Flotsam
Manage your drifters as they try to survive in a harsh ocean world, where everything is trying to eat you or sink your town to the depths of the sea! You’ll need fresh water, seafood, and scrap to make sure your drifters can make the best of this wet situation. Luckily the flooded environment offers all kinds of relics from the old world to recycle. Your drifters can transform garbage, driftwood, and flotsam into boats and buildings. These allow them to collect rainwater, hunt for various creatures, and reel up scrap from the ocean floor. Steer your town as you explore a sprawling, dynamic environment with tall ruins, underwater cities, and coral reefs full of sea life and garbage! Raise your sails to choose which obstacles to avoid and which to dismantle.
Game Discussion
Steam User 110
I came across Flotsam very early in its prolonged early access development. While it took a very long time for the game to come out, I did get to experience numerous gameplay iterations and generally found enjoyment in all of them. I was mainly attracted to the game based on its art and aesthetic style and cozy “waterworld survival” concept that made it feel like a casual version of Rimworld. I was glad to see the specialist quests and end-game content finally added but wish it had come sooner, but I understand that this was made by a small studio.
Pros:
Very colorful, cartoonish visual aesthetic never gets tiresome.
Gameplay is very simple and easy to pick up and understand.
Things I'd like to see improved:
In all of the game's versions, there has been no ability to manually assign drifters to tasks. Instead you can set their task preferences but you're generally stuck waiting to see who will show up for a task once it's assigned.
Resource management and crafting can get extremely burdensome as the game progresses, with the end-game loops feeling extremely repetitive and time-intensive.
Audio is very limited. It would be nice to have some kind of soundtrack rather than just the occasional twangy banjo chords and strums.
Steam User 46
As a player that absolutely eats up simulation games, this one stands out as pretty dang exceptional to me. The art is fabulous. The music is chill and relaxing. The polish and smoothness are way up there. The play loop is enthralling (but more automation is needed here and there). I racked up 36 hours in the last 2 weeks without even realizing it. Thoroughly jazzed to see all the updates in 1.0. Great work here, devs!
Steam User 37
Great Fun Survival Builder Game ♥
I have been playing this game since it first release during early access back 2019. Couldn't be more happy to see it finally made it to 1.0 full releases. :D
Flotsam is quite unique survival colony builder where you start with survivors after the great flood on a boat, sailing, collect resources and growing your colony with no combat, fill with a wonderful art style and a quirky cutie survivors (also you can be friend with seagull).
Rather than feeling like everything is falling apart and that hope is lost (like most game that set after some catastrophe event), Flotsam however, make you feel hopeful as you growing your colony, which I find it a rather wonderful idea, and that, in my opinion, make Flotsam quite unique on it own.
Recommend to anyone looking for a cute tiny colony/builder game, it is addictive, can be challenge if not careful, yet enjoyable. I love everything in this game, (especially those seagull). A Waterworld experience minus crazy stunts, or hostile world with expensive floating island and Kevin Costner :P, Flotsam is highly enjoyable. ♥
Steam User 20
very cozy city building/management game where your city/town is connected to a boat you steer throughout a sunken world, collecting floating resources and scavenging them from buildings too, i absolutely love the progression in the game <3 very pretty artstyle, and funny humour too... very addictive game
Steam User 9
A word of caution is also why I like Flotsam: It's in development, so it's changing. Things work, then change, and sometimes break before they work again. It's like playing a new game every few months. The play is casual, which I like. But interesting enough to keep me playing one more game day. They've added "architect" which allows fixing city layout. Floating things can be rearranged. So unlike other city games, when something doesn't work, you don't have to destroy, crash your population, and then rebuild. I like the discord community too.
Steam User 20
This is one of the most well thought out games I have ever played. You can feel the amount of effort put into this game. I don't review games often but this game is just so well done. Everything is extremely balanced. Not sure why the other reviews are negative. Haven't experienced any game breaking or glitches, everything performs fine for me. I just sunk 3 straight hours into it right after purchasing, and I'm glad I did. Addicting gameplay mixed with a super unique art style, I could see myself playing this game for a while to come. Worth the money, give it a shot.
Steam User 6
i love this game! it's such a good chill out and play kinda game. easy to be playing for hours and not realize it. it's not like too in dept h but it doesn't really need to be in my opinion. Overall i'd recommend it. 8,5/10