There are very few games set in a post-apocalyptic world that take on a bright, hopeful tone for the future, one where not everyone you meet is either a cryptic bummer or a crazy guy out to kill you. In that regard, developer Pajama Llama tried their hardest to shift away from this overused and cliched trope with Flotsam and instead present a post-apocalyptic world covered in water as a lighthearted affair where garbage is king.
At a glance, I’d say they’ve succeeded, as Flotsam, a city sim mixed with survival and strategy, effectively captured a very chill and easygoing tone for what happens after the end of the world. Turns out that in the proper hands, all survivors will get to experience blue skies and warm sunlight when apocalypse finally heads our way. Check out the trailer for Flotsam below.
Now this is something I can get behind. Flotsam presents a city building sim in one of the most unique ways possible – have the town float on the water, and the components are made out of repurposed garbage. It’s cheery, colorful and incredibly quirky, while not losing sight of the gameplay – it’s a great way to present the idea of a decent city sim that stands apart in a sea of other city sims.
Flotsam is currently eyeing a Steam Early Access and Kartridge release in September, and various details about the game are already up on its page. Apparently, your main workforce consists of drifters, which you manage in order to gather resources like fresh water, seafood (hope you’re not allergic) and scrap, all of which are needed to help your small community survive and thrive. Almost everything can be recycled and repurposed in order to upgrade your town. Resources can be built as either boats or buildings, both of which you’ll be needing to expand and hopefully draw more drifters in.
Of course, it’s not exactly an ocean vacation since there are predators lurking in the deep, which should provide a decent sense of challenge to players as they explore this post-apocalyptic world.
Flotsam will be releasing on PC via Steam Early Access and Kartridge on September 26. Pricing has yet to be announced, but according to a developer on the Steam community forums, expect it to be “in line with other games of the genre.”
