Sunkenland
I didn’t go looking for this game. I got ambushed at work and asked what I was playing, and somehow ended up recommending it to my boss. That’s probably the most honest endorsement I can give: Sunkenland snuck up on me, and I keep going back to it even when I can’t fully explain why.
What Tracy Loves About the Game
The core concept is genuinely clever. Picture Waterworld — yes, the Kevin Costner one — but as a survival game. The world is mostly submerged, with scattered islands, half-sunken buildings, and flooded city streets hiding everything from bullets to scrap metal to glass. That post-apocalyptic atmosphere really lands, especially when you’re diving down to loot a police car or scavenging through a submerged police station hoping to come up with something useful.
The progression system hits the right notes. You start out with spears and bows, but gradually work your way up to proper firearms, better armour, and increasingly impressive vehicles. There’s a jet ski blueprint out there if you’re willing to hunt for it, and the thought of zipping around on one while everyone else is paddling is genuinely motivating. You can also build and upgrade sailboats and — apparently — gyrocopters, which are exactly as chaotic to fly as they sound.
The flexibility of how you set up your world is a big plus too. You can go full solo, configure the world exactly the way you want before starting, or jump into an existing world with other players. It’s the kind of game that works as a solo palate cleanser just as well as it does with a group of people you actually know and trust. The emphasis there being on people you know — strangers are a whole different situation.
There’s also something satisfying about the base building and defence loop. You’re not just surviving; you’re fortifying. Mutants, pirates, rival factions — they’ll all come for you eventually, and preparing for that is half the fun.
What Tracy Hates About the Game
The dragon in Enshrouded pushed Tracy to this game in the first place — but Sunkenland has its own frustrations. The bleed mechanic from pirate attacks is properly annoying. Get hit and you’re slowly draining health until you find a bandage, which adds a layer of stress that can feel punishing when you’re also managing hunger, thirst, and stamina simultaneously. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s the kind of thing that’ll catch you out if you’re not paying attention.
The game also sits firmly in Early Access, which means it’s not finished. The quest system and a proper mainland are still on the way, and if you’re someone who needs a clear narrative thread to stay engaged, the current sandbox structure might feel a bit aimless. Tracy’s working around this by treating it as a chill-out game rather than a main campaign — which works, but isn’t for everyone.
What Tracy Finds Challenging
Resource management is where Sunkenland earns its survival label. You’re juggling hunger, thirst, health, and stamina at all times, and the scarcity of useful loot means you genuinely have to plan your dives and raids. The starting island is relatively forgiving — there are crabs to catch and cook, which is handy if you’re not squeamish — but venturing out into open water means dealing with sharks, and there’s nothing subtle about the way that raises the stakes.
The world navigation also has a learning curve. Multiple islands, underwater zones, and expanding territory all need to be mapped mentally before you start feeling comfortable. New players can expect to spend a fair bit of time just figuring out where things are — though Tracy’s discovered you can do a solo run first, learn the map, then start fresh on a proper run knowing where everything is. Whether that’s cheating or smart prep is, honestly, a matter of personal philosophy.
About the Game
Sunkenland is an open-world survival crafting game developed and published by Vector3 Studio. It entered Steam Early Access on 25 August 2023 and is currently available for Windows PC. The game sits in the action/survival/crafting genre alongside titles like ARK and Rust, but with a distinctly waterlogged post-apocalyptic twist. Overall reviews on Steam sit at Very Positive based on thousands of user ratings.
System Requirements (Windows):
Minimum Recommended OS Windows 7 Windows 7 or later CPU Intel Dual-Core 2.4 GHz Quad Core Processor RAM 4 GB 8 GB GPU NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Storage ~1 GB ~1 GB
(Specs sourced from pcgamespecs.com — worth double-checking against the Steam page before purchasing.)
Similar Games
If Sunkenland sounds like your kind of thing, here are a few others worth checking out:
ARK: Survival Ascended is the obvious comparison — it’s the same DNA of base building, survival mechanics, and gradually escalating threat, just with dinosaurs instead of sharks and pirates. If you’ve ever thought “I’d love this but wetter,” Sunkenland is basically your answer.
Rust scratches a similar itch for those who want the PvP and raiding elements cranked up to maximum. It’s more brutal and less forgiving than Sunkenland, but fans of the resource-gathering and base-defence loop will feel right at home.
Raft is worth a mention too — another water-survival game where you’re building, expanding, and defending against the elements. It’s a bit more relaxed in tone than Sunkenland but shares the same satisfying loop of turning nothing into something seaworthy.
Should You Build a Gaming PC for This?
Tracy’s answer, when asked directly: “Oh God, no.” And that’s actually a great sign — it means the game is accessible without needing a monster rig. The minimum specs are genuinely modest, so if you’ve got a halfway decent PC already, you’re probably fine to jump in.
That said, if Sunkenland is the game that finally made you realise your current setup is showing its age — or if you’ve got your eye on something more demanding sitting in your Steam wishlist — the team at Lithgeek can help. Check out our range of gaming PCs or book a custom build consultation and we’ll sort you out with something that’ll handle whatever you throw at it.
Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 / 5 — The Palate Cleanser You Keep Returning To
“It’s become my game when I’m not sure what I want to play.” That’s not a backhanded compliment. For a game that doesn’t demand everything from you, Sunkenland delivers a surprising amount of content and keeps pulling you back. And if she’s still playing it next week, that rating might quietly creep up to a 4.
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