Survival: Fountain of Youth is Nearing Full Release

Skipper · June 28, 2023, 7:37pm

Current Status: Nearing Full Release, May 21st 2024
Website: https://odinsoft.com/
Steam Game Page: Save 25% on Survival: Fountain of Youth on Steam
Discord: Survival: Fountain of Youth

EDIT: This game has come a long, long way since its first early access thoughts here. Stay tuned to the thread for more gameplay thoughts as it hits release next month!

I’m spinning this off from the Wallet Threat Level thread because I think this will make it to release as a fairly decent title for the genre. I’ve been late to get to this one but I really enjoy survival games. This one is still in early access but IMHO it’s going to be pretty special by eventual release just based on current polish and push by Odinsoft, the developers.

Right now the first two of what appear to be five major areas of the game are now completed, with the next area coming in early August. The developers are pushing updates fairly often and even just since initial early release in April, they added the second region, with the third now having an announcement and timeline. Each area provides quite a bit of play and story on it’s own, but they build upon each other for the overall story plot, progression of tools, building materials, creatures, dangers, etc.

What I really like about it is that similar to The Long Dark, this is a harsher survival mechanic in regards to -some- realism. Starting a fire can be hard, you’ll need some type of fire starter, kindling and fuel, each of those variances adds to or takes away from your chance to light a fire, etc. This is also true for the tools you use, the foods you eat and even medicines you create to help you survive over time.

Exploration plays a heavy part of this game, with the loose story of you being a crew member on one of three ships that sailed with Ponce de León. The ships run aground on rocks and a reef near an area of islands as they sail to find the mythical Fountain Of Youth. Like most other survival games, you start right at the point of impact, so to speak, escaping from the sinking ship with very little and washing ashore. Your loose goals are to survive, find out if anyone else lived, and if there was ever any truth to the Fountain Of Youth.

This is a solo game and you play as a solo survivalist. At no point in the story so far do you find anyone still living, but I don’t know the plans for the final three areas. Your survival is roughly split between food/thirst, surviving against the creatures you need for food or supplies, and battling diseases, sicknesses, physical wounds and maladies. As with other survival games, there are a lot of things to collect, some harder than others, there are means to build things and advance said buildings, and there are various tools and equipment you’ll use as you upgrade your gear and home(s.)

I love that exploration is a HUGE drive in this game and getting over your initial fears reminds me very much of The Long Dark. There are multiple difficulty modes as well which can really ramp up the experience from an easy play to quite challenging. The developers have a Discord which is fairly active and there is a lot of advice and communication around things as the game continues to be worked on. There isn’t an online wiki yet but Techraptor has quite a bit of information and guides on the game already. There are quests, per se, but they really stem from doing specific things in specific areas, or collecting specific items you find or make. There are multiple skills that get better over time, providing you with quite a few advantages. There is an large amount of gear you can use or mix and match throughout the game. There are even specialty foods, medicines and elixirs you create to provide you with boosts to the game.

My only negative mention here is that the tutorial is pretty weak as far as getting you going or telling you much that you’ll need to do to survive long term. I’m hoping they expand it a bit or perhaps make it dependent on various times during the game when you need to understand just that part of the game, as an example, how medicines are made and progress to a chemical creation bench, or how tools are made from your first find of specific rocks or ores.

This will shape up to be a pretty decent game by the end based on how well it plays now and the depth they have already. I’m just coming to the end of the areas in-game so far and sit at about 100 hours, with probably about 60-70 of that the requirement to reach it with pretty straightforward play. This will change as they release the remaining areas, so of note, this isn’t a 20-hours and you’re done kind of survival game, it’s much more of a journey.

If you like survival games in any way, or have enjoyed things like The Long Dark prior to this time, this will be a good fit by full release. Even now in early access, it’s very polished and quite fun.

The current Early Access status:
From the dev’s latest comments:

“The full release is planned within a year after the Early Access release. Most of the content is ready, but the game still needs some tweaking and balancing, so as bug hunting. Please, send us any feedback, it would be really helpful. Thank you!”

Graphics and Gameplay:
The current graphics engine is Unity and that holds up quite well for this game. It’s somewhere between hyperdetailed modern looking and say, The Long Dark’s more hand drawn and somewhat artistic look.

Inventory and Character information screens with inventory view, character status, innately gained skills, challenge items and survival abilities you spend points on to customize your character:

Current overall maps (there are three major map views, per region there is a map view and then within that region views of different islands and major locations. Within this there are also zoom levels for the map showing more in-depth information based on what is explored versus not (aka map fog.) Needless to say the game is large, or will be by completion.

