Survival games suck. There, i said it. With almost no exceptions survival games are bunch of ridiculous nonsense. It's always the same thing; There's a bunch of semi-logical systems. There are unknown scripted elements. And there's a bunch of randomisation. The trick is to replay the game until you've figured out how its system works, what stuff to prepare for (e.g. items to save) all while hoping RNGesus doesn't screw you over.

Dead In Bermuda seemed quite promising at first. Nice graphics! Interesting characters! A seemingly solid skill system! I got it in a Groupees bundle but it's actually a real game!

Then this happened:

To make a bow you need stone? The fishing rod had somewhat logical components and a decent fireplace uses stone, but a bow...?

Perhaps even worse is how ridiculous the other requirements scale. You need wood to cook fish, maintain the fire, repair several "stations" (crafting/research) and for the crafting itself. Rope is also used to repair several stations. So basically i was screwed. Because i hadn't rushed wood-acquirement i could never hope to catch up while keeping everyone going.

It's a shame because Dead In Bermuda does have an interesting story, fun interactions, clever mechanics and a bunch of potential in general. But they just had to mess it up with these clumsy requirements as well as some "hidden" skill checks you also run into. Oh god, and i just remembered the completely randomised character traits. Please make a "no bullshit" mode next time guys.

There was a time in my life when I was wildly in love with resource management games, even though I'm not terribly good at them. The genre gave me years of satisfaction, and I couldn't tell you which game ended the run, only that it ended badly - I still have a lasting distaste in my mouth for games whose sole gameplay mechanic is the efficient allocation of manpower and capital to produce the finest array of bits and bobs in the shortest amount of time possible. As such, it took me a very long time to actually get around to playing Dead in Bermuda, a game which revels in casual-intensity resource management, coupled with a bit of dice-rolling randomness and a somewhat wonky translation.

DiB starts out with a group of oddball vacationers crashlanding on a tiny island in the Bermuda Triangle. At first, their goals are simply to survive and discover a way off their tropical prison, but it becomes clear soon after arrival that there is something supernatural and dangerous going on. Starvation, sickness, exhaustion, and the cryptid-filled jungle aren't the only threats they face, however, as they also have to deal with each other, and for one reason or another they won't make that terribly easy for you. Party friendships and infighting can speed your progress along tremendously or bring it to a halt if you aren't careful. Search the island, build up your camp, scrounge around for anything edible, and try not to bleed out along the way. Sounds fun, no?

...For a while, I suppose. The game isn't actually terribly difficult. You'll likely fail a few times initially as you get your bearings and learn how things work. There's a decent amount of information you just don't get to know about until after you've stepped right into something disastrous. If you aren't the sort who enjoys save scumming, expect random, unfortunate events to make things impossible in the early game. Once you get past that early bump, however, the game becomes eerily bumpless. It goes from being a game of hard choices to eke out survival to something more akin to making sure to water your plants every other day.

So why bother playing? Why did I give it three stars as opposed to one or two? Because the game's got style, and not just in terms of visual presentation (though I have to say I love the artwork all throughout this title). Even if it's pretty blatantly inspired by LOST, the game's concepts are still refreshingly novel and intriguing. The majority of the characters you control and come across are interesting, decently fleshed-out sorts, and each night you get to see them bicker and squabble and sometimes even get along with each other in satisfying ways. The whole thing suffers a bit from a lackluster translation and localization job, but never enough to cause more than a slight hiccup in the pacing. Mind you, I'm not about to suggest this is one to play to absolute completion; some of the Steam achievements involve more grinding than I'd advise anyone go through, and the partial randomization of event order and starting stats only does so much to make replaying it all that gripping, but hell, is it worth a run-through? If you enjoy games that are more heavily focused on planning out actions than actually engaging in it, by all means. It's pretty cheap and gave me some definite enjoyment. I'm hoping the sequel / spin-off Dead in Vinland receives a bit more polish, a bit more balancing, and a more vigorous localization job, but I'm psyched for it all the same.