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Stranded on a changing archipelago, gather, craft, build, and train monkeys to help you survive and find a way to escape.
Released 09 Oct 2020
Teach Monkeys Tasks
Explore Procedural Islands
Raid Island Temples
A living world full of surprises, secrets and danger awaits in The Survivalists, an adventure-filled survival sandbox set in The Escapists universe. Explore, build, craft and even train monkeys with up to three friends in a desperate bid to survive. Have you got what it takes to be a Survivalist?
Developed by Team17 · Published by Team17
You play a castaway trying to survive across a procedurally generated archipelago. Explore different biomes, gather resources, hunt wildlife, take quests, and face hostile creatures as you search the islands for useful supplies and secrets.
Craft food, tools, weapons, and structures from discovered recipes, then build and expand a base. Train monkeys to imitate your actions so they can gather, craft, build, farm, or fight alongside you.
Progress by exploring islands, dungeons, and temples for loot and stronger resources, while preparing for tougher challenges. Play alone or join up to three other players for shared adventures.
Players who enjoy The Survivalists often single out the monkey-training system, which lets them delegate gathering, crafting, building, and fighting, and appreciate the added teamwork of co-op. Reviews also praise its colorful pixel art, music, and relaxed island-adventure feel. Others find the loop repetitive and the monkey controls, inventory, or combat frustrating.
The island is alive! Your newfound home will change with day/night cycles as you explore and uncover its secrets. Hunt (or be hunted by!) animals for food and an array of mythical enemies, who aren’t necessarily pleased to see you. Get quests from a Mysterious Stranger or find them washed up on the shore. Prepare to trek into a procedurally generated wilderness, with a variety of biomes, for an adventure that’s unique to every player.
Finding the perils of island life too much or just looking to share your building expertise with friends? The Survivalists has you covered! Complete joint adventures, gain loot, trade and ultimately survive together and as you and up to three fellow castaways explore fantastical islands.
If you’re in need of a builder, a lumberjack or even a soldier, the monkeys on the island can be tamed and trained to help you with everyday tasks or back you up on raids to a fanatic camp! The Mimic System means a wide variety of functions can be performed by your cheeky new friends, with monkey management becoming key to surviving the island’s challenges.
The secret to survival is to make the most of the resources around you. Whether that’s piecing together a primitive axe to chop wood or mixing up a refreshing fruit smoothie to keep the hunger at bay, you can discover recipes and expand your options across food, item or structure crafting trees.
Looking for an epic sword to hang on your hut wall or want to lay waste to encroaching hostiles? What you seek could be in one of the many temples scattered around the island. However, getting your hands on the loot won’t be easy so any would-be raiders will need to prepare for their treasure hunting escapades.
| Platforms | Windows |
|---|---|
| Achievements | 42 |
| Age ratings |
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| Players | 1–4 |
| Play modes |
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| Other modes |
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| Multiplayer | The game supports single-player and online co-op. Official store text says you can play with up to three friends, implying up to 4 players total. Reviews consistently describe cooperative online play, shared exploration and base building, and easy switching between single-player and online co-op. No provided source mentions PvP, local multiplayer, LAN, split-screen, drop-in/drop-out, persistent world features, or MMO-scale play. |
| Multiplayer & mods | No mod support or multiplayer mod features are mentioned in the provided information. |
| Controller support | Xbox |
| Controller required | No |
| DLC / extras | 4 listed on Steam |
| Content notices |
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| Metacritic | 69/100 View on Metacritic |
| Website | Official website |
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