I can understand those here who might avoid this since it is early access but if you’re a fan of the genre, make a note to keep an eye on this prior to full release.

strategy · June 28, 2023, 11:00pm

I was with you right up to the point when you said solo game. I enjoy survival games, but primarily as a group activity. I guess that I might enjoy something like this if it had a really amazing story, but despite the historical context (which is right up my alley), I’m not really convinced by the description. The “notes left around” approach doesn’t generally make for really great storytelling (at least not on its own).

Any indication that they might make this coop? Coop just makes survival games a lot better, IMO. Getting killed by a mob because you’re careless/unlucky - frustrating. Placing your mate(s) in jeopardy because you’re careless/unlucky and having everyone scrambling to fix the problem? That can be frustrating too, but very often it’s also a story that you and your mates can laugh over later (whether high-fiving or teasing each other). In addition, the grinding that is required in these games is also a lot more tolerable when you’re chatting with friends while doing it. One of the reasons Valheim hits the sweet spot for me - it’s just provides a lot of experiences which are great shared.

Skipper · June 29, 2023, 12:38am

It’s the number one question and ongoing debate on thir discord. I can’t tell their real thoughts on it since it’s mostly users flaming each other in the debate, however. I know they are aware of it but witgout them saying it’s a priority I would say it’s certainly not looking like it for release.

The game experience itself doesn’t really lend itself in that direction now though. There aren’t any great beast bosses or challenges of that level right now and within a semi historical game … it seems they won’t make it multiplayer? A single player experience is about where the challenge lies right now.

jpinard · June 29, 2023, 2:10am

Nice! And I like that it’s a solo game unlike @strategy :)

Skipper · June 29, 2023, 2:49am

I think the fact that this plays as a sole survivor of a shipwreck puts it more in The Long Dark or Green Hell camp versus anything with a more coop driven story and gameplay. I’m not sure how they would spin it for coop without some major story changes so far. Possible, but I’m guessing not probable.

I forgot to mention that the death system is based on which difficulty you pick to start and they still seem to be fleshing out those difficulty levels a bit. Just last patch they added some additional difficulty to the upper modes creating something akin to a, “how far can I make it,” versus actually making it far at all kind of offering. This also splits your respawns allowed versus the gameplay difficulty as well since they can be chosen separately. A respawn is called, “fainting,” in this game since it can come from anything from lack of food and water to diseases to damage taken, etc.

Multiple levels of Survival mode (respawns) which are based on the difficulty you select below that:
Tourist - unlimited respawns
True Survivor - 12, 9, 6, 5, 4 respawns based on difficulty
Ironman - no respawns after the initial game start

Multiple levels of difficulty as well:

Giles_Habibula · June 29, 2023, 3:06am

Sold.
Although co-op would seem a natural for this kind of game.

I loved “The Long Dark”, so I’ll likely give it a shot closer to release.

DeepT · June 29, 2023, 11:22am

So what does this game do that other survival games don’t do? From what I see, its just the same stuff everyone else does. I even recall playing a few where you had to sale between islands as well.

Skipper · June 29, 2023, 11:47am

Great question. I don’t think it brings anything overly new to the table beyond a bit more backstory and historical-ish(?) drive to the exploration. The story revolves around Ponce de León’s ships arriving in what is supposedly Bimini. History actually says he was simply finding new locations to colonize but of course the game runs with the myth of the Fountain of Youth. What we get during gameplay are tidbits about the indian natives there, the tribes there and their stories of said, “Living Water,” and indeed that is an item you can find in-game multiple times that can reset one of your, “fainting,” numbers, allowing you to live another respawn there, as the game plays. Scattered across the various islands aren’t natives but rather the remnants of that civilization and their constructions and locations. You stumble across these during your explorations to survive, and this triggers both cut scenes and knowledge reveals that equate to exploration points for you and some of those drive advancement in the gameplay itself. You also find the remnants of others from your shipwreck and, at least at the point they have developed the game up until now, no actual evidence of anyone still alive.

It’s a nice addition to the survival, certainly not something that is so different that it makes a survival game elevate outside of it’s lane, however. It’s still all about living another day, getting better at it and hopefully finding a means to get home (or somewhere else.)

Unlike something like The Long Dark, this plays as a more realistic looking game, though it’s still a mark or two from actual realism. Unlike Green Hell it has more story drive, akin to The Long Dark and a bit more perhaps. But overall, if you don’t like what’s out there already for survival games, you’ll probably bounce off of this title pretty quickly.

Fozzle · June 29, 2023, 11:51am

Thanks for the info @Skipper. This reads like it is more akin to The Forest than Long Dark. Story driven, exploration unlocks, etc. without the extra limbs =) Is it far enough along that you get a good feel for the gameplay loop? What do you think endgame will look like if any?

