Version at time of Review: v1.52 @ 207 hours:

The game has me come back over and over again as it has about the right amount of survival without being overbearing, base building, and exploration.

A lot of the game mechanics are randomized which makes each play through unique enough to be fun.

As the game is in early access, there are still a few bugs but nothing game breaking, which the developer is very responsive in fixing if one is found. And being EA, the dev is very open to suggestions and comments as development progresses.

Survival is not just food and water, which both are important, but also environmental survival. Things like sunburn if your in the sun too long without protection. Poison from spiders or scorpions. Attacks from spiders, komodo dragons, and tigers. Food can come from seagulls, crabs, animal meat, plants and herbs, among other things. Your core body temperature must also be regulated so you don't get too hot or cold which is based on the environment be it a sunny hot day or a cold rainy night, swimming, or even standing next to a fire for too long.

You must also regulate your meat versus plant food intake or you may get a vitamin deficiency. You can also be poisoned by insects, or by eating bad meat. But don't worry, there are remedies for most afflictions, you just have to find the correct plants or herbs.

It sounds like a lot in these survival aspects but it is not overly a burden and is actually funner than it sounds.

There is a story to follow, as well as finding 'blueprints' scattered around the islands, that will help you on your quest to escape.

In order to explore the islands you will need to build a raft and build things on the raft such as containers for collecting loot, a water collector so you always have some fresh water, a canopy to protect you from the sun, a cooking barrel so you can always cook your meat so you don't get parasites from eating it raw.

I would recommend the game in its current, very playable and enjoyable state. The road is still long for a finished game so if that bothers you then skip it, but add it to your wish list for later.

Why Salt 2? (11/13/2022(
Better graphics, more details, more island types, islands have 'special' locations, including interior dungeons, equipment/weapon bonuses you can pick, player skills and leveling, just to name a few things. And since it is early access the road map has a lot more features in store for the players.

There are a few things that still need improvement, but overall the game is very playable for anyone that likes exploration type games. Your ship is your home that you can decorate and place crafting workbenches on. Decorations like various light sources, beds, chests, paintings, and various small things like ropes, skulls, chairs, mugs, and the like.

Explore islands to find the supplies and resources you need to advance. Plants, loot chests at special locations, merchant towns where you can barter, and job boards to take side missions. You can hunt deer, boar and bear, or relax on the side of your boat and go fishing.

As you sail from island to island, you map the islands using your sextant and map so you know where you have been and where your heading as the compass guides your way. While your sailing, you can smelt ores to make ingots or craft weapons, clothing and equipment.

Land Ho!!!

Fun little gem of a game, with guns and spells. Unique game world with a lot of quests and things to do. Combat is fun and can be challenging at times if you're not prepared. The visual style is retro and adds flavor to the game.
When it is on sale, you really cannot beat the price for what your getting in return.

The same game genre as Master or Orion, this game is quite enjoyable as you can tell by my over 200 hours of game play. Different races with unique racial abilities, home planets and some unique technologies. You set the parameters for the universe, which can set native races, pirates, how many AI players, how rich/poor worlds are, and even how fast the game plays. You research technologies, grow food, mine resources, and build production facilities. As for diplomacy, you can form trade/research agreements, form alliances and much more. (There are no spies.)

Bought this game several years ago and after playing a while, figured out I did not know what I was supposed to do, or even how to do anything.

When I was running low on gas, I drove all around the gas tank trying to figure out how I was supposed to refuel, even looked at the keybindings to see if there was something there, but nope.

At that point I felt I did not care enough about the game to do google research on how to play the game so it now sits and rots in my library.