Avoid The Sun And Survive In Last Oasis

Survival games come and go, when titles like Rust, Ark: Survival Evolved, and Don't Starve Together, seem to have a hard time keeping their player bases engaged, it's really going to take something fresh and interesting to make a big splash in an already small pond. The Last Oasis looks to be the game that can do that. By embracing a unique visual aesthetic and introducing a gameplay loop of always needing to be on the move, the developers at Donkey Crew may have come up with an interesting and engaging entry into the tried but true survival MMO genre. 

If The Monsters Don't Kill You, The Sun Will

Last Oasis is dubbed as a "Nomadic Survival MMO", in which you play as one of the last human survivors after the world stopped rotating, and is tasked with needing to always move from the scorching sun. The typical survival mainstays are here, custom characters, crafting and trading, and the heavy use of clans. But what sets Last Oasis apart is its gameplay loop in which you and your clan are always needing to constantly move ad the game progresses. This keeps players from hunkering down and dominating a part of the map as well as adding a third threat other than monsters, pirates, and other players. As a gameplay necessity, food has been nixed from Last Oasis in favor of water, which becomes a valuable resource as you explore the map. Just like real life, if you run out of water, you die.

Last Oasis is an MMO divided by interconnected oases (or servers) that can house 100 players each. To explore or dominate a new oasis only requires players to just travel to one, and according to the developers each oasis is 100km2 big. This means that Last Oasis has the potential to become a massive and living world with plenty of space for people to explore and fight for power. Travel is regulated to the big wooden contraptions you may have seen in the preview images and video above called "walkers". These interestingly designed machines can be used for travel and war and can be hidden when players log off to keep them protected from other players online. The simple fact that you don't need to worry about your valuable resources while you're not playing the game (we all gotta sleep sometime) gives Last Oasis a forward-thinking consumer-friendly approach more survival games need. 

A New Kind Of MMO

Exploring the world will also help grow your character and earn skills via a skill tree as well as let players earn money and build settlements. if they or their clan want to have a more permanent place to plan raids and defend resources. The game's economy is set to be ever-evolving due to a player-driven focus. This will let players react to the general needs of each server and have the possibility of making a profit based on the needs of another server. By letting players have this much control of the world's economics and territory Donkey Crew hopes to build a world that's always evolving and interesting for all players new and old. 

Fightin' Round The World

Melee combat is skill and directional based, similar to the Mount & Blade series, but combat isn't just limited to swords and clubs as you will also be able to develop firearms and ranged weapons for walker combat. You can choose to be a master at a single fighting style or learn a little bit with everything, the customization here can really let individual players have the experience they want regardless of them playing solo or in a large clan. Last Oasis has a promising combat loop that looks like it should have some really fun raids and large scale battles in store.

Between its interesting visual art direction and the simple fact that Last Oasis can be played solo or in a large group, there's a lot of potential here. Donkey Crew's fun and accessible design that retains a deep gameplay loop for hardcore fans may be what sets Last Oasis apart from the competition.

TechRaptor previewed Last Oasis during a closed-door press event. The game will be available on Steam Early Access on March 26th, 2020.