Info about Raft:

Official game description:
**By yourself or with friends, your mission is to survive an epic oceanic adventure across  
a perilous sea! Gather debris to survive, expand your raft and set sail towards forgotten and dangerous islands!**  
Trapped on a small raft with nothing but a hook made of old plastic, players awake on a vast,  
blue ocean totally alone and with no land in sight! With a dry throat and an empty stomach,  
survival will not be easy!  
Raft™ throws you and your friends into an epic adventure out on the big open sea, with the  
objective to stay alive, gather resources and build yourself a floating home worthy of  
survival.  
Resources are tough to come by at sea: Players will have to make sure to catch whatever debris floats by using their trusty hook and when possible, scavenge the reefs beneath the waves and the islands above.  
However, thirst and hunger is not the only danger in the ocean… watch out for the man-  
eating shark determined to end your voyage!  
Find the last parts of civilization still above water. Overcome the challenges therein, uncover the story of its previous inhabitants and find your way to the next destination!  
Features:  
● Multiplayer! Survive by yourself or with friends in online co-op!  
● Hook! Use your hook to catch debris floating by.  
● Craft! Build survival equipment, weapons, crop plots and more to help you stay alive!  
● Build! Expand your raft from a simple wreckage to a buoyant mansion.  
● Research! Learn new things to craft in the research table.  
● Navigate! Sail your raft towards new destinations and overcome their challenges, uncover their story and find new items to help you on your journey!  
● Dive! Drop anchor and explore the depths for more resources.  
● Fight! Defend your raft from the dangers of the ocean and fight your way through perilous destinations.  
● Farm and cook! Grow crops, catch and tend to animals, cook recipes and make tasty smoothies to keep your stomach happy.

Release date: 20 Jun, 2022

Categories: Survival, Resource Management, Base Building, Crafting, Exploration, Cooperative Multiplayer, Single-player Story, Animal Husbandry


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Excellent Cooperative Multiplayer (weight 0.92): The game is highly praised for its cooperative multiplayer experience, with players consistently reporting that playing with friends significantly enhances the fun, engagement, and overall enjoyment. The social dimension, teamwork, and shared achievements are highlighted as key strengths.
- Unique Survival Experience (weight 0.79): Players appreciate the game's unique take on the survival genre, particularly its open-ocean setting and blend of relaxing and tense moments. The balance between resource gathering, exploration, and managing threats creates an engaging and immersive survival experience.
- Accessible & Intuitive Gameplay (weight 0.35): The game is praised for its accessibility, featuring simple and intuitive controls, easy-to-understand mechanics, and low system requirements. This makes it approachable for a wide range of players, while still offering enough depth.
- Engaging Storyline & Progression (weight 0.3): The game features a surprisingly engaging and well-implemented storyline that provides purpose and motivation for exploration and progression. While optional, the narrative adds depth and context to the survival and building mechanics.
- Immersive Atmosphere & Graphics (weight 0.26): The game's atmospheric design, including its pleasant graphics, lighting, and immersive sound effects (especially ocean sounds), contributes significantly to a relaxing yet engaging experience. The visual style is often described as charming and fitting.
- Rewarding Island Exploration (weight 0.24): Exploration of diverse islands and underwater areas is a significant and rewarding aspect of the game. Players enjoy discovering new resources, solving puzzles, and uncovering secrets, which adds variety and adventure to the gameplay loop.
- Satisfying Raft Building & Crafting (weight 0.22): The building and crafting systems are highly satisfying, allowing players immense creative freedom to design and expand their rafts from simple platforms to elaborate floating fortresses. The sense of accomplishment from this progression is a major draw.
- Consistent Updates & Replayability (weight 0.13): Players appreciate the consistent developer support, regular updates, and new content additions, which keep the game fresh and enhance replayability. The game's progression system is also well-regarded for keeping players engaged over long periods.
- Overall Positive Reception (weight 0.13): The game is generally highly regarded by players, with many expressing strong affection and considering it a favorite. Its overall design, concept, and continuous development have left a very positive and lasting impression.
- Highly Addictive Gameplay (weight 0.08): The game is highly addictive, with many players reporting losing track of time due to its engaging gameplay loop. The initial hours are particularly captivating, leading to a strong desire for continued play.
- Engaging Shark Encounters (weight 0.07): The shark, a constant threat, adds a unique layer of tension and excitement to the game. Players find encounters with the shark, and the ability to fight it, to be an enjoyable and immersive aspect of survival.
- Enjoyable Solo Play (weight 0.06): The game is well-suited for solo play, offering a tranquil and engaging experience for those who prefer to build and explore in solitude. It has also been noted for its positive emotional impact on some players.

