I got so lost in playing Raft that I actually forgot what day it was and that I had forgotten to post something on this website. So, I will be talking about me, losing it, in my first seven hours of Raft.

Raft is an adventure game from Redbeet Interactive and published under Axolot Games. The game is available for PC, fully released in July of 2022, and retails for $20.

I don’t know what the story is here. It looks like the world has ended by something like a flood and you are looking for your sister? All I know is that the game starts you off on a tiny raft with nothing but thirst and hunger and it is up to you to collect the necessary parts for an antenna and receiver to find your way around this watery world.

Time to do the survival thing once again. As you sail on your piece of wood, debris floats by and you collect it, then craft that into something far more critical. Planks make wood, palm leaves make rope and salvage will eventually make bolts, etc. The first item made will be a hook so that you can hook those resources into your hands.

The hook is something of a wonder. It is something that seems so easy to use but at the start of the game, when you have to judge distance for the first time, you will miss a bunch, but you will learn to master the hook.

Crafting is another facet of the game that I found to be the most accessible. Tab opens up a menu that has more tabs that have an icon that corresponds to the desired necessity (snorkel for diving, food item for food, bolt for resources, etc).

Hunger and thirty are a thing, as do most survival games. Craft a fishing pole, grill and a water purifier to combat the main antagonist of the game, the survival mechanics. I almost died because I was not aware of how quickly the hunger and thirst meters go down.

As you play the game and figure things out, like sailing and how to reach islands, Bruce the shark circles you and takes a bite out of you and your raft every once and a while. While Bruce looks like to be a persistent enemy, he really does not make the game more difficult. Bruce is just a nuisance.

Raft is easy to learn, but incredibly difficult to master.

The game looks pretty decent. The sky and water are a beautiful blue while islands and underwater segments have loads of greenery. The game is easy on the eyes, except for when you play it for longer than two hours in one sitting, which makes it even more relaxing to play for longer sessions.

I should never play survival games. I put so much time into the game and literally get nowhere. I just like to turn on a podcast and play the game. Raft starts out a slow burn experience with trying to figure out how to get your raft moving and by my seventh hour I am trying to craft smelter to craft all the things to get to the first part of the story. I also did not read the screen as I was looking for templates to create walls and stairs for my raft. Come to find out all I had to do was use the right mouse button to cycle through the options.

I am ashamed of where I am in the seventh hour of my game of Raft. I have been having so much fun with building my raft, collecting resources, and trying to stay alive that I forgot about making the receiver and antenna to forward the fucking game.

I really just cannot wait to end this article and play more of the game. It is so simple yet so difficult to master. I can see myself putting a TON of hours into Raft, which is pretty scary.