Lost Survivors Review

Welcome to the Jungle

InnoGames’ Lost Survivors is a simulation game which takes place on a deserted island. In the game, you’re put in charge of a group of plane crash survivors. It’s your job to provide for their needs and ensure their survival from day to day. While this may sound dire, no one is actually in danger of starving. Lost Survivors is a bright and cheery game filled with colorful, cartoony graphics. No one is getting voted off this island (and there are no smoke monsters either).

Island Life

Lost Survivors begins with you gathering the castaways together. Under the tutelage of a plucky redhead named Amelia Hart, you’ll start by finding a spring and gathering water. Once that’s done, you’ll get down to the business of building your camp. You’ll set up a storage facility, build a radio tower and construct numerous specialty buildings. In addition, you’ll send your survivors out to collect resources, such as grass, palm leaves and tree resin. Meanwhile, you’ll also befriend a platypus, who’ll provide you fish.

Once you have your camp built, you’ll begin exploring the wider world around you. Lost Survivors gameplay alternates between the camp screen and a world map, which is mostly shrouded by clouds. You’ll set out to explore the world, uncovering new islands and rescuing survivors. Many of these survivors are specialists, like a cook or a weaver. Once they’re part of your camp, you can have them produce goods from raw materials. Goods include needles, blankets, yarn and refreshing coconut drinks. Expeditions require supplies, so you’ll have to gather the right resources before you can set out to explore.

Island Time

While Amelia will guide you early on, your journal will give you direction once you’re into the game. Your journal consists of various tasks, such as rescuing survivors or building certain buildings. Completing these tasks will earn you gold coins and blue stars. Complete a series of tasks, and you’re rewarded with a chest, which contains valuable items or island dollars. You’ll get further direction from the parrot tree, which serves as a sort of post office for the island. Survivors will send you requests, which you fulfill for more coins and stars. These requests are always for various resources and goods. There’s always new mail waiting, so you can see what you need to gather and produce.

So, what’s to keep you from immediately creating an island paradise? Time. Everything in Lost Survivors takes time. An expedition might take a few minutes, or it might take half an hour. Early buildings take seconds to build, while later ones can take hours. Gathering resources takes time, as does producing goods. Unless you’re very patient, you’ll find yourself playing Lost Survivors in short bursts. You’ll set your survivors to their various tasks, then come back later when those tasks are done. This can be frustrating, but you can speed things up by spending island dollars to instantly finish a task. Of course, your supply is limited, but you can buy more by spending real money.

Live Another Day

So, what’s the point of all this? Your goal is simply to make it to the next day. As you complete tasks, you’ll collect blue stars, which will fill up your meter. Once the meter is full, the day ends and a new one begins. Your “score” is measured in the number of days you’ve survived. Except, of course, no one is going to die. You can’t fail at Lost Survivors, and you can’t really win either. The point is to improve your camp, explore the world, and carry on from day to day.