METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN
METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN
Game
Game2022Published by indie.io
Retreat To Enen
Developer Head West
Base building simulator 1500 years in the future. Journey to the Island of Enen to forage, craft, build, hunt, meditate, and explore across three vast biomes. Discover secrets and create the retreat of your dreams. With over 160 unique items to gather, craft, and build, every home will be unique. From the Steam store page
200 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Jul 22, 2026 · last updated Oct 7, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
64
Fresh
126 positive · 71 negative
95% range 57–70%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 126 | 71 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
3 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mixed
248 of 403 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 200 · most liked firstI like the main idea of the game to be a person in the future and have a survival experience in nature without zombies, dinosaurs or what not around. I even like the part of the included meditation. And I really wanted to like this game. But unfortunately I can't. To be fair, I played it for some hours and it was a 'nice' experience at most times. But about every half hours you have a 'Why did they do this?' moment. It's always things that should be easy to fix or would be better if they just…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I read through many of the reviews, especially negative ones before purchasing this game. It was actually the negative reviews that caused me to purchase this game. I love survival games. They are some of the few games I can play that do not cause me issues, from Minecraft to Subnautica to Raft. Those games are great, but in them I tend to have to mod them or cheat in order to get the game play I need. You see I suffer from PTSD from military service and extreme anxiety. Virtual crowds…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kinda terrible in all respects, it's a chore without challenge or purpose. It's a survival crafter with little to craft or reason to craft it, neither food nor water are hard to come by, but the mechanics just make it a chore. There's essentially no gear progression. It's a base builder, with little to build or reason to build it. You've no reason to choose one spot over another, they're all identical within each biome and everything respawns randomly after sleeping. Your objective is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like survival games, although I don't like zombie games. I'm delighted to tell you that this is a survival game with no zombies. It's still in very early stages but being actively worked on with a steady stream of improvements and additions. If, like me, you struggle to find your way around, then this game will start off tough as you don't have a point of reference for yourself on the map. However, once I got past initial frustrations with this, I actually found it quite refreshing. How…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love survival games. When I purchased this, I was very excited as the visuals of the game are stunning. The issue, however, is with the gameplay. I can see what the devs were trying to accomplish. The idea of a survival game with a focus on the atmosphere and philosophy of appreciating nature. Unfortunately, there's just not enough to do to really make it feel worth it. With no real feeling of conflict, the game is relaxing and you can focus on just enjoying the beauty, but after about an…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is pretty boring, doesn't take long to complete, there's not much to the base building and it just doesn't keep you interested in continuing once the ruins are discovered. The game could have been so much better, it looks great and the story is good but it just gets boring pretty quickly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Understand this - Retreat to Enen is a very different kind of game. Relaxation and exploration are the goal. There are no zombie hordes to murder, no explosions, no eviscerations. What this game does provide is beautiful scenery, tranquil exploration and fun building/crafting. Now there are enemies - venomous snakes, wolves and bears (which can be removed in the settings if one so desires), but combat really isn't the focus, here. Instead, you gather supplies to keep yourself fed, craft…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game definitely breathes a philosophical viewpoint down your neck, true enough. But once you advance a bit you can skip the pointless "wait and meditate" breaks. My main issue, is that the game is seemingly pointless (maybe later in the game it has a point?), the construction is cumbersome and not up to par with similar titles and, alike too many other titles, the crafting/construction is also pointless.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is mainly about death, because you die often trying to sort out how to play the game. There is no manual and there are no player guides, the player base and the Dev help to get you started but what they gave only got me through a couple of game days. The biggest headache is the shortage of food and flowers. Food you need to survive, you can pick fruit but it doesn't last you very long and it takes a long time to grow back. You can make a spear and can kill things in the local area…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It gives you almost no time to heal yourself if you are under a pathogen or needing antivenom. Basically a cure to bring your health back. It then kicks you to "medical evacuation" and you go to the main menu and you can bring up your saved game, but hopefully you save it in time, and if you did you get less and less time each time while trying to cure yourself. For example, I finally was able to get all the material needed for the cure/treatment and I kept getting kicked to the main menu and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Retreat to Enen? More Like, I Needed Therapy After This After playing this game for 1½ hour I was already feed up with it. I tried to get a refund, but Steam wouldn’t agree on this due to 14 days limitation. So, instead I’m doing this review on why this game was so annoying and why you shouldn’t buy it. It is highlighted as a casual, relaxing, base building simulator and survival game. Your goal is living the land in balance with nature, rather than fight your way to prosperity. Experience a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are many simple, quality of life elements that all games have that this one does not even down to basic key bindings. The map is just a map that doesn't show where you are or even give you any knowledge of what anything is on it. Symbols mean temples? Home gates? What is that? First day in the tutorial I learned to pick up sticks and rocks, that's fine. Build a shelter, okay. Fire pit cool. Now drink and eat, okay. Now sleep at 19:00. Well it's noon so now I'll just wander around for…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you are interested in a slower survival game, this is for you. It isn't a hardcore game by design, that is for sure. Just peace, love and nature. I can see why some people who buy this don't enjoy it, but it is on 50% off sale right now and well worth that price. I wouldn't recommend this to my PVP buddies, but for someone that doesn't want to stress about anything at all, this is your game. Build a base, explore 3 different biomes to get better recipes and just chill.