Announced today by CEO of Redbeet Interactive André Bengtsson, Raft will be launching in Steam Early Access on May 23 as part of a deal with Scrap Mechanic publisher Axolot Games. The game sees players wake on a small raft in the middle of the ocean, armed with nothing but a plastic hook. Gathering resources form the water around them, players will learn to cook and farm as well as turn their raft from a few pieces of wood into their own floating kingdom, all while avoiding those pesky sharks. The announcement trailer can be seen below.
Redbeet Interactive are based in Sweden, the country that bought us arguably the most famous survival/construction game of all time in Minecraft, and have been working on Raft for some time, initially launching the title as a free prototype on itch.io back in 2016. Since then the developer has been making regular updates to the title, improving graphics and gameplay mechanics, as well as adding new content.
When the game does see release on Steam Early Access in May it will be a major upgrade from the last version seen on itch.io last year. Not only will it feature the a new art style and new locations to explore, some of which will be underwater, the game will also have a multiplayer feature so players can work together to survive on the open sea. Redbeet Interactive expressed its excitement for the games growth in early access in a statement released today
With all things considered, Raft looks like a game that will thrive in Steam Early Access. Assuming for a second the game doesn’t suffer from connection and replay-ability issues plaguing another recent sea-faring game, the fun premise is sure to appeal to those looking for some simple fun and build off the five million plus downloads the alpha already has.
Raft will be released on May 23rd, 2018 for PC through Steam Early Access.