Common complaints:
- Repetitive & Lacks End-Game (weight 0.79): Many players find the game's core loop, especially in single-player, becomes monotonous and repetitive after the initial hours or once the short story is completed. There's a significant lack of engaging late-game or post-story content, leading to a rapid decline in motivation and replayability.
- Flawed Core Mechanics (weight 0.75): Several core game mechanics, including survival elements (hunger/thirst rates), combat, and tool durability, are criticized for being poorly designed or overly simplistic. The constant need for micromanagement and frequent tool replacement detracts from the fun, while combat lacks depth and variety.
- Annoying & Repetitive Enemies (weight 0.31): The primary enemy, the shark, and other creatures like birds and screechers, are widely perceived as annoying rather than challenging. Their constant presence, predictable AI, and frequent attacks on the raft or player become tedious, especially in the late game when they cease to be a real threat but remain a nuisance.
- Poor Multiplayer Performance (weight 0.22): Multiplayer functionality is severely hampered by persistent bugs, connection issues, and significant lag. Players frequently report long loading times, desynchronization, and inability to join friends' games, making the cooperative experience frustrating and often unplayable.
- Unengaging Island Exploration (weight 0.14): Island exploration is often described as uninteresting and repetitive. Story islands are criticized for being poorly designed labyrinths with excessive backtracking, while regular islands lack variety and meaningful content, making exploration feel like a chore.
- Raft Building Limitations (weight 0.1): While raft building is a central feature, its utility diminishes significantly after mid-game, becoming largely cosmetic. Players also report performance issues with larger rafts, visual glitches with water physics, and a lack of meaningful gameplay loops tied to advanced raft designs.
- Grindy & Clunky Crafting (weight 0.06): The crafting system is often described as grindy, with many recipes requiring excessive resources and tools having low durability. The interface is also criticized for being unpolished and difficult to navigate, hindering the crafting experience.

Gameplay feedback:
- Core Survival & Raft Building (weight 0.63): The core gameplay loop revolves around starting on a small raft, collecting floating debris with a hook, and gradually expanding it into a larger floating base or fortress. Players must manage survival needs like hunger and thirst, and constantly defend against shark attacks while exploring islands and uncovering a story.
- Resource Management & Gathering (weight 0.35): Players must manage fundamental survival mechanics such as hunger and thirst, which are constant concerns, especially in the early game. Resource gathering is primarily done by using a hook to collect floating debris and by scavenging islands for materials, which are then used for crafting essential tools and structures.
- Flexible Difficulty & Replayability (weight 0.28): The game offers various difficulty settings, from peaceful to hard, catering to different playstyles. While initial gameplay can be challenging, progression makes survival easier, allowing players to focus on exploration and building. The game also provides significant replayability and freedom, with an infinite playtime option after the story.
- Constant Shark Threat (weight 0.24): A persistent shark, often named Bruce, is a primary antagonist that constantly circles the raft, attacking its foundations and players in the water. Players must craft weapons and develop strategies to defend against these attacks, which are a continuous threat throughout the game.
- Extensive Raft Customization (weight 0.2): A central aspect of the game is the extensive building and customization of the raft. Players can transform their initial small platform into multi-story floating fortresses, complete with farms, production facilities, and decorative elements, offering significant creative freedom.
- Significant Grind for Completion (weight 0.08): The game involves a significant amount of grinding for resources, especially for full completion or extensive raft development. While the main story can be completed in a reasonable time, achieving all achievements or building a massive raft can require hundreds of hours of gameplay.
- Animal Farming & Taming (weight 0.05): Beyond basic survival, players can engage in animal farming, taming creatures like chickens, alpacas, and goats. This adds another layer to resource management and base development, allowing for self-sufficiency in food and other materials.

