A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from a developer asking me to play their new game called Nautical Survival. I didn't have time to check it out back then so I postponed it for a while. Now that I've had a chance to sit down and play it for a few hours I can say that I'm absolutely in love with this game.
What is Nautical Survival?
Nautical Survival is a roguelite auto-shooter much in the style of Halls of Torment and Death Must Die but with enough unique elements to set it apart from the competition. It's nautically themed, meaning you drive around in different kinds of boats while fending off fish, crabs and squids that try to take you down.
Each run takes roughly 20 minutes to complete and consists of 20 waves. Each wave lasts for roughly a minute and you get a short intermission between each wave. When starting your run you have to choose between a number of boats to use on your run. Each boat has a different set of starting weapons you can choose between and a different crew member onboard. Different crew members have different perks to help you on your runs.
Around the map there's scattered a bunch of buildings that you can visit and interract with. There's the shop that lets you upgrade existing and buy new weapons. There's a factory that produces money for you and a garage that heals you. All of these can be upgraded to give you better effects throughout your runs.
Heaps of fun
I've put roughly 5 hours into Nautical Survival so far and I've had fun for every minute of that time. It's been really fun to explore all the different boats and crew members and discover unique synergies between them. All of the boats feel different and the perks and stats of each boat means you have to approach the game differently for each one. That's something really enjoyable.
I also thing the game looks great. It's using pixel art in a really charming style with colors that pop. You can also change the color palette at any time in the settings to give the game a fresh look at any time. It's a small but decent feature.
I'm also impressed with the developer of this game. It's made by a solo developer and it's clear that he really loves his game. He spent roughly two hours in my Twitch chat while I was playing it today answering my questions and just being a good sport.
Wishlist it now!
Currently Nautical Survival can only be played as a demo version. The developer needs 7000 wishlists for the game on Steam to be able to release it into early access. If you think this game looks decent then do put it on your wishlist here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2860990/Nautical_Survival. The developer isn't paying me to create content about the game. I'm only spreading awareness because I enjoy the game and want to see it grow bigger with more content added to it.
My two hour stream session of the game can be seen in the video below, alongside all my interactions with the developer. Check it out to see what the game is about.
https://youtube.com/live/KAmSzxeuZJk?feature=share
All images in this post are screenshots taken by me.
Wow, this game looks fun, the last game I played of the genre was Vampire Survivors, so I guess this must be just as cool if you liked it, I liked it too.
It still has a way to go to reach Vampire Survivors standards. Hopefully it will get there.
This game looks fun! I've enjoyed watching how creative top down games can get and Nautical Survivor seems like it could do much the same. I wishlisted on Steam and hope the team meets their quota on wishlisters!
Thank you for sharing information and your experience with this early access game.
Awesome that you wishlisted it. It's got good potential, especially when the developer is as invested as he is here.
Hey, this is a cool introductory review of Nautical Survival, for me looks like a really fun and engaging roguelite shooter (y) and it's cool that it has its own unique nautical theme :) . The variety of boats and crew members, along with the charming pixel art, definitely sounds appealing for me. And it's always a plus that a game have a dev that is so involved with the community.
Regards.
Agree on all points.
Interesting mechanics, so you do your best to roam around while your boat auto-shoots the closest danger, and the longer you survive and collect things the more upgrades you get. Gonna write this down I usually enjoy roguelite games, even more if the graphics style is pixel based.
It really got you, 2 hours+ of gameplay says a lot :)
#wishlisted