This review is based on 100% completion and 50.3 hours of gameplay.
[h1][b]Recommendation:[/b][/h1]
Would I recommend this game? No, I don’t think I would as it is. I really want to, because there is a decent game here with some good groundwork, but too much of it ends up being frustrating rather than enjoyable. A lot of the core mechanics and lack of QoL really hold it back.
At its core, this is a cosy survival crafter that’s easy enough to pick up and chill with, but it comes with a lot of issues. There are also quite a few bugs, things like portals not working properly, combat not registering hits, clipping issues, and monkeys not doing what they’re told. It just adds up over time.
The main problem for me is the core gameplay loop. The whole system is built around using monkeys to automate tasks like gathering, crafting, building, and even combat. It’s a cool idea on paper, but in practice it just doesn’t work that well.
Monkeys require constant micromanagement. For example, if you set one to gather resources, they’ll only work within a small, unclear range. Even then, they often miss nearby nodes or stop early and say there’s nothing left when there clearly is. If their tools break, they just stop completely, and you won’t know unless you go check. This completely defeats the point of automation and turns it into more work for the player.
Storage is another big issue. There’s no proper organisation system, no sorting, no naming chests, no good quick deposit or retrieval. It gets messy very quickly, especially when monkeys are dumping items wherever they want. On top of that, storage has to be within a certain range of crafting benches, but the game never tells you what that range is. So things just don’t work sometimes and you’re left guessing why.
Combat is also pretty rough. It feels clunky and unreliable. A big issue is that if an enemy is standing near an object, you’ll often hit the object instead while they can still hit you. Since monkeys are meant to help here as well, it becomes even more frustrating when they don’t focus properly or split targets. You end up having to kite enemies constantly just to make it manageable.
A good comparison here for these issues would be [i]Necesse[/i], which has a similar system but handles it much better with stronger QoL. Even taking a few ideas from that would have made a huge difference here.
All of this is disappointing because there are some good ideas here, but they’re not executed well. From what I can tell, the game hasn’t had much support for a while outside of the recent DLC, so it doesn’t feel like these systems are going to be improved either.
On the positive side, the visuals are nice. The colours are vibrant, consistent, and easy on the eyes. The audio is also solid, and I really liked how the music ramps up when you’re out on the raft. That was a nice touch.
As for the story, it’s not really a focus here. I didn’t engage much with the lore or notes because it never really grabbed me. The basic premise is fine, but the ending felt pretty underwhelming. It had potential, especially if they played with the idea of looping or NG+ with how that ended, but as it is, it doesn’t really do anything interesting with it.
Overall, this is an ok game with some good ideas, but the execution just isn’t there. It ends up being more frustrating than fun, and it doesn’t really respect your time. The base price is far too high for what you’re getting, so if you do pick it up, wait for a deep sale.
[h1][b]Achievements:[/b][/h1]
This will be a bit of a grind overall. There are four co-op achievements that require another player, along with a number of collectables and miscellaneous ones.
Because it’s a niche game, there aren’t many resources online, but you don’t really need them. Most achievements will come naturally as you progress.
The collectables aren’t too bad either. There are more than enough available, but they’re spread across different islands so you’ll need to explore properly. The collector quests can be a bit annoying though. A small tip here: if you’re farming for a specific bone, save before picking it up. If it’s not what you need, exit without saving and try again.
For the co-op achievements, just be aware of a couple of things. The labyrinth needs to be one that hasn’t already been completed, and you’ll need to pick up the item at the end. For the quest-related one, you don’t actually need to be the one completing it, just being in the session was enough for it to pop for me.
Also, since you’re joining another player’s world, you can bring items and monkeys with you, so it’s worth preparing beforehand.
Overall, the achievements are pretty straightforward. It just takes time and a bit of patience.
[hr][/hr]For more in-depth yet straight-to-the-point reviews, feel free to check out my curator page [u][b][url= https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45595645/] here. [/url][/b][/u]
