DaRmaZat Exploring a Sunken World, One Cable at a Time.
Set to launch in Early Access on November 6, The Last Caretaker marks the debut project from Channel37 Ltd — and it’s already shaping up to be one of the most intriguing survival-crafting titles on the horizon. Built entirely around the ideas of connection, power, and persistence, it’s a game where every small action—plugging in a cable, restoring a generator, or dragging open a rusted door—feels deeply physical and deliberate.
Power Required Beneath the Waves
At its heart, The Last Caretaker is a first-person survival adventure about rebuilding civilization after the world has drowned. Humanity exists only in seed form, hidden in the remnants of vast underwater facilities, and you awaken as the lone robotic caretaker tasked with preserving what remains. It’s a quiet, thoughtful kind of survival game—one where salvaging, repairing, and rediscovering feel just as important as crafting or combat.
Even in this early state, The Last Caretaker already demonstrates extraordinary potential. The physics alone make a striking first impression: mattresses flex naturally when lifted, doors respond to real-time hand movements, and every switch, button, and connector behaves with convincing precision. From the first moment in that flooded underground station, the game communicates one thing clearly — nothing here is automated. Everything demands your input, your energy, your power.
Refusing to Handhold
The early hours unfold deep within a submerged metro complex, where you learn the basics of survival and power management. A small HUD constantly tracks your KWh, forcing awareness of every watt spent. Heal stations need to be charged before use, cables must be connected by hand, and machinery only hums to life once you’ve physically rerouted its energy lines.
Eventually, you encounter your Vessel — a hulking ship designed to cross the oceanic wasteland and reclaim what’s left of Earth. Its systems are complex but rewarding: batteries, switches, and lifts must be restored one by one, slowly piecing together the means to travel into the unknown.
Unlike many survival titles, The Last Caretaker refuses to handhold. There are no quest markers, no flashing indicators, and no neatly labeled paths. You explore at your own pace, relying on intuition and observation rather than a checklist. Luckily, a basic quest log sits neatly in the upper-left corner, always there to guide you when you lose track.
Crafting, Connecting, and Conserving
Crafting is the backbone of The Last Caretaker, and it’s far more satisfying than the usual survival loop. Every piece of scrap—metal, plastic, wiring—can be transformed into a usable resource. Early gameplay revolves around restoring power: plugging cables, jump-starting machinery, or rerouting circuits. But the system quickly expands into something larger and more elegant, letting you construct full energy networks aboard your Vessel.
The sense of control is remarkable. Solar panels and wind turbines at the bow provide steady energy, while diesel generators and purifiers keep the stern alive. Placement matters, as every machine draws from the same interconnected grid. The process of balancing efficiency and aesthetics becomes almost meditative — an engineer’s form of zen.
Resource management reinforces this rhythm. Batteries deplete, components wear out, and scavenging trips demand foresight. Each expedition to a derelict facility feels tense but rewarding, as you reclaim enough material to keep your floating sanctuary alive. It’s the kind of gameplay that quietly pulls you in, making every decision feel meaningful.
Friction in the Circuits
However, not everything clicks perfectly yet. Combat exists, but it feels like a secondary system. The crowbar — your first weapon — lacks weight, and melee hitboxes feel unreliable. Later weapons like the Electricity Gun drain batteries so fast that fights become more about power management than precision. Encounters with rogue machines or aquatic predators can be exciting, but they often disrupt the pacing rather than enhance it.
Still, it’s clear that combat isn’t the main attraction. The real satisfaction lies in exploration, discovery, and the methodical repair of forgotten technology. The Last Caretaker also visually impresses with a grounded realism that enhances its atmosphere, while its soundtrack leans toward subtlety. Performance is mostly stable for an Early Access release, though small hiccups — a heavy stutter, a crash when docking, a bugged door, a physics glitch — serve as reminders that this is still a work in progress. None of these break the experience; they simply underline that you’re exploring something still under construction.
Preliminary Thoughts
The Last Caretaker feels like a rare kind of survival game — one that values patience over spectacle. Its tactile physics, deep crafting systems, and immersive sense of scale already make it stand out in a crowded genre. There’s beauty in its restraint: no constant objectives, no busy HUDs, just you, your vessel, and the endless sea.
The combat needs tuning, and the occasional glitch can frustrate, but those are small prices to pay for an experience this meditative and deliberate. Sailing from one decayed facility to the next, rerouting power, and piecing together humanity’s last spark feels both lonely and hopeful. If the Early Access build is anything to go by, The Last Caretaker could become something truly special when it reaches full release.
Additional Information
Release Date: Nov 6, 2025 (Early Access)
Reviewed On: PC. Download code provided by the publisher and PR agency.
Developer: Channel37 Ltd
Publisher: Channel37 Ltd
Relevant links: The Last Caretaker on Steam