Skipper · June 29, 2023, 12:03pm

I’m late playing The Forest (and plan to dive into Sons of the Forest after.) But in those games there is a separate driver of protection from the cannibals that pushes things along. The same with finding your son, maybe a bit similar to finding your crewmates here. The UI is also quite different than The Forest or some of the other games, while some of the things you build are quite similar (carts versus a sled, etc)

Again I’ve not played The Forest long enough yet to get to unlocks but if so, then that part is similar.

The gameplay loop in this game is really exploration driven. Eventually you get to where you can make it day-to-day, you get some, “machines,” built which are the things helping you get better, like a workbench, a log bench, a better cook fire and pot, water collectors, etc. You also eventually can make something akin to buildings and a home, or outposts, boats that start from rafts and go up from there, and better weapons and worn gear. Any good survival game will have those, however so I don’t think it strays too far from the same recipe as others. Tools progress from raw stones to worked stone, bone, obsidian, copper, and I’m assuming in the unrevealed parts of the map on to iron, etc. But the game pushes you to explore more and more, then leave to that other island you see nearby, rinse, repeat.

As for where it will end, I’m curios how they plan to handle the eventual meet up or finding of the rest of your crewmates, or perhaps any living number of natives. I kind of think they will push it to you finding the last of the crew, having made ship repairs and about to sail back home and maybe leave you with the decision to stay or go, or something cheesy like that. But I don’t honestly know.

Skipper · June 29, 2023, 12:15pm

I’m going to make a note here about the current difficulty as played. If you’ve played any other survival titles, you would probably be better served bumping the difficulty from Normal to Hard. Though I’ve been close to death, sorry, fainting, a couple of times, I sit at 100 hours at this point not having fainted yet at all while playing on Normal. That’s mostly because I followed the typical survival loop of putting basic survival above attempts to push just for advancement. Spending a few days stocking up on food or water or staying by the fire to help recover from flu or disease ups the chance of living and allowed me to continue on after that. If you press too hard the game WILL hit back at you: cuts get infected, sunburn and exposure lead to heat stroke, wet and cold lead to getting sick, etc.

Skipper · July 3, 2023, 3:59pm

Taking one for the team I’m following my advice and started a new playthrough on Hard. I’m going to take back what I said because though Hard mode is the challenge you want, without any knowledge of the game and the map(s) you’re going to have a really hard time. Hard mode adds percentages to fail in a larger amount for everything, even crafting in broad daylight. Over time you can minimize those failure rates for everything but Hard mode assumes you know how to do that, or how to fix the conditions you get much more often.

Some tips for anyone that decides to play early access:
Leaving the ship the TOP TWO selected objects (if normal mode) are the backpack and the captains coat. Both give you worn bonuses that will last quite some time before those objects eventually break. You can repair them, but you’ll need to be pretty far along in order to do so. Taking any of the other items helps, all of the items help, but many of those are more easily replaced with things you create early on.

Focus on easy water and food initially and head down the beach for the grotto, which is along the beach going south, it’s the monstrous mountain you spawn near and along the beach side has an entrance. There you’ll find a sun, rain and wind protected area … with scorpions in it. You can kill those every few days they spawn, or instead you can put your bed and fire right in the entranceway where you’ll see they can both get protected status if you place them right. Then the scorpions never bother you, they only patrol right inside the cave itself.

The intro and tutorial step you through finding a few basics. Of those, you’ll want liana, which you use to make rope. Be wary of liana use because of all the beginning resources, this one is choked down to be one of the leading reasons to explore more early on. And you need it for a LOT of crafting. Things respawn for -most- resources after a number of days which brings up the advice here to loot all of it early so you can begin that cycle for renewal. And note that when it says, “respawn in 15 days,” what that really means is after 15 days there might be a SINGLE item there, not the full, large amount you find initially. It can take double that respawn time to fully restock so be aware of that.

Focus on the key areas for survival in roughly this order:

