Drownlight Preview: The Oceanpunk Survival City Builder That Keeps Humanity’s Last Light Alive

When the World Drowned, Only the Light Remained

Drownlight is a city-building survival simulator in development by Fathomlight and publisher Crytivo, merging strategic management, moral dilemmas, and atmospheric narration.

In a world consumed by the infinite ocean, players must create and defend humanity’s last city from which to step off into the uncharted magical waters of the lost place known as The Skies.

Inviting heavy Frostpunk comparisons, Drownlight’s frozen wasteland is instead a rising tide and tempestuous seas – inspiring something of an appropriate fan nickname in “Oceanpunk.”

Watch the full trailer here.

Release Date and Platforms

No official word on the Drownlight release date just yet, but its Steam page confirms it will soon find its way to PC.

Players can now wishlist the game on Steam to receive updates about when it releases.

And although that console version hasn’t been set in stone just yet, there are already plenty of fans wondering about Drownlight Xbox release – namely whether or not the game will make it to console after launch.

The Lighthouse: The Core of Survival

Drownlight is all about the lighthouse; not only does it hold a central place as its namesake, but figuratively. It is your hub, your core — the beating heart of civilization.

• Keep the Flame Burning: Strategize how to best burn fuel and manage power resources to keep the light burning! When the light goes out, people disappear into the night.
• A Beacon for the Lost: The light draws new survivors, each contributing work, hope and mouths to feed.
• Guard the Light, Seek the Depths: The murky depths of the surrounding ocean conceal more than ancient secrets.

Survive the Unforgiving Ocean

When I opened my eyes to Drownlight, the world was anything but peaceful. The sea is your greatest friend and worst enemy, throwing every decision into doubt.

• The Darkness: Again, lose the light and some unseeable force is coming after your people.
• Unforgiving Weather: Endure a world of harsh weather that is constantly
• Resource Scarcity: Keep your food, morale and energy levels in check to sustain life.
• Moral Dilemmas: Save the lifeline and choose who should live and sacrifice in the world, you shape your decisions.

Each contributes to Drownlight being a kind of stealth-horror game, where each village can easily be plunged into darkness by the wrong decision.

Key Features

• Radial City-Building: Build out from the lighthouse into extensive, layered settlements and better control how your colonies grow and change in response to the environment.
• Moral Dilemmas: Accept harder survivor requests — refuse too much and the city’s population may rebel.
• Constant Tension: Maintain your light during storms, running low on fuel, and the all-encompassing oceanic shifts.
• Atmospheric Design: Gritty visuals and ocean-deep sound design make for an otherworldly experience on the brink of apocalypse.

Drownlight Gameplay: Oceanpunk Meets Strategy

Gameplay footage reveals familiar systems for Frostpunk fans — circular city layouts, pop-up moral events and the tugging back and forth between survival and humanity.

But Drownlight distinguishes itself with its nautical setting, weather-based systems and an atmosphere that’s simultaneously claustrophobic and hopeful.

Players will construct, expand and manage the Lighthouse all while making sure the lighthouse lamp never goes out! Losing the light doesn’t merely mean game over — it means lights out for civilization.

System Requirements (Minimum)

• OS: Windows 10 / 11
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 2600
• Memory: 2 GB RAM
• Graphics: GTX 1050Ti / AMD RX 570
• Storage: 2 GB available space

Community Reactions: “Frostpunk on the Sea”

Drownlight announcement trailer has caused quite a stir online since it was launched.

People have taken to calling it “Frostpunk but on the ocean”, and fans are raving about its atmosphere and unusual take on survival-building.

“Frostpunk, but it’s on the sea. Looks great.”
“So Oceanpunk basically — looks really interesting, worth checking out.”
“Graphics are insane for this genre of game, looking forward to it.”

Other have pointed to the obvious visual similarities to Frostpunk and implored that developers should lean sand out even more on

“It just needs that gradual improvement and vibes to make it stand on its own.”

Although not everyone is certain about it's originality, the general mood of the comments is positive with most players looking forward to Drownlight’s development and how it will attempt to define its own brand of “Oceanpunk”.

Developer & Publisher

• Developer: Fathomlight
• Publisher: Crytivo
• Genre: City Builder, Survival, Resource Management

Final Thoughts

Drownlight will merge deep, emotional storytelling with complex systems management and a disturbing world to deliver an immersive survival experience.

If Crytivo and Fathomlight can flesh everything out in the right direction, and carve an identity all its own that stands apart from Frostpunk’s looming shadow, this could end up one of the most promising indie survival games we’ve seen in a long time.

In the meantime, you can head to Drownlight’s Steam page and wishlist it to be notified of development updates leading up to its release. The light may be all that is left for humanity — but sustaining it will not be free of sacrifice.

Drownlight FAQ

Q: What is Drownlight?
A: Drownlight is an oceanpunk city building survival simulator where you reconstruct humanity’s last hold-out, towards civilization, around a lighthouse amidst the world of floods.

Q: When is Drownlight’s release date?
A: The game’s release date is currently unannounced. It’s listed as “coming soon” on Steam.

Q: Who is developing Drownlight?
A: Drownlight is created by Fathomlight and published by Crytivo.

Q: Will Drownlight be available on Xbox?
A: No official announcements, but a Drownlight Xbox version is in many fans’ wishlist after-release.

Q: What genre is Drownlight?
A: It’s a combination city builder, survival simulator and moral management strategy.

Q: Where can I play Drownlight?
A: Drownlight will be released on Steam for PC, and console releases may follow.

Q: How is it different from Frostpunk?
A: Its DNA is a survival management game, but while this has you managing an enormous, hostile ocean in place of frozen tundras and the like – with the lighthouse as the heart of gameplay.