Performance notes:
- Mixed Performance & Optimization (weight 0.15): Player feedback on performance is mixed. While many report the game runs well on low-to-mid spec PCs and even integrated graphics, others experience significant lag and FPS drops, especially on larger rafts or story islands. Some suggest optimization issues, particularly for more modest systems, and note that the game can cause PCs to run hot or even crash, though some workarounds exist.
- Minor Bugs & Glitches (weight 0.06): Most players report very few or minor bugs, with some not noticing any at all. However, specific instances of bugs include radar malfunctions, occasional game freezes, and rare visual glitches like fish floating or cloned sharks. The overall sentiment is that bugs are not a major issue.
- Inconsistent Loading Times (weight 0.02): Feedback on loading times is contradictory, with some players experiencing long loading times and issues, while others report generally short loading times.
- Moderate Game Size (weight 0.01): Players note that the game's file size is moderate and not excessively large, considering it 'old fashioned' in a positive sense.
- Stable Save System (weight 0): The game's save system is reported to be stable by players.
- Post-Story Continuation (weight 0): The game allows players to continue playing even after completing the main story.
- Cloud-Only Dedicated Servers (weight 0): Dedicated server hosting for the game is currently only available via cloud services.

Recommendations:
- Highly Recommended, Especially Co-op (weight 0.6): The game is highly recommended by players, especially for its cooperative multiplayer experience. It's praised for its unique blend of survival, building, and exploration, offering an engaging and memorable adventure.
- Ideal for Survival & Building Fans (weight 0.55): The game is well-suited for fans of survival, crafting, and base-building genres, particularly those who enjoy a more relaxed pace. While primarily recommended for co-op, it can also be enjoyed solo, though some find it less engaging alone.
- Strong Positive Player Ratings (weight 0.1): Player ratings for the game are overwhelmingly positive, with many reviewers giving it high scores (e.g., 9/10, 10/10). This indicates a strong overall satisfaction with the game's quality and experience.
- Can Be Frustrating/Passive Play (weight 0.01): A small portion of feedback suggests the game can be frustrating or better experienced passively, like watching a streamer, rather than actively playing.

