IndieSimulationStrategy
Surviving the Abyss
Give it 10 hours
Gets good by 10h then rated almost like by veterans
Fully opens up by 20h rated like by long-time players
Started playing 19% of owners
Steam reviews 65% positive of 1,089
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 2 reviews are negative (50%); after 20h it's 1 in 5 (22%).
- Fully opens up by hour 20.
- The opening is criticised more than in 78% of games we track.
- Few early reviews, so this is a rough estimate.
- Only 19% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 1,098 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 300 reviews: 17.6h for positive, 8.2h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (18.9% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
Story milestones aren't labeled yet; all achievements are listed below.
All achievements (27)
- First Steps Successfully create your first clone 100%
- Anomaly Discover signs of an underwater creature through a long-range scan 79%
- Sustainable Growth Achieve a population of 30 70%
- We're Going to Need a Bigger Boat Discover the decimated whale 69%
- Outpost Expand to a new biome 62%
- Scientific Breakthrough Successfully clone your first Generalist 56%
- Rare Find Capture a rare specimen 45%
- Longevity Have a clone survive for 30 days 39%
- Technical Expertise Successfully clone your first Engineer 37%
- Yeah, Science! Successfully clone your first Scientist 36%
- Automated Construct an automation module 32%
- Are You Afraid of the Dark? Send an expedition into the Dark Glows 31%
- Distress Signal Discover the abandoned research facility 29%
- Anger Management Successfully rehabilitate an aggressive clone using the brig 28%
- Black Gold Locate and begin extraction of oil 25%
- Heating Up Expand into the volcanic biome 25%
- Trailblazer Successfully clone your first Pioneer 23%
- Legendary Catch Capture a very rare specimen 22%
- Dredge Build the trench extractor 22%
- The Final Frontier Establish an outpost in the anomalous biome 21%
- Genetic Mastery Create a clone using all 8 genetic sample slots 20%
- Pinnacle of Innovation Unlock all technologies in the tech tree 20%
- Thalassophobia Complete the main story 18%
- Undying Create a clone with 100% longevity 16%
- Perfect Specimen Clone a Pioneer with no mutations and 100% longevity 16%
- Engineering Marvel Attach all available modules to a cloning facility 14%
- Explorer Discover all Point of Interest types 12%
Steam page Updated: 2026-10-20.