Entry 01Which games we cover
Survival, crafting and building games that players in the UK can start today on at least one mainstream computer or console: wilderness and ocean survival, colony builders, co-op crafting and gentle farming worlds with survival roots. We favour games you buy once and that sell nothing once you are playing.
Entry 02How we play them
For many evenings and often to the end of the story, on the default difficulty and on the gentlest one. We play alone and in co-op where a game allows it, look through any store, expansion and supporter pack, set up the family controls, test comfort and accessibility settings and time ordinary sittings before we write a word.
Entry 03What a score weighs
- World: how much there is to discover, and how it looks and sounds.
- Systems: crafting, building and survival needs that are fair and worth learning.
- Feel: controls, menus and pacing.
- Stopping: clear safe spots, sensible sittings and how hard the game pulls you back.
Entry 04Scores and pips
One editorial score out of five, in tenths, shown as five pips: whole points fill whole pips and the last fills by the fraction. The score also sets a band:
- Essential kit (from 4.6): One of the finest survival games we have played: worth an evening of its own.
- Pack it (from 4.3): Excellent, with a rough edge or two that the review spells out.
- Good kit (from 4.0): Very good for the right player; the review says who that is.
- Niche kit (below 4.0): Uneven in places, but worth a trip if the setting is yours.
Entry 05Pace
Pace describes how a game feels to play, never how good it is:
- Gentle: no pressure to rush: you set the pace and can stop and look around at any moment.
- Planning: slow and thoughtful, where preparing well matters more than quick hands.
- Tense: real danger and quick moments that keep you on edge.
Entry 06Weight and safe spots
A game’s weight is the typical sitting we timed, from loading in to a sensible place to stop. The safe spot is that place: usually a base, a shelter or the end of a run, where the game keeps your progress. Neither changes a score; both help plan an evening.
Entry 07Camps, halts and vitals
The dial lays a 10-minute camp between two games and the camp log calls a short halt every 45 minutes inside a long one. The vitals follow common advice: look away every 20 minutes, drink every half hour and stand up every 45.
Entry 08Comfort notes
Flashing light, camera motion, volume, fear and long sittings matter in every survival game. Each review notes what we found and which settings help. Always read a game’s own health and safety warnings as well.
Entry 09Where the facts come from
Platforms, player counts, chat options, accounts, expansions and costs come from our own play and are checked against each game’s official pages and store listings, which remain the reference for prices and age ratings.
Entry 10What we never do
No paid placements, no sponsored scores, no invented facts and no reviews written from trailers or press releases.