration of survival elements with storytelling. The game's setting across multiple islands enhances the sense of adventure, although some players felt that clearer guidance could improve the experience. Overall, the blend of survival mechanics and a quest-driven narrative is seen as a strong point, despite some gameplay issues.
- “It's a bit about fighting but mostly about survival with a nice little story.”
- “I was really interested in finding out what happened to Dina and Thomas; it's a story that doesn't feel far-fetched and is well worked out.”
- “But here you have a much more story-driven experience, so we could have been led by the hand a bit more. For example, at some point I returned to the boat and I died because I was unable to understand how to leave it.”
- “The notebook gives me a crafting table and a story quest.”
- “How the tutorial of the game is mixed with the story of the game is also pretty neat.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
20%
30%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the visual quality and lighting effects, while others criticize performance issues and glitches that detract from the experience. Many users note that the game requires high-end hardware to run smoothly, and there are reports of problems with saving settings and progress. Overall, while the graphics are considered good by some, they are overshadowed by technical difficulties and gameplay flaws.
- “Graphics are good.”
- “The concept is nice and the graphics are good as well; I just felt a bit confused on what to do at the start.”
- “.. the graphics, some really cool things about the lighting such as the fog being colored and illuminated by the campfire.”
- “Graphics hurt your eyes.”
- “Well done for getting the graphics together, but otherwise it's pretty dire.”
- “You basically need a NASA computer to run this on anything better than low graphics.”
stability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
89%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous glitches affecting gameplay, particularly related to boating mechanics and save game functionality. Players report problems such as getting stuck in water, difficulties with docking, and buggy controls that disrupt navigation and interaction. Overall, the game's stability is considered poor, making it frustrating to play despite its appealing graphics.
- “When you play it in one go, it's not buggy, but if you load a save game, you will encounter a few minor bugs.”
- “There are also plenty of glitches—like getting stuck in the water when trying to go ashore.”
- “Docking is impossible, you can’t jump off the boat, and leaving the wheel often glitches you into the water.”
- “The game is too buggy to play.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The gameplay has potential, particularly for a free student project, but is marred by significant technical issues and frustrating mechanics, such as poorly designed hunger and thirst systems. While it offers familiar survival and exploration elements reminiscent of other games in the genre, many players found it unplayable due to its lack of polish and restrictive gameplay. Overall, the game shows promise but requires substantial improvements to enhance the player experience.
- “It doesn't have the polish or gameplay of a AAA studio, but as a free game and a student project, well done.”
- “I will thumb this up because I see there is potential with the mystery of the missing team, and I like exploration-type games with survival crafting mechanics.”
- “Much of the gameplay did not feel unique, but that's okay because it uses a familiar system that fits its genre - it's a survival game that gives me the forest vibes, so I dig it.”
- “While the game has some potential, its overwhelming technical problems and restrictive gameplay made it unplayable.”
- “After losing progress and battling frustrating mechanics, I decided to drop the game.”
- “But fix the hunger and thirst mechanics that are absolutely terrible and will lead to negative opinions.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
The music is generally described as nice and soothing, with a fitting soundtrack that enhances the game's atmosphere. However, many users criticize the poor transitions between tracks, which detract from the overall experience.
- “The music is nice and soothing, creating a calming atmosphere.”
- “The soundtrack is very fitting and enhances the overall experience.”
- “It looks great, plays nicely, and the music complements the gameplay perfectly.”
- “The music, while good, suffers from awful transitions that completely ruin the atmosphere.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the constant need to monitor health without clear guidance, compounded by the inability to save progress, which adds to the frustration.
- “Constantly needing to check your watch for health quickly becomes tedious, and keeping yourself alive is unclear.”
- “But unfortunately, since you can't save, it's a bit too tedious for me.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players noting significant issues such as poor performance, unintuitive controls, and problematic collision detection. Overall, many feel that the optimization is severely lacking, detracting from the overall experience.
- “This game is a real shame; even free, it's too expensive. You can't understand the cinematic at the beginning, you can't change your keys for Europeans, and the optimization is terrible. The developers need to stop pretending they know what they're doing, especially when they struggle with proper collision detection on rocks.”
- “The animals in this game are just stupid, and the game is poorly optimized.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is negatively impacted by poor transitions in the music, despite the quality of the tracks themselves.
- “The music, while good, suffers from awful transitions that completely ruin the atmosphere.”