The Survivalists - Review PC Steam

The Survivalists is a survival sandbox that trades bleakness for breezy chaos, offering a colourful island adventure where the stakes are low but the charm is high. It’s a game that thrives on emergent stories and collapses a little under its own repetition. When it works, it feels like a warm, playful escape; when it doesn’t, you’re mostly wrestling with the UI or yelling at a monkey who has decided to dismantle your base plank by plank.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3BrqUt4w28

The opening hours are where the game shines brightest. You wake up on a beach with nothing but sand in your hair and a coconut that will become both sustenance and emotional support. There’s no dramatic setup, no lore to decode, just the gentle rhythm of gathering driftwood, crafting your first tools, and slowly expanding your footprint on the island. The world is inviting and bright, full of wildlife, ruins, and the occasional boar that seems personally offended by your existence. It’s a familiar survival loop, but the tone is lighter and more playful than most games in the genre, making the early game feel cosy rather than punishing.

The standout mechanic, of course, is the monkey automation system. Recruiting monkeys and teaching them tasks by example gives the game its identity and its most memorable moments. When everything clicks, watching a dozen monkeys chop trees, craft tools, and build structures while you explore feels genuinely magical. It’s like running a tiny, coconut‑powered production line staffed entirely by enthusiastic interns. But the system is also fragile. Monkey AI can be inconsistent, training them requires repetitive fiddling, and complex tasks often break down in ways that are more frustrating than funny. Combat monkeys, in particular, have the survival instincts of a damp paper bag. The mechanic is clever and full of personality, but it never quite reaches the precision or reliability it needs to carry the entire game.

Exploration and combat round out the experience, though both lean toward simplicity. The procedurally generated islands offer beaches, jungles, caves, and ruins, but the biomes repeat quickly and the sense of discovery fades sooner than you’d hope. Combat is functional but shallow, relying on basic swings and dodge rolls while your monkeys either help or accidentally start a small war. Treasure maps and dungeon‑like areas add variety, but they feel more like side amusements than core pillars of the experience.

Crafting and progression follow the standard survival blueprint: gather, craft, unlock, build, repeat. The tech tree is straightforward, and while the early progression feels satisfying, the mid‑game becomes noticeably grindy. Without monkeys, it’s a slog; with monkeys, it’s manageable but chaotic. The game’s systems never quite evolve enough to keep the loop fresh over long sessions, and the repetition becomes hard to ignore once the novelty wears off.

Visually, The Survivalists is a delight. Its bright, cartoonish art style and breezy soundtrack create a warm, inviting atmosphere that makes even the most chaotic moments feel lighthearted. It’s a world you want to spend time in, even when everything is going wrong. And if you play in co‑op, the game transforms into something far more entertaining. The rough edges feel softer when you’re laughing with friends as someone accidentally trains a monkey to dismantle the camp or leads a horde of enemies straight into your carefully organised base.

Still, the game’s limitations are hard to overlook. Repetition sets in early, the automation system is both brilliant and brittle, and the mid‑game grind can feel like busywork. It’s a game full of charm but not depth. It's a delightful weekend escape rather than a long‑term survival obsession.

Pros

• Charming art and tone

• Monkey automation is unique and often delightful

• Great co‑op experience

• Relaxed survival loop

• Fun early‑game discovery

Cons

• Repetitive mid‑game

• Monkey AI can be frustrating

• Shallow combat

• Limited biome variety

• UI quirks and fiddly controls

The Survivalists is a game built on charm, personality, and a genuinely inventive twist on the survival formula. Its monkey‑automation system gives it a unique identity, and its bright, inviting world makes it easy to settle into for a few hours at a time. But it’s also a game that struggles to maintain momentum. The repetition creeps in early, the systems never quite deepen in the way you hope, and the mid‑game grind exposes the limits of its design. Still, there’s something undeniably endearing about its chaos, especially when shared with friends. It’s a warm, slightly messy island getaway that delivers memorable moments even if it can’t sustain them forever.

XPN Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (SILVER)

The Survivalists is available now!