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0 The Last Caretaker is a first-person crafting survival game by developers Channel37. Embark upon a voyage on the vast planet-wide ocean while searching for clues to restore humanity. Explore, craft, and survive against rogue robots and a corruption spread across everything. The game is available starting November 6ths on Steam and the Epic Games store, with a later date planned for consoles.
Last and Lonely Caretaker
There have been so many survival crafting games over the past ten years or so that I’ve lost count. Too many involve zombies. Even more involve some facet of PvP as a core mechanic. But The Last Caretaker looks a bit different. A bit less jumpy and much more inquisitive. So what are my thoughts on the game as it hits early access? Check them out below.
Gameplay
The Last Caretaker is a single player, first-person crafting survival game about the fate of humanity. The world has become one giant ocean and you’ve been awoken as a component of greater purpose. After getting your bearings and getting down to the ship below, sail off to discover all that is left.
Core survival mechanics are present right from the start. As The Last Caretaker, getting things up and running wasn’t too difficult of a puzzle to solve. I certainly appreciate a survival crafting game that doesn’t make me quit in frustration from dying immediately upon spawning. And as I did eventually find, dying isn’t too overly dramatic either.
One mechanic I’d say that has been most difficult to functionally understand thus far has been power. Crafting what I thought were solar panels, I have them hooked directly to my ship but they generate almost nothing. A wind generator is the same so it is not clear to me what I am missing. Even after finding how to control the flow of energy. But as of the moment I’m kind of just stuck on my boat, unable to power myself, it or the beacon I managed to arrive at.
Graphics & Audio
There aren’t a whole lot of options currently for graphics settings in The Last Caretaker. Just an overall setting as well as a few other sliders, like for motion blur. That down to about 30% from 50 seems to be a decent spot. The game art and aesthetic itself is highly detailed, adding further depth to the isolated, barren remains of the planet. The user interface also maintains a simplistic style without appearing to be a direct copy and paste from a basic “crafting survival” asset set.
The audio track in The Last Caretaker is beautiful. I provides a calming ambient background with only a slight heightening of tension where appropriate.
Longevity
I haven’t had nearly enough time with The Last Caretaker yet. There’s definitely a story to follow and a lot of items to collect to add to your vault. It’s a single-player game, so there’s no reason not to take it at your own pace. I could see easily spending at least 40-50 hours in the game before seeing much progress in the story. Instead I’ll be off on some random tangent while forgetting completely what it was I was even doing.
Final Thoughts
The Last Caretaker is a simple survival crafter for a more casual experience. It has both a beautiful and engaging environment, setting and aesthetic in addition to an intriguing storyline that leaves me wanting to know more. The physics-based core survival mechanics are familiar enough to pick up on easily. I’m looking forward to spending more time sailing across the sea and if you’re looking for a new survival game you should too.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
If you enjoy this review, be sure to check out my other reviews here.
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