Survivalcraft

Good
  • Explore diverse and broad game worlds packed full of features that are continually being expanded and built upon
  • Competitive price to content ratio makes it an attractive and cheaper alternative than similar titles
Bad
  • While Survivalcraft offers all the features of the big titles in this space it lacks the significant goals and milestones that provide just enough structure to give these features a higher purpose
9

Survivalcraft is a highly popular mobile game that offers a similar experience to Minecraft and as a result it is often compared to the franchise. Offering many of the features of Minecraft: Pocket Edition along with some different mechanics at around half the price Survivalcraft has been able to capture a sub section of the sandbox survival genre on mobile. With over a dozen releases since the original release in 2011 Survivalcraft is a game in constant development ensuring players have a reason to create a fresh world or revisit an old favourite.

survivalcraft-gameplay-forest-biome

Opening with a similar start to the games it draws inspiration from Survivalcraft sets players on the marooned shores of an infinite block based world. Your objective is your own with Survivalcraft offering a sandbox design that puts emphasis on exploration, resource gathering, crafting and building as you see fit. Along the way you’ll encounter beautifully randomised landscapes that hide rare minerals and a range of animals that can be herded, protected and ridden. Other familiar mechanics including managing hunger, cave generation, weather, boats, explosions and armour which are all equally diverse and impressively developed.

Of course the foundation of any survival game is your shelter though and the first objective that many players will want to strive for which provides not only protecting from the elements and enemies but also creates an important foundation for future for future exploration.

survivalcraft-gameplay-sandbox-building

From here the sandbox design allows Survivalcraft players to create their own fun be it hoarding rare resources, building a house upon the largest hill possible or exploring caves that hide a range of deadly enemies. Unlike the leader in the genre (Minecraft) Survivalcraft is unfortunately a little short on broad objectives that help give all of the features a sense of purpose (e.g. Ender Dragon and Wither). In turn this means that survival focuses players that love a high level end goal to their exploration may find themselves short on motivation or direction.

More sandbox orientated players though are unlikely to be phased as the idea of experimenting with the wealth of physics options alone will give them the joy they need to continue on. These physics mechanics in particularly are a stand out offering of Survival Craft and includes trapdoors, traps, water, explosions, fire, falling blocks, electricity and explosions. All of which combine for all sorts of contraption potential and can often be integrated into farming, neutral creature capture or creature spawner farming.

survivalcraft-gameplay-snow-biome

Outside of Minecraft: Pocket Edition there is currently no mobile based game that offers the level of variety and rich list of features which makes Survivalcraft an attractive option at nearly half the price.

Summary:

  • Explore a randomly generated and diverse game world on your mobile device.
  • Packed full of many Minecraft: Pocket Edition features at a lower price point.
  • Includes a range of physics including electricity, water, explosions and more.
  • Huge variety of animals that inhabit the game world to create a realistic living environment.
  • Offers vast cave and magma systems to adventure into the depths.

Links:

Videos:


Review Platform: iOS

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Written by
Samuel Franklin
Samuel Franklin is the founder and lead editor of the Games Finder team and enjoys video games across all genres and platforms. He has worked in the gaming industry since 2008 amassing over 3 million views on YouTube and 10 million article views on HubPages.

Games Finder is a Steam Curator and featured in the aggregate review scores data of MobyGames and Neoseeker.
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13 COMMENTS
  1. This game is AWSOME!!!!!!!
    I love it and I don’t even have it yet.

    Reply
  2. I have played this before, it is awesome and has easier controls than Minecraft PE, It has animals only though, a few more animals than Minecraft though

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  3. No offense but I don’t like this game because of all the useless items that they just added for no reason. Maybe this game would be better if they added alot more useful stuff rather than just adding them without a reason or just because they felt like it.

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  4. why can’t you make the game free

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  5. This was a pretty fun game. Although the game has many different animals than Minecraft PE, it still isn’t as fun.

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  6. This game is very fun. I think it is better than Minecraft PE because the Minecraft PE is not an inifinty blocky world. The Survivalcraft offer more better features than Minecratf PE.

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  7. how much does the game cost? and it would be o lot more better if it was free and it would become more popular.

    Reply
  8. I love this game! It has waaay more features than minecraft, the only thing that mine craft has on survival craft to me is the multiplayer mode. They’re both awesome but survival craft is where its at ;)

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  9. Awesome! Cool!

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  10. i was going to get it on my ipod but its not free and im not spending 3.99 on the game i dont have the money on my ipod :(

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  11. My mom does not like minecraft because of the online multiplayer thing. Is this an online game like that where i can play with other people or is it just me and what i build?

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  12. Survivalcraft has been significantly upgraded since this review!

    – It is available on desktop – Windows 10.
    – You can now make custom blocks. Yes, you can even make a toilet that looks like a toilet!
    – You can paint many blocks 16 different colors. This color palette can even be customized.
    – There is limited multiplayer – up to 4 people on a single device. Many gamepads are supported, too.
    – There are new survival mechanics: you can get the flu from being cold and wet, and eating bad food will make you sick. It is more important than ever to be mindfull of the weather and to dress properly for the climate.
    – There are more drops from animals. Makes it a little easier to get food and the resources to make heavy clothing.
    – Plus new animals, new blocks and new foods help fill out this game!

    Reply
  13. Furthermore, the electrics are far more advanced than ‘redstone’! They include all the basic logic gates and even a 256 location memory bank! Digital numeric displays, motion and light sensors, multi-colored LEDs, so much more.

    Oh, and it has 3 types of pistons! Generations ahead of the basic item minecraft has! The pistons can extend to 8 block, controllable by the voltage value feeding them. One type just pushes, the second can pull up to 8 blocks with it (you can set how many it will pull) and the third will only retract once a certain number of blocks is attached to the plunger. This actually allows very sophisticated machines to be automated!

    The new custom blocks can be triggered to change shape by using electricity!
    Custom blocks can conversely be used to energise electric circuits!
    People have figured out how to use the custom blocks to even make ‘invisible wires’!

    With elecricity and the custom blocks, you can make a non-descript wall become an open passage with the push of a button. And so much more…

    Saying this is like redstone, is like saying my smart phone is like a morse-code transmitter!

    Reply
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