Bootstrap Island - Buyer's Guide

Immerse yourself in Bootstrap Island, a rogue-like survival game with a 17th-century setting. Experience a unique game world, realistic physics, and dynamic open world. Read our review to see if it's worth playing in 2024.
Fan-art of Bootstrap Island

In Bootstrap Island, you find yourself the lone survivor of a 17th-century shipwreck, thrust into the heart of a mysterious and perilous island. This game offers a merciless roguelike experience with bite-sized yet intense sessions, where your survival instincts are your only guide. Progressing in the game allows you to unlock new resources and enhances your survival odds. The game features a unique experience for each player, thanks to randomized resources and the significant impact of your choices. The game’s dynamic open world offers realistic physics and systems-based gameplay, with factors like day/night cycles and elements like fire and water playing a crucial role. The narrative is deeply engaging, set in a 17th-century storybook setting, with the storyline adapting based on the player’s progress and choices. Bootstrap Island offers the most authentic survival adventure, without risking your actual life! This game is co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe Media program.

Should I play Bootstrap Island in 2024?

The good

  • VR Experience: Many users praise Bootstrap Island as one of the best VR games they’ve ever played. The game’s immersive mechanics and realistic survival elements draw comparisons to other stellar survival titles like Project Zomboid.
  • Exploration and Physics: The exploration aspect of the game is well-loved for its realism and engaging details, such as the physics involved in activities like opening a coconut.
  • Atmosphere: Several reviewers highlighted the intense and scary nighttime experiences, adding to the game’s thrill factor.
  • Initial Gameplay: The first hour or two of the game has garnered positive feedback for its engaging and exciting discovery phase, with players enjoying the process of learning survival techniques.

The bad

  • Content and Replayability: A frequent point of criticism is the lack of content, making the game feel repetitive after the initial few hours. This sentiment is echoed by multiple users who felt that the game loop becomes monotonous.
  • Daytime Duration: Some players found the daytime duration to be too short, which hampers exploration and planning, reducing the feeling of adventure.
  • Peaceful Mode: The implementation of peaceful mode received negative feedback, particularly due to the lack of special items and poor design.
  • Performance Issues: A few users reported that the game is quite demanding on hardware, even when their systems meet the minimum requirements.

Verdict

Should you still buy or play Bootstrap Island in 2024? Based on user reviews, if you are a VR enthusiast looking for a deeply immersive and realistic survival experience, Bootstrap Island is a must-try! 🌴✨ While there are concerns about content and repetitiveness, the game’s engaging first few hours and atmospheric depth are undeniable. The developers seem committed to improving the game, so future updates could potentially address these shortcomings. For non-VR players or those seeking a fuller game loop, you might want to wait for more content or a sale. But for VR survival fans, Bootstrap Island is an adventure worth embarking on! 🏝️🔥



Visit the game's website Get the game on Steam

In-game Screenshot

Screenshot of Bootstrap Island

Top image is not real in-game screenshots. Fan-art made by Gamer.se. Some game metadata is coming from RAWG