I’ve previewed and reviewed a bunch of survival video games over time. Every one tries to do one thing a bit completely different to face out from the gang, and Survival: Fountain of Youth isn’t any exception. The distinctive options of this sport definitely intrigued me once I performed it through the Subsequent Fest in Summer time 2022 and I used to be anxious to dive right into a extra full model of the sport.
Survival: Fountain of Youth is about someday within the early 1500s. You’re a anonymous crew member who has joined Ponce de Leon’s expedition to the Caribbean and Florida seeking the titular magical fountain. Sadly, issues go awry and your ship shatters to items, depositing you on the seaside
A Legendary Journey
Your journey begins on the doomed ship that is carrying you over the ocean. A fireplace breaks out and also you’re trapped — the one solution to security is thru a damaged window. Earlier than you dive out, although, you may have to decide on your beginning tools.
There are a complete of 10 gadgets to select from, and every one in every of them is helpful. You might take the Leather-based Backpack and improve your stock measurement. Maybe you might play it protected and take the Bag of Drugs in case you get sick. Or, as a substitute, you might play it actually protected and take the Pistol with ammo.
You may solely choose two gadgets to take with you — or three, in the event you’re enjoying on Straightforward problem — and that is the primary problem that you will have to face. I think about that the restricted choice represents grabbing a couple of issues in a rush earlier than the hearth consumes the ship. I made my typical alternative of the Iron Axe and Iron Flint and dove into the water.
Taking Your Time
With the intro over, the sport itself begins correct. You awake on a seaside of an unknown island, surrounded by crabs and coconuts. It isn’t instantly apparent, however you might be positively on the clock in Survival: Fountain of Youth.
Illness and damage are one of many challenges on this sport, considerably akin to what you see in Inexperienced Hell. You may get a fever, the flu, indigestion, and a bunch of different maladies in the event you make a foul alternative or are merely unfortunate. What’s a bit extra distinctive about this sport, nevertheless, is the addition of environmental elements. The recent Caribbean solar is thrashing down on you, and which means you may get a sunburn with out safety. Proceed to remain within the solar and your damage will worsen, penalizing your stats to a higher diploma.
I am going to fortunately concede that some individuals may not like how Survival: Fountain of Youth forces you to handle your time, however I believe it is a refreshing change from the established order of survival video games.
This gentle time strain isn’t essentially the most attention-grabbing method that the sport makes use of time, although. Motion and fight happen in real-time, however harvesting sources (and performing sure different actions) brings up a dialogue menu. Work together with a tree, harvest some sources, and time will bounce ahead. You will lose some instrument sturdiness, your stats will go down barely (representing the passage of time), and the sources you need are on the bottom.
I am going to fortunately concede that some individuals may not like how Survival: Fountain of Youth forces you to handle your time, however I believe it is a refreshing change from the established order of survival video games. I have not seen very many video games that do one thing like this, and I believe that this one function would make it a sport price exploring — if just for the sheer novelty of it.
Unraveling the Thriller
There’s extra to Survival: Fountain of Youth than, nicely, survival. There’s additionally a narrative to discover — one other welcome respite from the years of storyless survival video games. The island you land on (and the opposite islands within the rapid space) is residence to an historic civilization known as the Bimini. They’ve left behind “chronicles” which depict their mythology, deserted temples, and seemingly magical potions.
The core hook of the story is your try and meet up with Ponce de Leon and determine what occurred to the remainder of the crew. This narrative enhances the survival side, supplying you with a function and at all times pushing you ahead.
Survival: Fountain of Youth offers you a beneficiant quantity of flexibility to find out the way you need to play the sport.
That very same ahead momentum additionally applies to your motion between the islands. After you are completed with the islands within the Fowl Area, you may take a ship on a journey to the Buffalo Area. This second zone has a harsher local weather, more durable enemies, and extra highly effective sources so that you can exploit.
Survival: Fountain of Youth does not drive you to take this path, although. You might, for instance, choose to construct a primary base on the Island of Hope the place you start the sport and quick journey residence anytime you should do some crafting. Alternatively, you might intention for a extra nomadic really feel, constructing a brand new base camp for every new area you discover. Survival: Fountain of Youth offers you a beneficiant quantity of flexibility to find out the way you need to play it.
Survival: Fountain of Youth Preview – Closing Ideas
I progressed to the present endpoint of Survival: Fountain of Youth’s story in only a few hours, although I warning that you just will not have the identical expertise — I had the good thing about a couple of dozen hours of exploring the sport to find what I may about its mechanics. I might estimate that it will take 10 to twenty hours so that you can attain the tip of the at the moment out there content material.
A complete of 5 areas are deliberate, every of which has a number of smaller islands to discover (and some puzzles to resolve, too). The Early Entry launch model ends its story on the third of 4 main islands within the second area, however the whole area is nonetheless open to discover. It is a tantalizing style of what is to return.
Survival: Fountain of Youth might not make any groundbreaking modifications to the survival style, however it’s a fairly stable survival sport as it’s proper now. The time mechanics, illness system, and different distinctive touches make it stand out just a bit greater than the competitors. For those who’re a fan of the survival style, I believe that Survival: Fountain of Youth is nicely price testing.
TechRaptor previewed Survival: Fountain of Youth on PC by way of Steam utilizing a replica offered by the writer.