Away From Life

I normally wait for at least 30 hours of playtime before leaving a review. But when I saw negative reviews where the reviewer only played for a half hour or just under 1 hour - how can you form a well educated opinion of a game with only a half hour of playtime? I played this game for the first time on 05/28/2026 and at 5 hours of play time I haven't even scratched the surface of all this game has to offer. I will be back at it again today , the next day and so on. If you are going to leave a negative review, have the time invested to prove your points. And if you are reading reviews to determine if the game is worth the investment, read reviews with at least 15 hours or more of playtime. Skip the reviews that show the reviewer hasn't truly played the game.
I am an Alpha/Beta game tester and have been testing games for over 10 years. I have worked with large dev teams and one man dev teams. Several games I am still testing even after the game has been released to both EA and beyond EA. A game is never finished until a developer washes their hands of the game. As a game tester, I have inside access to how the game is developed as well as what resources are at a developers disposal for creating a game. If you don't know how a game is made, play testing a game will give you much insight and will allow you to see the game from a totally different perspective. Play Testing will give you grace as a gamer.
Even if playtesting a game is not an option, playing an EA game puts you right in the middle of it's development. Instead of writing negative reviews, be part of the team. Developers have tunnel vision. Its not until the game is out there in player's hands that valuable information regarding bugs, glitches and minor/major issues are discovered through game play and constructive feedback. Join the developer's Discord and report the issues you encounter in a game. It may already be known or it may be something new. As a gamer, you can be a huge contributor to a game's success. Be a voice of progress and support. It goes a long way to helping the developer improve the game and the game's success. Be part of the solution, not the problem.
As for Away From Life:
This game and its potential excites me. My sister and I have 550 hours in Stranded Deep years ago. We broke the game, literally. The developers either didn't have a clue what to fix or had given up on the game entirely. It's been several years since we've been able to play a survival game that reminds us of all the great memories we made in Stranded Deep - until now. Away From Life scratches that itch for us. As soon as I saw cargo containers, shipwrecks, ocean life, many islands to travel, crafting, beautiful scenery and so much more, I knew this is the game for us.
Away From Life is the perfect title too. During our Stranded Deep days, my sister and I DID NOT want to be rescued, which is the end game intent. Since gaming is an escape from real life for us, so are the games we play. Staying stranded, living off the land and enjoying the peace this game brings "away from life", we won't be looking to escape Away From Life anytime soon, either.
Away from Life was released to Early Access in April 2026. Its been barely 2 months at the time of this writing. For a small dev team, this game is so far ahead in development over other released EA games. And since the price is respectfully on par for an EA game, buying the game now and being part of its growth is the right move. Later on when the game has improved and is a better game all around, the cost will surely go up as most games do when released from EA.
Get away from real life and dive into Away From Life.

Very Fun Games. i am 65 year old U.S. Coast Guard Retiree just got into gaming approx. 2 years ago!!!! Still learning the stuff.

Surprisingly polished for a first game.
For a first-time developer and an early access release, this is honestly more polished than half the AAA games states. The graphics are solid, performance is smooth, and I haven’t run into any major issues so far.
Content is still minimal (which is expected at this stage), but the foundation is really promising. I’m genuinely excited to see how this game develops over time. The only real downside right now is the tutorial. It misses what I deem a few key points, which can make things a bit confusing if you’re new to these kind of games
That being said, at its current price point, I honestly recommend this if you’re comfortable buying into early access and waiting for more content.
EDIT;
Most the negative reviews are french so ignore them, games amazing and the devs constantly pushing updates

I want to start by saying that i am someone who needs a target, a finish line, a reason to play. I have only 10 hours into this game, and i probably will play more but right now i have completed all the tasks and i'm comfortably surviving without needing to do too much. Unless there are more quests added in the future, or a 'way home' is added, i probably won't play that much more. However. The game is put together very well, i have not found any game breaking bugs, everything works pretty well and although combat could be better, the fact is that you're just some numpty who found themselves alone on a desert island in the middle of nowhere. Building is a little bit lacking in that there are some angled pieces you'd like to have but aren't available, but otherwise, pretty good. I feel like maybe the loot could be better in some cases but again, desert islands.
I enjoyed what i have played. it's a pretty landscape to traverse, the weather makes things interesting although it doesn't really affect you that much. The self monitoring is easy to follow, though not really explained enough.
I'd recommend this to you if you like to just chill and survive, or if you're a base builder. Plenty of exploration to do, lots of materials available though you will have to hunt for some, and scenic views at sunrise and sunset.

Mixed emotions... For the love of God, fix the items disappearing. We played for hours saving up gas, then put it all in the engine on our boat.. We traveled to other islands, and I fought a shark in the water with the harpoon gun.. Upon harvesting the shark, the game crashed, and all gas was lost as I was the host.
Game reminds me of Stranded Deep.
Best fireworks I've seen in any game. A+ on those.

Good bones for a successor to Stranded Deep, worth keeping an eye on as development and balancing continues. Issues remain with resource shortages and underwater combat options (sharks are once again the major opposition, landbound enemies can generally be cheesed comfortably). Seems generally promising.

for a solo creator i will say its going in the right direction. and the fact that the creator is on point with updates, id say hes more involved with their own game then the bigger companies are and thats a big one.