Raft has finally been fully released after being in early access since 2018. With Version 1.0, the world becomes even more vast and interesting as you try to survive on your raft.
It’s a whole lot of fun for both new players and those who have been there since the beginning. There are tons of little changes introduced in the first full release, so we’ll break down some of the biggest introductions in action.
- Some spoilers ahead if you want to dive in without knowing anything!
10 New Places
What makes the endless expanse of water worth traversing in Raft is the prospect of finding new locations to explore. In version 1.0, we get Varuna Point, Temperance, and Utopia. The latter actually introduces an endgame to an otherwise infinite pursuit of survival.
Each place has a lot of cool secrets and lore to be found. You can also get some much-needed resources to keep upgrading your tools and raft.
9 Voiced Notes
There are notes spread throughout the world of Raft, and they provide valuable insight into why the world is as it is. You learn more about other “rafters”, what happened to other cities that have fallen, and how the world became mostly water.
With the new update, the notes left behind have voice acting from the characters that wrote them. It adds an extra layer of storytelling that makes you feel what they were feeling and care more about these mostly unseen characters.
8 New Rafters
As Rouhi and Maya explore each island that crops up, you get the chance to find brand new playable characters in old and new locations. Just speak to them and they will offer to join your crew. Switch out between characters in the menu.
The first you can find is Tala, a maritime expert who stays in the Radio Tower. Next is Johnny, who got left behind on Balboa Island to fend off bears. Third is Elaine, your typical elite power suit-donning lady who got stuck fleeing Tangaroa. Finally, you can meet Shogo, a cryogenically frozen bioengineer in Temperance.
7 New Enemies
There are a lot of changes when it comes to animals. For instance, rare friendly animals are a lot harder to find now than they were in early access.
What you will be confronted with are vicious animals that want you dead. Stay on the lookout for hyenas, polar bears, anglerfish, and mutated spiders called scuttlers. You can also seek out a rhino shark and alpha hyena that will each serve as bosses that will only spawn once!
6 More Tools and Weapons
Fend for yourself with more reliable weaponry using titanium in the new update. These are unlockables you’ll get late in the game after some major story movement, so it’s really a grind to get to these.
It’s worth the trouble, though, as you get titanium arrows, swords, axes, and hooks. To add to that, you can also get an electric zipline tool that lets you go up and down, a longer-lasting headlight, and a canteen that can hold a lot more fresh water. The duration of zip lines is also doubled.
5 More Raft Equipment
The new update does remove some recipes, but you get a lot more to do on the raft in return. You win some, you lose some.
The biggest additions to the equipment on board include a juicer, electric grill, electric smelter, advanced anchor, advanced biofuel extractor, recycler, and wind turbine. Build all of these for ultimate power.
4 Building Improvements
The way you build and what you can craft are also improved. The most obvious changes here are the advanced crop plots and scarecrow, changes with the anchor level, and the introduction of the horizontal pillar and detail plank.
The horizontal pillar lets you create more flooring without the need for vertical pillars. If you ever wanted to make a floating loft, this is your chance. Detail planks let you add planks in practically any orientation you want, so you can make fun obstacle courses or just decorate.
3 Trading Posts
Islands are no longer just islands, now. You get the chance to seek out trading posts, where you can buy goodies like wearable items, decorations, and essential resources. You can also sell different types of fish to earn coins.
You can use these coins along with trash cubes to buy those oh-so-tempting items on sale in the trading posts.
2 Vending Machines
It seems no matter how destroyed the world is going to be, we’re never going to be free of vending machines. Whether it’s Raft, BioShock, or Fallout, there’s a nifty little machine in the middle of an apocalypse to provide you with some wares.
You’ll find a wide variety of decorations you can buy using vending machine tokens found throughout the world. The items you can buy will vary depending on where the vending machine is. Look beyond Tangaroa because there are tons of spots to find them now!
1 A Fully Fleshed Out Story
There is a lot of mystery and wonder regarding the story of Raft. As you find yourself trying to make it through the endless watery world, you can figure out the direction society went and if there’s anybody else out there. Perhaps there’s a chance to rebuild?
The whole story is finally complete with the release of Version 1.0. Even if you’ve played a part of the game in early access, you’ll want to start fresh because there are changes in the introduction and numerous journal entries that you wouldn't have come across before.