Being a lighthouse keeper must be an arduous task; one with a heavy burden. Not only is there the need to keep everything functional, but also to regularly look out to sea and monitor passing vessels and sudden changes in weather. Now factor in additionally having to run a traveller camp, including assigning roles, cooking hearty dinners, and checking on traveller morale. That’s a job that would require a certain individual. In this case, a salty sea walrus known as Keeper.
Diluvian Winds takes the form of a low stakes management sim that also features resource gathering, planning, and construction elements. Keeper’s lighthouse isn’t just a beacon to keep ships safe, but also a light to guide weary travellers to a small campsite. In return for food and shelter, they’re happy to spend the day working – with roles including construction of new rooms or facilities, repairing existing structures, collecting wood, fishing and farming, or mining for resources. Every animal type is better suited to certain roles than others, while weather will also impact the size of the yield. At dinner time a cooking element features, in which different foods are placed into a pot to (hopefully) create something delicious. All the while the lighthouse needs to be stoked with fire, and natural disasters prepared for.
On first glance Diluvian Winds appears needlessly complex – especially something starring a cast of cutesy characters. The UI is populated by numerous icons and gauges, almost every button on the controller is used, and every character has an info sheet loaded with even more icons. Ten minutes is all it takes to master the basics however, and from thereon it becomes very clear what exactly you’re supposed to be keeping an eye on. The opening of the objective based campaign even acts as a tutorial, and is the first port of call for all players – with sandbox and scoring modes unlocking once the 5-6 hour campaign is beaten.
Structurally, Diluvian Winds plays out on a day-to-day basis, with each part of the day linked to a couple of tasks – most of which require no more than a few button presses. During the early morning the resource trader can be visited and the skill tree ideally accessed. Then the travellers can be assigned roles for the day, resulting in plenty of food to consume in the evening and wood either for construction or the lighthouse. At nighttime the lighthouse must be lit accordingly, before hitting the hay and doing it all again – only with changes in weather, random events, and new travellers cycling through every five days. Some will stay on longer, but usually no more than one or two. A typical day lasts no more than a few minutes, and cut-scenes only occur during key events, such as before a storm.
As the construction area is small it pays to be mindful about building, balancing food production with shelter. The campaign has chapters based around expanding to both above and below ground, with new key characters arriving. The aerial platform allows for expeditions while below ground caters for different kinds of travellers who are happy to drill for oil, etc. As the skill tree expands – based around meeting traveller’s requests, such as having a certain food type for dinner – more building types become available, and new areas for expeditions unlock. Certain animal types can only construct certain buildings, and so it also pays to be choosey when the caravan of new travellers arrives. Mice, salamanders, kingfishers, beavers, bears, ducks – there’s a long list of animal types to meet, and occasionally they’ll need help making moral decisions too.
The campaign mode is based around completing objectives to progress, most of which explain finer points – such as the expeditions – which can be completed at your own pace. While the campaign has cut-scenes and expands the backstories of select characters, it’s essentially here to prepare you for the more open-ended sandbox and scoring modes. Scoring mode involves managing the site for 50 days while trying to build and achieve as much as possible, ending with a breakdown of your performance and a graded score. This mode takes around 2 hours to play through, and even on easy mode you’ll be up against the forces of nature. The sandbox mode meanwhile is a tad meatier and commences with a screen full of modifiers, allowing you to toggle the frequency of certain events. The goal here is to survive for as long as possible, making it more open ended, and there are also a bunch of achievements linked to this mode. There’s also a need to dabble with hard mode to see everything on offer.
And, well, that’s pretty much it. Diluvian Winds is based around assigning roles, making daily choices, and dabbling in construction – it never really goes beyond that, with the action restricted to just a couple of screens. As long as there’s food to eat and firewood available at the end of each day, the stakes are pretty low throughout, to the point where it can feel as if you’re merely going through the motions each day. While I wouldn’t hesitate to call it repetitive, it’s also the good kind, where you’re working towards a goal and are occasionally rewarded for your labour. It’s also a pleasingly polished package, with detailed and well-drawn visuals, and menus that are easy to navigate despite them initially appearing complex. Younger gamers may need an adult to show them the ropes though.
For something based around rough seas, Diluvian Winds is oddly calming. There’s definitely space in the market for a low stakes survival game, and it manages to fill that gap snuggly. Weathered survival veterans should seek thills elsewhere, but for those looking to get their ‘sea legs’ it’s ideal.
Alambik Studio’s Diluvian Winds is out 17th July on consoles. Published by Red Art Games. A PC version is also available.