Raft sails out of early access after four years with a huge update
Survival on a raft, with co-op support
Last time I played Raft, it was a small but solid survival game about hauling rubbish from the ocean to expand your little slab of planks into a roaming home and farm while fending off hungry sharks. That was maybe 2018. Now, Raft has finally launched out of early access and whoa what is this game now? Undersea cities to explore? Utopian biodomes? A whole post-apocalyptic story? Friendly wildlife like whales and turtles? More murderous fish? Have a look at the cooperative survival wonders in the new trailer, below.
Raft debuted as a pay-what-you-want prototype doodad in December 2016, and even then it was fun. A formal Steam Early Access launch followed in May 2018, and it was fun then too. John Walker said at the time, "Once it's filled with a few dozen more features, this'll be one of the best survival-me-dos out there." Well! The developers, Redbeet Interactive have added features aplenty since then.
The launch update alone is huge. It adds: the end of the story; a rewriting of the old story with voice acting for notes; sunken towers that failed to save the rich; an icy land with a remote research back; a lovely land of geodesic domes; new foes in the form of anglerfish, bitey beetles, polar bears, hyenas, and more; new playable characters; automated trading posts; new devices including a juicer, electric grill, and wind turbine; new weapons; new survival tools; a new type of pillar to prop up a second floor without obscuring your view with loads of pillars; more; more; more. Goodness me.
Now I think, I don't think Raft had even added multiplayer last time I saw. How's it come along since then, gang? Seems to be storming Steam's player reviews, so I'm guessing good?
Raft is available from Steam, with a 15% launch discount bringing the price down to £12.74/€16.99/$16.99 until the 7th of July.