Other player notes:
- Demand for more content/sequel (weight 0.18): Players express a strong desire for more content, including story updates, new chapters, and general gameplay additions. There's also significant interest in a sequel or major expansion, indicating a wish for the game's continued evolution beyond its current state.
- Relaxing atmosphere & accessibility (weight 0.13): The game is praised for its calm, relaxing, and family-friendly atmosphere, often described as casual and not overly stressful. Its minimalistic yet beautiful graphics are appreciated, and it's noted for being well-optimized and accessible on lower-end PCs.
- Best experienced with friends (weight 0.12): While the game offers a decent lifespan, many players emphasize that the experience is significantly enhanced when played with friends. There's a clear preference for cooperative play, with some finding the solo experience less engaging or even depressing.
- Excellent sound and music (weight 0.03): The game's sound design and soundtrack are consistently praised for complementing the overall atmosphere and enhancing the sense of adventure and immersion.
- Minecraft-like with few bugs (weight 0.02): The game is frequently compared to 'Minecraft on the ocean' due to its survival and building mechanics. Players note its relatively low number of bugs, though some minor issues like getting stuck or disappearing items are mentioned.
- Weak voice acting, no in-game chat (weight 0.02): The voice acting is identified as a weak point, with issues like exaggerated accents and inconsistent audio quality. Players also suggest adding in-game voice chat for better communication.
- Requests for new building options (weight 0.02): Players have specific requests for new building options and mechanics, such as functional walls to block water, glass windows for realism, underwater building capabilities, and rope ladders for easier movement.
- Causes motion/seasickness for some (weight 0.01): Some players experience motion or seasickness while playing, indicating a need for awareness or further improvements to the 'seasick option' to mitigate this issue.
- Irrelevant 'Dark Souls 2' feedback (weight 0.01): This cluster contains feedback entirely unrelated to the game being reviewed, focusing instead on 'Dark Souls 2'. This feedback is irrelevant to the current analysis.
- Environmental story, ironic pollution (weight 0.01): The game's story is noted for its post-apocalyptic environmental themes, with some players observing an ironic encouragement of pollution through its scavenging mechanics.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.29): Players felt satisfied by the game's overall quality, engaging gameplay, and the sense of accomplishment derived from building, progressing, and exploring. The unique concept, immersive atmosphere, and cooperative play also contributed significantly to this positive emotion.
- Frustration (weight 0.13): Frustration stemmed primarily from persistent bugs, performance issues, and multiplayer connection problems. Players also found the constant resource management, repetitive grind, and aggressive enemy behavior (especially the shark) to be significant sources of annoyance and difficulty.
- Joy (weight 0.1): Joy was frequently experienced through cooperative multiplayer, allowing friends and family to share the adventure, building, and exploration. The game's fun gameplay, progression, and creative freedom also contributed to a generally enjoyable and memorable experience.
- Excitement (weight 0.09): Excitement was driven by the thrill of adventure, new discoveries, and the engaging gameplay loop, particularly in co-op. The anticipation of future updates, challenging encounters, and the addictive nature of progression also contributed to this feeling.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.08): Players found enjoyment in the game's core survivalcraft mechanics, including building, exploration, and resource balancing, especially when playing with friends. The immersive atmosphere, interesting story, and overall fun nature of the game also contributed to a positive experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.08): Disappointment arose from the perceived lack of endgame content, repetitive solo gameplay, and unfulfilled potential, particularly regarding story continuation and updates. Bugs, multiplayer issues, and a perceived lack of depth in certain mechanics also contributed to this negative emotion.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Boredom was primarily caused by repetitive tasks and a perceived lack of depth, especially when playing alone or after completing the main story. The monotonous gameplay loop and uninteresting exploration also contributed to this feeling.
- Amusement (weight 0.02): Amusement often came from humorous in-game situations, particularly interactions with the shark and chaotic multiplayer moments. Players also found humor in exaggerated enemy descriptions and the game's overall quirky premise.
- Anger (weight 0.02): Anger was primarily triggered by persistent multiplayer connection issues, unaddressed bugs, and perceived poor design choices by developers. Loss of progress and a feeling of wasted time due to technical problems also contributed to this strong negative emotion.
- Engagement (weight 0.02): Players felt engaged by the game's addictive core loop, dynamic threats, and the constant sense of discovery and progression. The ability to lose track of time while building and exploring also highlighted the game's captivating nature.
- Relaxation (weight 0.01): Relaxation was found in the game's serene atmosphere, peaceful building, and the calming sounds of the ocean. The game's ability to distract from real-world problems and provide a tranquil experience, especially in solo play, contributed to this feeling.
- Love (weight 0.01): Players expressed deep affection for the game, citing its overall quality, lasting appeal, and engaging gameplay features. This emotion often stemmed from a strong positive overall experience with the game.
- Calmness (weight 0.01): Calmness was experienced through the game's peaceful atmosphere, soothing music, and tranquil gameplay, particularly during resource gathering and building. The relaxing nature of the survival elements also contributed to a zen-like experience.
- Annoyance (weight 0.01): Annoyance was frequently caused by the persistent shark attacks, the constant need to manage hunger and thirst, and the repetitive nature of certain enemies like birds. Tedious progression systems and minor UI issues also contributed to this irritation.
- Hope (weight 0.01): Hope was primarily driven by the desire for future content, updates, and improvements to the game. Players expressed optimism for new features, DLC, and the game's potential to bring people together.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Players were surprised by the game exceeding their expectations, particularly regarding its engaging storyline and the unexpected amount of content. The game's ability to draw in non-gamers and the unexpected difficulty also contributed to this emotion.
- Desire (weight 0.01): Desire was expressed for specific new features, more content, and frequent updates to the game. Players also wished for more weapon variety, realistic physics, and continued story progression.
- Addiction (weight 0.01): Players felt addicted to the game due to its engaging nature, short reward loops, and the constant drive to collect resources and explore. The game's ability to make players lose track of time highlighted its highly captivating quality.
- Challenge (weight 0.01): Challenge arose from the game's difficulty, particularly in normal mode, and the initial struggle with survival mechanics and resource management. Fighting the shark and navigating tricky puzzles also contributed to this feeling.
- Sadness (weight 0.01): Sadness was felt when nearing or completing the story, indicating a desire for more content. Loss of progress due to bugs or corrupted save files, as well as the game losing popularity or friends no longer playing, also caused this emotion.}