Stranded: Alien Dawn Jungle Update review – Exploring lush green worlds and conquering new frontiers

Stranded: Alien Dawn is a single-player survival game developed by Haemimont Games and published by Frontier Foundry. Players assume control of a group of survivors/colonists and must ensure they weather any storm to make it out alive. With three different unique scenarios to choose from, there’s no shortage of adventures to be had on alien worlds.

There are two regions for players to choose from: one in a temperate mountainous area with large meadows (Sobrius) and the other in a hot desert (Desertum).

With the latest Jungle Update, a third region has been added to the game called Saltu. Unlike its counterparts, this region is covered with dense jungles, swamps, rivers, and hot beaches. That being said, it’s time to dive right in.

Stranded: Alien Dawn – Tropical Paradise awaits

I will never get tired of this view (Image via Frontier Foundry/Stranded: Alien Dawn)

I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing the other two regions first-hand and have played all three scenarios as well. While the captivating region of Sobrius is a great place to start, once you learn how to manage resources, Desertum provides a bit more challenge.

The extreme heat puts into perspective just how tough life can get in an alien world. Even when playing the Trading and Military Outpost scenarios, things can get tough.

However, in the Saltu region, things are a lot more calm. It’s a bit warmer than usual, but for the most part, it’s a nice touch to the game and adds a bit of variety. Although my base is still in the early stages of development, it’s been fun trying out the new region first-hand and getting to see the fresh flora and fauna.

First impressions and gameplay

The Jungle awaits! (Image via Frontier Foundry/Stranded: Alien Dawn)

Stranded: Alien Dawn Jungle Update adds a brand new region to the game, and suffice it to say, I truly love it. Although it gets a bit difficult trying to spot things in the thick undergrowth at times, it adds to the overall immersion.

I’m not sure if it’s just me, but this region seems to experience a lot more rainfall than usual. Thankfully, Thunderstorms have been limited, so my survivors were spared being struck by my lightning during the early game.

While the Stranded: Alien Dawn Jungle Update adds a few more things to the game, the highlight is the region itself. As mentioned, with it being located in a dense jungle, there’s a new range of flora and fauna to observe and uncover.

My favorite thus far has been the Giant’s Tree. If you’re planning to build using Wood, this one tree provides 250 worth of it. However, given how majestic it is, I couldn’t bring myself to chop it down.

Another fascinating tree is the Sausage Palm. It provides Palm Meat upon harvesting and Wood upon cutting it down. I haven’t chopped down a single one as the free food source is much more valuable.

On the flip side, I’ve been cutting down Tall Palm Trees en masse like it’s no one’s business. Nothing like large-scale deforestation on an alien world, eh?

Purpleleaf Plants are amazing! Period. (Image via Frontier Foundry/Stranded: Alien Dawn)

One of the most useful plants I’ve found has been the Purpleleaf. It provides two resources for the price of one, and given the utility that it renders, it’s an amazing plant to start growing as soon as possible.

The Dandelion Tree is yet another brilliant add-on to the game. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg: there are a few more that you, as the player, will love discovering in the Stranded: Alien Dawn Jungle Update.

Moving on from flora to fauna, quite a few creatures have been added in as well. I’ve managed to tame two Shogu, and I’m now fattening them up just in case food ever runs out.

There are other creatures as well called Noth, but I’m yet to get around to domesticating them. With four survivors in hand, there’s already enough on everyone’s plate.

Aside from these new additions, there’s also a mysterious plant species called Living Crystal, but I’m yet to figure out what it does. It’s rather far from base camp, and my survivors have tiny legs.

Despite already making three trips, they haven’t been able to uncover its secrets. Nevertheless, I’ll get there eventually.

Wonder what these strange plants do (Image via Frontier Foundry/Stranded: Alien Dawn)

Apart from the new elements featured in the Saltu region, a few quality-of-life improvements have been added to Stranded: Alien Dawn Jungle Update. Area Flags and Work Areas have made restricting survivors’ movement to certain regions of the map extremely easy.

Aside from the obvious fact that this will stop them from wandering out of the camp during a Thunderstorm (and out of range of a Lightning Rod), it allows for better micro-management. If anything, creating specialized work areas will make it easier to spread out the basecamp without losing out on workload efficiency.

The jungle region is rather calming (Image via Frontier Foundry/Stranded: Alien Dawn)

However, perhaps one of my favorite add-ons to Stranded: Alien Dawn Jungle Update has to be the introduction of Survival Kits. Rather than leg it back to basecamp and end up wasting a few hours, survivors can now camp under the stars and relax. Hopefully, they don’t get mauled by wildlife, but that’s another issue altogether.

Harvesting Tools have also been added, which makes collecting resources a tad faster than normal. That said, if you manage to set up your early-game resource flow well, you will not need these for a long time.

Additionally, Respirator Masks and Signal Flares have been introduced to the game as well. The former provides protection from Toxic Ash and Dust Storms, while the latter makes it easier to see at night.

Last but most definitely not least, the addition of a dedicated Photo Mode is really a nice touch. Plenty of options to tweak and mess around with to get the perfect picture of your survivors or the landscape itself.

Performance

I played Stranded: Alien Dawn Jungle Update on a system with the following configuration:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
GPU: RTX 3070 8GB
RAM: 32 GB

After having played the game for a while now over the course of a few months and different build versions, I’m yet to experience any major problems.

In fact, as compared to my first rodeo with the game, the loading times have decreased significantly. The game boots much faster as well. All in all, I had a smooth experience.

In conclusion

Green as far the eye can see (Image via Frontier Foundry/Stranded: Alien Dawn)

There’s not a lot to say that hasn’t already been said, but nevertheless, I’ll say it once again. Stranded: Alien Dawn Jungle Update is a great little add-on to the game and will extend replayability by quite a bit, to be honest.

Given that the late game can get a bit tedious, the addition of the Saltu region will give players a bit more to do. Depending on the scenarios chosen and custom gameplay settings, things will get interesting.

On a personal level, it’s comforting seeing lush greenery all around – it truly adds to the immersion and makes it feel like an alien world in a holistic sense. That said, I look forward to seeing what else the developers have in mind for the Saltu region.

Perhaps a new scenario wherein survivors must establish a Medical Outpost to produce certain medicines from the jungle would certainly be entertaining.

There’s a lot to see and do in the Stranded: Alien Dawn Jungle Update, including new flora, fauna, and of course, boundless opportunities. I’m really excited to see what’s in store for the next update. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and create a jungle utopia for my survivors.