A way to capture and carry water (or juice.) Green coconuts aren’t going to get you by forever, and they are heavy to carry around.
Better and better ways to prepare food and eventually a container that stores food longer. Cooked food doesn’t make you sick and upgraded cooking fires can make more things. Also remember where the sources of your food are as animals eventually respawn. Mix and match food to help you get above the food and water levels for better healing and sleep prior to going to bed.
Make at least one to two of the basic medicines. Early on you’ll need medicine for indigestion, cuts, poison, sunburn and flu. You’ll add to those needs as you progress but always having at least one of those nearby will save you quite a bit.
Worn attire. You’ll need it to prevent sunburn, exposure, minimize damage taken, etc. For a very long time you’ll be wearing grass stuff and those disintegrate quickly. Don’t get discouraged. Better gear lasts longer.
Tools really shouldn’t be this far down but it’s only part of surviving, not the surviving itself. Explore up and down the coast and beach areas, you’ll find obsidian. Explore inland a bit more, you’ll find big branches. Those, along with making your first, “machine,” aka a workbench, will get you going to better tools.
Shelter shouldn’t really be down this far either but there are a number of areas around and under rock overhangs that will get you by to sleep and make a fire for a bit, the grotto being one of those. When you can, building a house immediately starts providing benefits as soon as you enclose all sides, have a door and a roof over your head. That not only protects against the detrimental effects of the weather in game, crafting and doing things inside your home get a bonus to success, it’s VERY worth having a home (or outposts) in this game for that reason.

*) This one is just a note: The developers lock some recipes behind finding certain things, some recipes behind making various machines, and some recipes behind making -parts- of something larger. You can easily get stuck seeing a darkened recipe and knowing you need to make XYZ item as part of crafting it, but you can’t seem to unlock the full recipe. It’s BECAUSE you haven’t made that sub-item. A good example of this is using a big branch to make both long and short handles. Doing so unlocks several new items you’ll be able to craft from that point.

barstein · July 6, 2023, 7:17pm

Been playing this a bit and really enjoying it. Mind sharing the Discord link? Can’t seem to find it via search. Edit: Oops, found it on the Steam Store page.

Skipper · July 6, 2023, 8:28pm

Highly recommended if you get stuck are some of the guides on TechRaptor:

Skipper · July 7, 2023, 1:21pm

The next area coming soon (first half of August,) promising at least 3 more islands and lots more challenge:

Petey · July 10, 2023, 1:34am

Love me some survival. Trying this out in about 2 minutes when it’s installed…thanks for the heads up. I"m going to start on easy for a few hours to get used to the game, then normal for a good run through.

Edit: Well, played around 30 minutes. At first I was a bit annoyed with the time mechanism with crafting but I actually like it especially it matters at higher difficulties in taking too much time to craft when there are dangerous creatures or enemies around. The game ran fine on my 3060 destop, i5, SSD. The tutorials are clear and concise. I might wait for the full game but I enjoyed it for the small amount I played it, something I cant say for a lot of other early access survival games.

Skipper · July 10, 2023, 1:26pm

You get used to it for what it’s worth. It’s only really annoying until you learn to interrupt things if it goes too long. Example, reading books can take 10 hours. But you can do that multiple times so not as big a deal once you know that. The same with some larger things you build, do, cook, etc. You can see if the times for those overlap things like basic need emergencies, food/water/rest, and the game offers to let you stop what you’re doing until you take care of your needs, then come back to it later. The same if you break a necessary tool while crafting, it will save your progress until you can come back.

Of note, you can also cancel a partial build or upgrade if you find out you were missing some key item or tool and can’t get that quickly. This is really important when upgrading a machine or used item because until you’re done with the upgrade, it’s unusable. No worries, just cancel the upgrade, get your items back then use the machine/tool as normal until you are actually ready with everything to upgrade it.

Be careful with raft/ship travel. You can manually drive them around but later on you’ll use quick travel points. Going between those takes a specified amount of time and that time might be OVER your meters for food/water/rest. The game will gladly let you do it anyway, resulting in you fainting and possibly losing items.

barstein · August 7, 2023, 4:13pm

Skipper · August 7, 2023, 4:34pm

Looks good!!! I’m in the middle of BG3 so I’ll hold for now but I really love the look of the new content, especially the amped up difficulty of additional wildlife and what appears to be harder scenery to survive in. My hard mode game is CRUSHING when fighting wildlife. Everything can really mess you up. I can’t even imagine the ultra hard mode.

This is only 3 of the 5 areas they planned for full release, so I still think this is going to be quite a game by that point.

barstein · August 7, 2023, 5:41pm

I should note, I barely skimmed the update notes and haven’t watched the trailer, as I’ve been trying to avoid spoiling the game and preserve discovery.

I agree with you, the game is already impressive in terms of depth and the richness of content, despite the story being hampered by the regions that are still locked/under development. I also feel like it’s pretty unique compared to other similar survival games, namely with regard to how challenging attrition can be and how super careful the player needs to be about nearly every decision. Especially in the harder game modes.

I started off on Normal mode, switched to Easy for a couple of playthroughs so that I could practice more, then ramped up to Hard mode, and then Very Hard, which I’m enjoying tremendously in my third VH game.

I haven’t explored the new region or content yet, but I think I do have enough room for the new vessel. Looking forward to seeing the new areas in the next day or so.