Raft Torrent is a survival game developed by Redbeet Interactive and published by Axolot Games. Raft isn’t just about creating and enduring; it unfolds as an intriguing enigma to unravel with a narrative that gradually unveils itself. Drifting from one island to another, felling spare trees for timber, and extracting minerals from the seabed eventually enabled me to manufacture technology such as a wireless receiver, a cell, and a few antennas.
A signal then guided me to a mysterious, decaying radio tower emerging from the sea, and the evidence I collected there provided a blip on my radar screen. This directed me to another location to investigate, plunder, and acquire coordinates to the subsequent narrative site. The journey that initially started as purposeless drifting now had specific destinations to concentrate on, imbuing all that crafting with a purpose beyond merely catching sufficient fish to stave off hunger.
Upon entering Raft Torrent, players discover themselves on a singular block of timber floating in an apparently boundless body of water. Armed only with a plastic hook, players must amass resources to stay alive and construct a shelter—the raft. The game offers minimal tutorial guidance, plunging you in and urging you to figure out the rest independently. Instinctively, I began casting my hook into the water, hauling in wooden planks, plastic receptacles, and palm fronds drifting by. Before long, I fashioned a Building Hammer, expanding my raft by adding foundations and creating additional space for other beneficial items.
Over time, you must monitor your hunger and thirst gauges. If either depletes, your health gradually diminishes. Although the player is perpetually surrounded by water, satisfying your thirst isn’t as straightforward as scooping up ocean water for a sip. You must construct a purifier to make it potable. Regarding sustenance, the game presents various options, from cultivation to angling and hunting. Initially, the majority of your time is spent frantically managing hunger and thirst, as they deplete rapidly. Nevertheless, you eventually settle into a smooth routine, and that’s when the enjoyment commences.
Sharks serve as the primary adversaries in Raft. They materialize around your raft, with one almost always within seconds whenever you enter the water. Typically, you can dispatch them after repetitive jabs with a spear or shots with an arrow. After a while, I found sharks to be more bothersome than threatening.
Even when you eliminate a shark, it only affords you 1-2 minutes of respite before another emerges nearby. While I comprehend this is implemented to keep players vigilant, it seems excessive. Once I established a more sophisticated arrangement, dispatching sharks wasn’t very challenging, and it felt tedious whenever I wished to explore the water. Additionally, sharks should evoke a formidable presence; a reduced spawn rate, coupled with perhaps heightened strength, would render shark encounters less arbitrary and more rewarding.
Raft Torrent stands out as one of the most enchanting survival games I’ve experienced. Merely standing on my raft as it glides over the waves through an infinite body of water is genuinely tranquil. There’s also a profound sense of accomplishment and pride every time I launch into the game and witness what I’ve constructed. It’s a straightforward recommendation for survival enthusiasts who may have hesitated to delve into early access, as well as those newly discovering the game.
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Raft PC/System Requirements
- OS: Windows 7/8/10/11
- Processor: Intel Core i5 2.6GHz
- Memory: 6 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 700 series
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 10 GB available space
