When I saw some of my irl friends playing a game called Desolate during the recent Steam Sale, I thought nothing of it until I saw they were playing almost every night. They asked me to join in but I was hesitant, even with the sales price tag. I’m not big into survival elements in games. Nevertheless, I gave in and grabbed the game. My girlfriend did too, rounding us out as a team of four to take on the title.

Desolate takes place in the fictional island of Granichny, giving off a Russian/Ukranian vibe akin to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. Ravaged by native monsters, afflicted humans, and savage military, your only solace is a few settlements across the large setting. That, along with some radio communications for some scientists and folk who want to make a change in the troubled game-world. You’ll be tasked with quests from these individuals and will largely have to make your travel on foot. Fast-travel is extremely limited.

Survival in Granichny is a challenge. You’ll have to manage your hunger, thirst, sanity and temperature levels. Hungry or thirsty? You’ll underperform in combat when you need it most. On edge? You’ll be treated to jumpscares that are dynamic with the environment and made me jump more than once. I found myself stocking up at every opportunity, carrying lots of water bottles and several dinners. This also encouraged me to not skip any resources I came across in my journey.

I can’t attest for how the game plays if you go it alone, but it was a blast working along with my friend group. Combat seemed manageable, but it was still tense even when I had someone by my side. We couldn’t afford to let any one of us skimp out on our melee swings or one of us would go down, adding a layer of urgency to the fights. Match that with the sparing ammunition limiting us to only a few shots with each gun, and that had us approaching each encounter carefully.

I did end up going down in combat a few times in the early period of the game. However, once I got a handle on the melee combat and got my hands on better weapons, I felt confident enough to go exploring in groups of two. I did get separated from the group a few times though; Desolate opts to put you exactly where you last saved on the map when you load in. As a result, it’s imperative that if you are playing in a group, you coordinate when everyone logs on to safely be near each other to prevent separation.

Desolate is a full-on game meant to be played from start to finish for closure. Its cohesive story is a pretty standard affair, and it might be easy to get lost in the mix if you’re in a 4-stack. However, it provides purpose to the player. Tack on the side quests and you’ve got an experience worth the price tag, especially on sale. I would easily recommend this if you have more than just yourself to hop on with, but I’d imagine this gets crushingly difficult on your own.

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Desolate

24.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Big Open World
• Deep Survival Mechanics
• Nice Balance To Difficulty

Cons

• Still A Bit Buggy
• Suboptimal When Solo