Flotsam floats out to early access

I'm not sure how I feel about the way Flotsam makes our impending ecological disaster look so inviting. It's a floating city builder where you construct everything out of scavenged ocean junk, while making sure your seaborne survivors don't run out of water that won't kill them. I've leapt straight to chatting about death and disaster, though, when Flotsam bills its apocalypse as "feel-good". This is why I don't get invited to more parties.

It's out now on early access, have a gander.

You start off feebly, casting about for wood and detritus to build up basic amenities. You'll soon have a boat or two, which let you mosey around a few surviving islands for resources and tech blueprints, and eventually build sails that let you tow your entire town off to pastures anew. I believe these pastures are also covered in junk, but that's Flotsam's whole deal.

Who knew environmental ruin could look so soothing.

I'm being glib, but it's good to have a game that revolves around recycling. Even though recycling is just one small part of avoiding a crisis we're going to continue lurching towards for as long as industrial polluters continue to run amok and our economic systems continue to endorse ravenous resource use.

RPS vidbud Alice Liguori has already taken to the seas, discovering that Flotsam's serene ocean glow hides a daunting challenge. I have been lulled. We have all been lulled.

Developers Pajama Llama Games plan to spend the next year bobbing out in early access, adding "game-spanning quests, huge projects to craft, and extra stories about the flooded world". There'll be more ways to scout, salvage, and scoot about, too.

Flotsam's floating for £18/$22.50/€21 on Steam.