MeinMMO author Maik Schneider discovered the survival game Raft over the holidays in 2020 and invested nearly 30 hours into it within 3 sessions. He shows you what the raft game has to offer and why it is already worth it, despite being in Early Access.
What kind of co-op hidden gem is this? Raft is a survival game on Steam that has been available in Early Access since May 2018. Dedicated survival players have probably been aware of the game for a while, but I only got to the ocean adventure over the holidays in 2020. If you haven’t heard of it yet, but are constantly looking for good co-op titles, you should give it a look.
You start in Raft on a small wooden raft, held above water by a few plastic pieces. You have a hook on a rope in your hand to pull debris, which is urgently needed material, onto your 2×2 meter living foundation. On your way across seemingly endless waters, you expand your raft, explore islands, gather resources, and experience a story on quest islands that provide you with new technologies for your dream raft. Survival mechanics keep you on your toes with hunger, thirst, and the looming threat of death.
The game is still in development and the last major update came in October 2020 – Chapter 2. But even now, the small survival title is worth its 20 euros to me. It’s been a while since a game captivated me so much that I played it for 30 hours in 3 sessions. But Raft has managed to make the gameplay so engaging that time flies by. Particularly fun are:
- Great base building – You can continuously expand your raft and build nice houses
- Fair resource distribution – Hard work is suitably rewarded in the game
- Exciting story – The campaign quests are large and exciting
I will introduce you to the game, show you why it’s worth it right now, and explain why I think this title can be trusted to be completed even after almost 3 years in Early Access.
It all started with Minecraft, where he is currently building a highly complex train station again. But titles like ARK, Conan: Exiles, 7 Days to Die, Rimworld, and Terraria have also entertained Maik for many hours.
The best part of a survival game is usually the base building for him. Whether it’s beautiful, functional, zombie-proof, or just huge – once he knows how the building tool works, there’s always some construction site somewhere.
Raft combines survival with a fresh setting and story elements
How does the game work? We started in the middle of the ocean on a small raft with a size of 4 foundations. A hook was supposed to help us gather debris to expand the vessel. After we helplessly watched a shark nibble a quarter of our raft and the hunger and thirst indicators quickly dwindled, it became clear to us: This is a hardcore survival title.
When we visited the first small landmass, panic briefly broke out. No one had enough resources for an anchor, and the raft was drifting away. The islands offered new raw materials that we couldn’t get just by collecting debris. Gradually, the situation stabilized, and with nearly every new raw material, a blueprint was unlocked that we could learn or use immediately.
Once the technologies were exhausted, we followed the story. Our shiny new navigation console guided us to a quest island that we explored thoroughly and with complete motivation. There are currently 5 of these story islands in the game. We spent some hours here to complete the quests. During the quest, there were notes that told a story, new enemies, small jumping puzzles, and fresh technologies to explore. Each quest area had its own style, providing a unique environment in the game.
This way, Raft continuously unfolded. We analyzed most new raw materials and components on the research table, thereby expanding our gear arsenal or gaining new building options for our raft. Meanwhile, we took care of material and food supplies to prepare for the next big quest island.
Good resource balance meets quest content
What makes Raft special? At first glance: the setting. Instead of solid ground, you only have a somewhat solid raft under your feet, and a large part of the game world is water surface.
Additionally, there is the for me very pleasant resource balance – the game distributes its resources fairly. You don’t get anything for free, but if you stay engaged the game quickly rewards good work. If you let something slide, it quickly becomes noticeable, and before you know it, the entire crew is already waiting by the grill for the next batch of fish.
As a culmination of the satisfying resource loop, there is the story on top. I was totally surprised by the complexity of the story missions and the adventures you can experience there. The newly unlocked technologies in the story led us to spend hours drifting across the sea and approaching islands to farm materials.
Why is it so captivating? The entire mix just works. You work on your raft, do a bit of fishing, go to islands for a material tour, and look forward to the next story mission. The whole material-technology loop constantly motivates, and there is always something to do. Thus, I ended up with my two co-players with over 30 hours of gameplay in 3 sessions.
Raft unfortunately has an abrupt ending
What is the problem? In contrast to ARK or Conan, Raft is more or less done with the conclusion of the campaign.
For me, the motivating advancement of the game is tied to new items and technologies that are added throughout the campaign. When this supply dwindles, my motivation decreases as well, because I can only do more of the same instead of discovering or experiencing new things.
Even though I still wanted to play the game after 30 hours, it was over with the end of the currently last story mission. Until the next update. However, dedicated raft builders prove that it can also go differently, and you can certainly invest significantly more time into the ocean adventure:
Raft is far from finished – but it can already be worth it
Why is the Early Access title worth it? After the update for “Chapter 2,” there is a decent amount of content in the game for a 20 euro “Early Access” title. There were hardly any bugs to discover during gameplay, and the gameplay is genuinely motivating and well thought out. I really enjoyed Raft.
Even now, after the first run, I find the costs for the game absolutely justified. Together with friends, the co-op experience is an exciting adventure and thanks to the large story elements and fair resource balance, it is worth a look not only for survival players.
On Twitter, the developers have already clarified that they are working on “Chapter 3.” Although it is not yet known how long it will take, as soon as the update is released, I will start a new round with my crew and immerse myself in the ocean adventure for a few evenings and nights.
If you are interested in the title, consider whether this is also an option for you. While you currently only get an incomplete story, Raft already offers many hours of exciting content. Fans of MMOs with base building, like me, will definitely get their money’s worth.
Almost 3 years of Early Access – Will Raft ever be finished?
What about the ongoing development? Raft has been in Early Access on Steam for more than two and a half years and receives irregular smaller or larger updates. Development actually began back in 2016. With such long testing and development phases, one should always be skeptical about how much of the game can still be expected or whether there will be a long time between larger updates.
The developers communicate through the Raft Twitter account and publish dev blogs on Steam and their homepage to keep players updated. According to the Raft homepage, the team consists of 8 people who work together in the small development studio “Redbeet Interactive” from Sweden on the co-op game.
At the moment, it seems that development is progressing well. On Twitter, the developers assured that they are working on “Chapter 3” and that they are currently working on a juice machine (via Twitter), which is supposed to be newly added to the game. I anticipate further updates in the future and also a completion of the game. However, how long this will take is still uncertain.
What has been announced so far? In an AMA (Ask Me Anything) in the dev blog from November (via Steam), the developers gave a further look into upcoming content:
- Chapter 3 brings at least 2 new quest islands
- Jellyfish and anglerfish as new underwater creatures
- New biomes for regular islands
- More deep-sea content
- New and revised cooking recipes
- More devices for automation
- Smaller events for holidays
All in all, Raft is already a great co-op fun. A hidden gem for everyone who doesn’t know the raft game yet. For the rest, it probably comes as no surprise that the ocean adventure has long deserved its place on our list of the best survival games. I am definitely looking forward to the next sleepless sessions with “Chapter 3”.
