There’s something oddly satisfying about survival games. You punch a tree, somehow invent modern civilisation by teatime, and spend the next dozen hours convincing wildlife that your wooden hut is private property. Far Land follows that familiar formula, dropping you onto a mysterious island armed with little more than a rock and optimism. Sadly, optimism turns out to be the rarest resource on the map.
Despite borrowing plenty of ideas from the genre’s biggest names, Far Land struggles to carve out an identity of its own. It has moments where you can see what it was aiming for, but getting there often feels like hard graft for very little reward.
Gaming Heaven
Exploration is easily the game’s strongest feature. The island is open from the start, encouraging you to wander off and see what you can uncover. Finding abandoned equipment, hidden caves or a useful weapon does offer a welcome sense of discovery.
The scenery also deserves some praise. While character models and enemies look fairly basic, sunsets across lakes and forests can be surprisingly lovely. It’s a bit like sticking a postcard behind a GCSE art project.
Crafting is straightforward too, making it easy enough to build shelters, tools and storage without drowning you in menus.
Gaming Hell
Unfortunately, the gameplay loop becomes repetitive remarkably quickly. Most of your time is spent smacking rocks, chopping trees, running away from enemies and then repeating the whole process because you’ve realised you need another 47 bits of wood.
Combat feels clunky throughout. Melee encounters lack impact, enemy behaviour is inconsistent, and armed opponents can wipe you out long before you’ve got anything capable of fighting back.
Resource balancing is another headache. Important materials can become frustratingly scarce, grinding progression to a halt while you wander the island hoping a lump of mud suddenly decides to exist. Riveting stuff.
The story barely registers, leaving survival to carry the entire experience. Without stronger objectives or memorable characters, the adventure soon feels aimless.
Final Judgement
Far Land isn’t completely without charm, but it rarely rises above being a fairly average survival sandbox. Attractive scenery and enjoyable exploration can’t compensate for repetitive gathering, awkward combat and sluggish progression. There are far better survival games available on PS5, and unlike this one, they don’t make finding a bit of mud feel like applying for planning permission at your local council.
