Katrina Wolff

Raft is a game that reminds me much of the Long Dark. While the setting is, obviously, very different, Raft is a game with a slow pace. That is not to say there is little to do in Raft, as in the early days you will spend the entirety of your time throwing the hook out for materials in between bouts of fishing in order to maintain your hunger. Even as you get a more secure supply of food and water, there seems to always be something more to be done. But as I said, it is a slow paced game. There is no high octane action in Raft and while you have the ever looming presence of the shark or other dangers, it can be a rather relaxing game to play. Discovering your first island is a delightful moment and opens up many new areas of crafting to be researched. The islands themselves are frequent enough to warrant stopping at each one you find, but not so frequent as to feel like they're just being thrown at you. It is a wonderful balance between frequency and rarity that is hard to achieve. While it can be frustrating at the beginning, Raft has absolutely no tutorial that I was able to discover. It does not tell you how to craft, how to research, no even give any hints as to your first steps. This can cause your first night to be a frantic, panicky thing but it was an experience that you rarely see in most games. A quick browse through the settings and controls, however, points you toward how to open your inventory and from there, crafting. There isn't much to say about Raft without spoiling anything except to say that if you don't mind a slower paced game that doesn't throw action at you every couple of minutes, then you might be able to enjoy Raft just as much as I have. For a game developed by a team of three, Raft is a pearl and I'm excited to see where the developers take it next.