Havendock

by YYZ, Different Tales, IndieArk

The Developer Says...

Breathe easy and thrive in this cozy colony sim. Build a haven for castaways, manage resources, live your best life on the ocean. Lead your humble settlement into a high-tech society.

Players Like...

❤ Gameplay Overview

The game casts you as a shipwrecked survivor tasked with building a thriving settlement in the middle of the sea. You attract and manage a group of settlers, striving to meet their needs for food, water, and shelter. While primarily a single-player experience, the game also includes an experimental co-op mode, though reviewers caution that it is currently quite buggy.

❤ Resource Management and Automation

At the heart of the gameplay is efficient resource management. You must constantly scavenge floating debris to gather the water, food, and raw materials needed to sustain and expand your settlement. Over time, the specific resources required and the methods for obtaining them evolve, maintaining a sense of progression. A standout mechanic is the ability to automate many resource-gathering tasks. Early on, you must manually collect and process resources, but as your settlement grows, you can assign settlers to handle jobs like fishing, farming, and operating machinery. This frees you up to focus on higher-level planning and unlocking new technologies. Reviewers praise this automation system, noting it prevents the game from devolving into repetitive busywork.

❤ Progression and Technology Tree

Progression is driven by a robust technology tree that unlocks new buildings, devices, and capabilities. As you research advancements, you gain access to increasingly sophisticated tools, from simple water distillers to complex robotics and even a submarine for underwater exploration. Reviewers highlight the sense of discovery and expansion as they chart their path through this technology tree, even if the specific ordering of unlocks can seem "bizarre" at times.

❤ Exploration and Expansion

Beyond just building up your settlement, you can also construct boats and submarines to venture out and explore the surrounding ocean. This allows you to reach nearby islands, gather additional resources, and uncover new challenges and opportunities. Reviewers appreciate how this exploration element adds depth and a sense of discovery to the gameplay, though some feel the invisible boundaries restricting travel are a bit jarring.

❤ Difficulty and Pacing

The gameplay is generally described as relaxing and casual, with a difficulty level that facilitates a steady sense of progress. The resource management and automation mechanics prevent the game from becoming overly punishing, though some reviewers feel it could benefit from more challenging elements or a greater sense of urgency to avoid repetitiveness, especially in the later stages. Fortunately, the game allows you to customize the experience by adjusting settings like weather, disasters, and even character death, giving you control over the difficulty and pacing to suit your preferences.

❤ Community and Feedback

A standout aspect highlighted by reviewers is the positive relationship between the developers and the community. The developers are praised for their responsiveness to bug reports and player feedback, as well as their commitment to ongoing updates and improvements. This level of engagement has fostered a sense of optimism about the game's future development and potential.

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