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Progression in Stranded Deep is both satisfying and sensible, as it always incentivises the player with things to do. In Stranded Deep however, such concerns are always front and center, as your handy smart watch allows you to keep track of your vitals. In other games of similar ilk, the micro-management of such aspects of your well being can seem a touch tedious when you’re having to deal with aggressive enemies or other elements of the game that drag your attention away. Luckily, if you can find yourself some shade under a leafy tree or other such cover, you can recover fairly quickly. Though Stranded Deep’s crafting and combat systems are all fairly standard for the genre, it’s really in the nuance of things that the game starts to stand out.Įven though Stranded Deep’s insistence that the player stay fed, rested and hydrated are hardly revelations for the genre, players must also deal with overexposure to sunlight too – as spending too long getting hammered UVs can result in sluggishness and, if left untreated for too long, death. Ultimately, the main thrust of Stranded Deep’s appeal is that it does a good job of making you feel like you’ve not just been stranded on a desert island, but also in the sheer amount of other stuff that you have to do in order to surprise.
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Despite the odd bit of physics jank, Stranded Deep can still be quite the looker on PS4. Though it’s something of a shopworn mechanic at this point, it nonetheless makes a lot of sense in the context of Stranded Deep. Speaking of progression, Stranded Deep very much subscribes to the Skyrim school of such matters, meaning that the more you do something such as crafting, swimming and other activities, the better you get at doing them. If such a spectacle elicits memories of fellow sandbox survivalist effort I’d not blame you, but thankfully there are no multi-limbed mutant cannibals trying to tear you limb from limb here. Stranded Deep begins in a fashion that is hardly unlike other sandbox survival sim in so far as you find yourself on a commercial plane before said plane takes a nose dive into the drink and you must escape, securing a life raft in a bid to spirit yourself away to the safety of the nearest deserted island in order to eek out a new feral existence. Stranded Deep PS4 Game Review A Welcoming And Solid If Flawed Open World Survival Effort Certainly, after just a few hours with the survivalist focused title in its PlayStation 4 incarnation, it’s easy to see why – even if Stranded Deep on PS4 does suffer from some UI issues and a comparative lack of content compared to its older PC counterpart. Despite being relegated to the darkness of PC early access for the better part of a half decade, interest in Stranded Deep’s survivalist sandbox beats has nonetheless remained unusually high.
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