'I'm not a big fan of survival games,' says director of 2024's best survival game

GamesSurvival & CraftingAbiotic Factor’I’m not a big fan of survival games,' says director of 2024’s best survival gameWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Deep Field Games)

Scientists in a lab

We didn’t want to have a lot of meters, we wanted to have feelings.Geoff “Zag” Keene

We didn’t want to have a lot of meters, we wanted to have feelings.

For Deep Field games founder Geoff “Zag” Keene, these deep but “simple systems” were crucial to making a survival game that he’d actually like to play, because he’s not usually the biggest fan of the genre.

“So I’ve always had this interest in survival games, but I’m not a big fan of survival games,” Keene told PC Gamer in an interview last week. “I play them with friends, but I always find them to be quite grindy and kind of boring.”

One of Deep Field’s goals early on was to deconstruct the typical loop of so many survival games (chopping down trees, building bases, maintaining them) and only keep the parts they liked.

“I liked the exploration of [survival crafting], I liked the adventure, and I like the roleplay of it too. I like sitting around campfires and chilling with your buds, you know, and I think a lot of games don’t promote that a lot,” he said. “So that’s why sitting is one of our major features in Abiotic Factor. It’s actually how you rest and heal in a lot of ways. We wanted to promote that environment.”

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

(Image credit: Deep Field Games)

Abiotic Factor screenshot

“We didn’t want to have a lot of meters, we wanted to have feelings,” Keene said. “When your character gets sick, you need to figure out why or think back to what you just did to make yourself sick, like eating a raw piece of meat or getting puked on,” Keen said. “I really feel quite strongly that the game is better when it tells you less. That’s why we don’t have meters everywhere.”

It does have some meters, though. HUD pop-ups and voice lines will tell you when you’re getting hungry or it’s time for the toilet, but you can call up a status screen to see meters for your core bodily functions. “It actually took several people on the development team pushing me to get meters even visible in your health screen. I fought both of those, and I lost because ultimately it was the better idea.”

Systems shock

“It’s our whole philosophy to make everything matter in the game, down to even the small stuff,” Keene said.

These simple simulations pair well with Abiotic Factor’s exploration. You’re initially dropped in the first floor of the Gate Cascade Research Facility. Near the starting point is a plaza that spokes off toward a handful of different departments. Inching my way through hallways with nothing but a pipe club and crossbow made from a table leg and highlighters often feels like I’m playing a long-lost Half-Life spinoff story, or the Prey 2017 sequel of my dreams.

(Image credit: Deep Field Games)

abiotic factor

There’s a lot of immersive sim DNA in Abiotic—reading emails, looting desks for valuables, exploiting in-world rules that everything follows—but Keene said he never set out to make an immersive sim.

It’s weird that I guess I accidentally made an immersive sim.Geoff “Zag” Keene

It’s weird that I guess I accidentally made an immersive sim.

“Until a few years ago, I’d never even heard [the term immersive sim],” he said. “I understand what it means on paper, I understand what games are considered immersive sims, but I never made Abiotic Factor thinking ‘This is an immersive sim, definitely.'”

But fans keep telling Keene Abiotic Factor reminds them of their immersive sim favorites. He appreciates the kind comparisons and is starting to embrace the label, intentional or not.

“It’s weird that I guess I accidentally made an immersive sim. I’m not sure it was an intentional design act to make it [that way], was more just this is the game I want to play.” Abiotic Factor is very much built from the ground up as a game I think would just be fun."

(Image credit: Deep Field Games)

Scientists in a lab

Keene also talked about how Abiotic Factor’s unique setting has sometimes backfired when introducing it to players. How do you communicate to survival crafting fans expecting screenshots of forests, dirt, and log cabins that a game about balding scientists in a lab is right up their alley?

“I think some people who are familiar with survival crafting games think, ‘I don’t understand this game. This is too foreign to me.’ So we’ve definitely had that issue,” he said. “It’s definitely tricky. It’s why we show a lot of crafting in the trailers. It’s why we show people smashing stuff and picking up the resources, even though that’s kind of boring.

“It’s been quite a battle, but it’s been a fun battle. It’s a creative challenge, I think. And it seems like we’ve explained well enough to enough people, nearing 300,000 copies now, that they’re getting it, so that’s really exciting.”

Not bad for a survival game that doesn’t look like a typical survival game.

(Image credit: Deep Field Games)

abiotic factor

There’s already a lot to the early access version of Abiotic Factor, and it’s only getting bigger. In a month, Deep Field has added cheese-making and walkie talkies that make long-range coordination a breeze. Two more major wings of the facility are set to come before the planned 1.0 launch in late 2024, alongside loads of “goodies” and new secrets. Deep Field’s public roadmap is full of stuff I’m eager to get hands on, like the hydro plant sector, jetpacks, laser systems, and more vehicles. But Keene says his team is also looking beyond launch.

“We have our 1.0 goals, but we also have 1.1 goals.”

More about survival craftingSorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our faultAfter 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my list

More about survival crafting

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our faultAfter 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my list

Herobrine standing in front of a foggy forest

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our fault

New warm and cold pigs

After 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my list

Latest

Dead By Daylight: The Junji Ito Collection

See more latest►

Most PopularPath of Exile 2 numberlord spends 16 straight days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat that makes loot better makes better lootPalestinian developer raises more than $200,000 to make Dreams on a Pillow, a game about the horrors of the 1948 NakbaPiranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod sceneSorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our faultTeam Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KIs the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anythingIf you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 offAMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fabI tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bay

Most Popular

Path of Exile 2 numberlord spends 16 straight days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat that makes loot better makes better loot

Palestinian developer raises more than $200,000 to make Dreams on a Pillow, a game about the horrors of the 1948 Nakba

Piranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’

Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod scene

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our fault

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

Is the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.

Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anything

If you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 off

AMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fab

I tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bay

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Systems shock#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Systems shock