Played Flotsam After 6 Years, Here’s What It’s Really Like Now

When a game spends more than half a decade in early access, expectations start to wobble. Some players quietly move on. Others assume the project will never reach the finish line. I was somewhere in the middle. I remembered Flotsam from years ago, mostly the quirky art style and the floating junk-city concept, but not much else.

So when Flotsam finally pushed out its 1.0 release, I decided to jump back in with a fresh two hour session. That is my usual test window for new games, because if a game cannot convince you within that time, it probably never will. It is the same logic behind Steam’s refund policy, and honestly, it holds up surprisingly well.

What I found in those two hours was not the rough, experimental sandbox I remembered. Instead, Flotsam arrived as a surprisingly comfortable colony builder that knows exactly what it wants to be. Light. Charming. Structured just enough to be satisfying without ever squeezing you too tightly.

And yes, I have thoughts. Many of them.

A Return After Six Years, What Has Flotsam Become?

Flotsam has had one of those long, winding early access journeys that can either refine a game or completely derail it. So the biggest surprise is how cohesive the final version feels.

You start with a tiny tugboat, a couple of survivors, and a vague backstory about your old city being washed away. It is a simple setup meant to push you straight into the loop, not a narrative epic with long exposition. The focus is on exploration and rebuilding, not lore.

From the moment you place your first walkways and crafting buildings, the game establishes its identity. It is a city builder, but a floating one. It is a survival game, but a forgiving one. It gives you goals, but never pressures you to sprint.

That balance is hard to pull off, and Flotsam leans into it unapologetically.

A Colony Sim That Feels More Relaxed Than Harsh

I usually play the kind of colony sims that throw disasters at you every ten minutes. RimWorld brutality mode, frostbitten colonists, infections from wild animals. The works. So I went into Flotsam expecting some level of punishment.

That never happened.

Your survivors have hunger, thirst, and morale needs, but nothing in the first two hours feels overwhelming. You never get the sense that everything is about to break. Even when you run low on resources, you simply sail to the next cluster of islands, salvage stations, or floating debris.

There is a comforting rhythm to this. Harvest, refine, expand, explore, repeat. Not too fast, not too slow.

And while that lighter approach would usually make me question the game’s depth, here it makes sense. Flotsam is not pretending to be a hardcore survival experience. It is a floating settlement sim with a gentle learning curve, and it wears that identity proudly.

Exploration Without Loading Screens

One of the most pleasant surprises is how seamless the world feels. You can zoom from your city view into the open ocean without any loading. You can sail across regions, bump into new points of interest, and even accidentally leave a survivor behind. They will simply swim for kilometres to catch up, apparently without complaint.

This is where the game shows its playful side. Flotsam is not here to punish you for mistakes. It is here to let you poke around a drowned world and slowly expand your junk-town at your own pace.

The world map is structured almost like suburbs scattered across an ocean. Scout towers reveal clusters of salvage spots, abandoned structures, survivors, and seaweed farms. It feels familiar if you have played any modern colony builder, but the visual style gives it a unique charm.

The Building Loop, Light Complexity With Clear Feedback

While the systems are not punishing, they are satisfying.

You start with basic drying stations for wet wood. Your survivors literally crank a handle to dry it. Later you unlock proper drying racks, which look just as silly but scale better.

This absurdity works in the game’s favour. It feels handbuilt. Almost toy-like. A bit Theme Hospital, a bit Two Point Hospital. You always have a clear sense of what your people are doing because everything is animated in an exaggerated, readable way.

The production chain follows the same logic. Seaweed becomes a critical resource for both food and crafting. Plastic piles become refined materials. Wet wood becomes building blocks. Every loop is simple to understand and visually clear.

The most interesting part is how your floating city grows. You build walkways outward from your boat, shaping your settlement into whatever layout you prefer.

Over time, you can demolish and rebuild areas as your vision becomes clearer. That rotational rebuilding feels natural and rewarding.

Is It Too Easy? Maybe. Does It Matter? Not Really.

There is a fair question here. Should a colony sim be this relaxed? Should it pressure you more? Should it force harsher decisions?

In some games, the answer would be yes. Difficulty often exposes deeper systems or interesting tension. But in Flotsam, the softness is part of its core identity. It is not pretending to be Frostpunk on water. It is not here to drown you in disasters.

It is here to let you settle into a rhythm and enjoy a floating settlement that slowly comes to life.

If anything, the comfortable pacing makes Flotsam feel like a perfect middle ground between a sandbox builder and a cozy management game. It is a palate cleanser. Something to play between heavier, more stressful titles.

And honestly, not every game needs to be a thousand hour commitment. Some of the best experiences are the ones you play for a week, finish once, and walk away happy.

Where Does The Game Go From Here?

By the end of my session, I had reached the edges of one region and was steadily exhausting resources. Eventually, the game will need to escalate in some way. Maybe scarcity becomes sharper. Maybe new threats appear. Maybe the world map opens up further.

For now, the foundation is strong. The gameplay loop is enjoyable. The progression makes sense. The tone is consistent.

If the full game ends up being a 6 to 12 hour experience, I think that is completely fine. Not every colony sim needs to be an infinite sandbox. Some of them are better when they respect your time and aim for a complete, curated experience.

Flotsam feels like it falls into that category.

A Light But Surprisingly Charming Survival City Builder

After six years of development, Flotsam could have easily collapsed under its own weight. Instead, it emerges as a relaxed, charming, comfortable colony sim that knows exactly what it wants to be.

It is not hardcore. It is not punishing. It is not pretending to be something it is not.

It is a simple, satisfying settlement builder set atop a beautifully stylized ocean world.

If you enjoy:

• Base building without heavy stress
• Clear production loops
• Gentle survival elements
• Charming animations
• A floating-city aesthetic

Then Flotsam might be exactly the kind of break you need.

I walked away from my first two hours with a smile, and that is more than I can say for a lot of early access survivors.

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