Status:
Complete and Play Tested
For more games visit us on: https://www.bobshop.co.za/seller/4692286/Just_Press_Play_ZA
----------------------------------
The Survivalists (PS4) Review
Developer: Team17
Publisher: Team17
Genre: Survival / Action-Adventure / Crafting
Release: 2020
The Survivalists takes the familiar survival-game formula and gives it a charming twist: monkeys. After being shipwrecked on a mysterious island, players must gather resources, craft equipment, build a base, explore dangerous locations and eventually find a way to escape.
Rather than trying to be an extremely punishing survival simulator, The Survivalists focuses on accessibility, exploration and experimentation. Its most interesting feature is the ability to tame and train monkeys to perform tasks for you, effectively turning them into a small workforce or combat squad.
The result is a colourful and relaxing survival adventure with plenty of charm. It doesn't completely reinvent the genre, and some of its inventory, crafting and camera systems can become frustrating, but the combination of exploration, crafting, dungeon crawling and monkey management makes it surprisingly addictive.
Gameplay & Mechanics
The basic gameplay loop is straightforward:
Explore gather resources craft equipment build fight discover new recipes explore further.
You begin with almost nothing and gradually acquire better tools, weapons and structures.
Food is important, although the survival mechanics are considerably more forgiving than in games such as Don't Starve. This makes The Survivalists more approachable for newcomers while still providing enough resource management to give exploration a purpose.
Crafting is extensive. You can create weapons, tools, furniture, cooking equipment, buildings and numerous other items.
The game's most original mechanic is the monkey system.
Monkeys can be trained by having them mimic your actions. Once trained, they can gather resources, craft items, carry equipment and fight alongside you. Eventually, you can have several monkeys performing different jobs simultaneously.
This creates an enjoyable automation system. Instead of spending all your time chopping trees or gathering materials, you can train monkeys to perform those repetitive tasks while you concentrate on exploration.
Strengths
-
Simple but addictive survival loop.
-
Excellent crafting system.
-
Monkey training is genuinely useful.
-
Exploration provides plenty of rewards.
-
Combat is straightforward and accessible.
-
Base building gives resources a meaningful purpose.
-
Easy to understand compared with more hardcore survival games.
Weaknesses
-
Inventory management can become frustrating.
-
Crafting multiple identical items can be unnecessarily slow.
-
Combat lacks sophistication.
-
Survival mechanics are relatively light.
-
Some systems aren't explained particularly well.
Exploration & World Design
Exploration is one of the game's strongest elements.
The islands are procedurally generated, giving different playthroughs some variation. Players can discover forests, beaches, caves, ruins, enemy camps and other locations while searching for resources and treasure.
There are also multiple islands that can be reached using a raft, providing a gradual sense of expanding the world.
The environment contains plenty of secrets. Players can discover valuable materials, blueprints, treasure and increasingly powerful equipment by exploring away from their main camp.
The dungeons, vaults and labyrinths are particularly enjoyable. These areas introduce stronger enemies, puzzles and better rewards, providing a welcome change from resource gathering.
The day/night cycle also contributes to the atmosphere, with nighttime introducing additional dangers.
The main weakness is the camera. Because the game uses an isometric perspective, trees, buildings and environmental objects can occasionally obscure the character or important items.
Story & Themes
The story is deliberately simple.
You are a castaway attempting to survive on an island and eventually find a way home. A mysterious stranger provides quests and information, while exploration gradually reveals more of the island's secrets.
There isn't a major narrative driving the experience, and this is clearly intended to be a sandbox adventure rather than a story-heavy RPG.
This works because the real motivation comes from the gameplay itself. Discovering a new recipe, finding a powerful weapon, training a useful monkey or reaching another island provides its own sense of progression.
The connection to The Escapists universe is a fun bonus for fans of Team17's earlier games, although you don't need any knowledge of The Escapists to enjoy this game.
Final Verdict
The Survivalists is a charming and surprisingly addictive survival adventure. It doesn't attempt to compete with the most hardcore survival games, instead offering a more accessible experience centred around exploration, crafting and building.
The monkey system is the game's standout feature. Training monkeys to gather resources, manufacture equipment and fight alongside you turns what could have been a standard survival game into something considerably more distinctive. Watching a small army of monkeys gradually automate your base is genuinely satisfying.
The exploration is also enjoyable, particularly when discovering new islands, dungeons and powerful equipment. Co-op adds another layer of fun and makes the game's sandbox mechanics particularly enjoyable with friends.
Its shortcomings are mainly in the execution. The camera can become frustrating, inventory management is fiddly and crafting large quantities of items can feel unnecessarily slow. Combat is also functional rather than exceptional.
Nevertheless, The Survivalists succeeds at what it sets out to do. It is colourful, accessible and packed with things to craft, discover and build. The monkey mechanics give it a unique identity and make this a worthwhile choice for players looking for a lighter survival experience.
Score: 8/10
