Post #683876
2026-03-17 03:03 UTC
Replies (9)
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@pathunstrom@ngmx.com 2026-03-17 03:12
I'm going to expand on my thoughts a bit. A time based cycle is fine. A timer that says "seek shelter before x or face consequences" totally works for me. The storm in Duckhov, monsters spawning in the dark in Minecraft, both are good and interesting to me. The little bit I've played subnautica, oxygen never triggered the issues I have with hunger or thirst. (Obviously, hunger and thirst meters got in the way of genuinely enjoying that one). I'm also usually okay with "power" as a limiter. Keeping the flashlight on had been used to cool effect in lots of stuff.
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@SnoopJ@hachyderm.io 2026-03-17 03:07
@pathunstrom @astraluma worth asking if you've tried Terraria? It does not have these kind of survival mechanics and phew is it ever a satisfying game-loop, even if you stay away from the "summon these bosses and slay them" stuff that defines the "endgame". I'd had hundreds of hours of fun just spelunking caves, collecting ore/treasure, and repeating. And it *is* available on a variety of platforms including the Switch, although I do not know how the "oops no mouse" controls come across there.
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@twipped@twipped.social 2026-03-17 03:26
@pathunstrom @astraluma subnautica in the casual mode that disables hunger and the time limit?
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@cy@fedicy.us.to 2026-03-17 04:49
Well there is Minetest... doesn't work well on a handheld game console thhough
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@taq@thicc.horse 2026-03-17 05:15
@pathunstrom I recommend you look at astroneer. it's a game focused on building bases on several planets in a solar system which each have different essential resources. Each planet does have a dark/light cycle, but time is not relevant. The only meter management for survival is oxygen: you start with a generator that creates an infinite supply, and the challenge is allocating your tethers that connect your oxygen tube back to base while exploring.
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@dahie@chaos.social 2026-03-17 05:44
@pathunstrom I'm not a fan of crafting or survival games, but The Planet Crafter had me hooked. It has very basic hunger/air requirement, but it's never stressfull and only surves to slow down exploration. Thus when you see something on the horizon, you wanna get to, it's a great motivation to build your base, develop equipment to get there and slowly terraform your planet.
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@akiN@corteximplant.com 2026-03-17 06:38
@pathunstrom have you tried moonlighter? It’s a role play game with exploring dungeons at night and shopkeeping at day. Collect stuff, sell stuff, upgrade gear and reach further into the dungeons as you progress. It’s Zelda-esque, top down with pixel graphics and a really good soundtrack.
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@LeBonk@wetdry.world 2026-03-17 09:51
@pathunstrom Everyone's already mentioned Terraria, but yes, that might fit, though blood moons/goblins/pirates/eclipses could maybe count as "hard calendar" systems? they're entirely RNG, but they're not really avoidable or skippable either, and they tend to prevent you from doing anything else until they're done. also stay away from the The Constant and Zenith special seeds, since those add a hunger mechanic. I really like Fallout 4 as well. It's got a blend of town building, exploration/scavenging, and FPS combat that I thoroughly enjoy, and, aside from the repeatable radiant quests (which many people limit or just disable with mods), I don't think there's any of those time systems (though you'll want to avoid survival difficulty, since that adds not only a hunger mechanic, but also a thirst and sleepiness mechanic. similarly to the thing in Terraria, this was added after release, so it's not like the game is missing something without it.) Finally, the next closest thing I can think of is Noita, which is kinda like a blend of Terraria, NetHack, and a falling-sand game. There's not really any construction you can do (not easily, anyway), and you're not really expected to return anywhere, but you ARE expected to gather materials and build them into better weapons: the wandbuilding system in this game is absolutely deranged in the best possible way. Noita is a game that expects you to exploit its mechanics in the fullest sense of the word. The main issue is that it's absolutely unforgiving, with very limited healing, mandatory permadeath, and a whole bunch of complicated and intersecting mechanics it doesn't explain at all that can and will find new and exciting ways to kill you like a rat in a power box. The only hunger mechanic that exists is added by one particular perk you can select in between levels, which is near-universally considered a bottom-tier pick to always just skip unless you're going for the 100% achievement
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@polygonalhorse@goblin.camp 2026-03-17 16:52
@pathunstrom you might enjoy Dragon Quest Builders 2. It’s block style like Minecraft, you build up bases and towns and protect villages from monsters. Super cute, great story. Same team made Pokemon Pokopia which feels like a spiritual successor. Pokopia has no combat and you can’t die. On switch 2 only though but it’s so much fun, I’m currently obsessed with it