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is an excellent relaxing game. As long as you don't mind dying a LOT. The food is non existent. Banana trees are useless. Never enough variety to stop going hungry. Takes way way too many resources to get anything built and takes way too long just sitting around waiting for the percentage to get to 100. The build menu is fine however when you go to actually build anything its like pulling teeth to get things to do what you want. Nope. I won't be playing anymore until the devs get things…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am smitten with the nature and atmosphere in this game. Players can choose to disable some or all threats for a gentle game play experience or enable all the dangerous wildlife for little extra challenge and cardio. Resources and weather impact the experience. Plus, the flowers are gorgeous! The developers are engaged with the community and listen to our feedback. I can't wait to see more content! There are a few gaps and bugs that are still works in progress such as lore, map/navigation.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I watched a lot of this games development on Tiktok. I fell for the hype. for $25 no. I can't recommend it. Its glitchy and slow. The combat leaves a lot to be desired. Shooting the bow feels hurried and disjointed. No basic storage from the get go. Stacking sticks and rocks, they may not despawn but you can't mass transfer, and dropping one by one will send sticks or rocks flying as they hit each other. There is no map, explore all you want, unless your drawing it out in real life, its easy…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The music is actually pretty good, and the atmosphere of the different biomes is decent. The basic survival elements are there- collect wood, rock, other materials and craft better tools and build a base. But the overall design is really lacking and feels incomplete- particularly in the caves, which are incredibly generic. This game also lacks a proper map- you can bring up a single map of all three biomes, but there's no real way to determine your position on them, even after setting down…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm incredibly annoyed and aggravated by this game, I regret buying it. On the surface it looks like a well done polished game, but there are so many stupid decisions I ended up rage quitting and just installing mods. Poisoning, malnourishment, and pathogens are too common, too harsh, and the their cures are obnoxiously difficult to find. Seriously if you don't eat enough of a certain type of food you'll be forced to spend way too much effort to correct it. First getting that food you need.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to give this a great go but the motion of the game play made me nauseous.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The most frustrating game ever. Impossible to survive. Run run run, find food then water then bam your poisoned. Then scour the island for a flower that spawns once a week. I give up. DONE!!!!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Followed the steps, got bitten by a snake, made antivenom, drank anti-venom, died anyway... Food is scarce, snakes are everywhere. Not relaxing at all, which is why I bought it. This game is about as relaxing as Left4Dead. Worst 10€ spent on Instant Gaming (silly me - could have returned on Steam - because it is not worth 10€, nor the half an hour of my life) NOT RECOMMENDED -- STAY AWAY FROM THIS
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was excited about this one. I truly enjoy survival games but don't like being chased by wild animals/zombies/tribes and rather enjoy walking through unknown territory, trying to survive. The visusals of Retreat to Enen are very nice as well, so this game seemed to be the perfect fit. Unfortunately, it turned out to be quite boring, particularly because there's no purpose, no deeper story, nothing to discover or uncover. Wandering around aimlessly is fine and relaxing, but not for longer…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very clunky, terrible animations with spears and movement. Not many settings to adjust for things like head bob. No hot keys, forced to use a weapon wheel. Crafting menus are not intuitive. Very very slow start, can't chop anything down. Forced to look around on the ground for fiber that just blends with everything else.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you struggle with mental health or need to relax after a long day, this is the game for you. It's peaceful. If you love nature but don't want to go outside all the time, this can help. It's a lovely game with wonder messages. I enjoy it. Just wish it had a creative mode as well. (I haven't played it in a while so I'm not sure if it does already.) Love it. Thank you.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game atmosphere and mechanics are fun -- however I paused the game to look up what an icon meant in the user interface... found out the company lacks a website (expired) and no manual... isn't that weird to put so much into a game but fail on those items?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm a sucker for survival games that don't involve shooting everything in sight and/or zombies, so I thought I'd give this a whirl. I've played for a few hours now and its...ok. It's basically Dawn of Man meets Miasmata, with none of the tribal aspects of Dawn of Man and a bit of Walden thrown in for fun. The graphics are gorgeous and I don't mind the hunter-gatherer premise, but I don't think it has much replay value. The bottom line is that if I want lovely graphics I'll return to Eastshade,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →spawned in, collected stuff, drank water, took a bit to find materials for shelter and fire, it just said consume food, ran around for 5 minutes before finding tree with a fruit, ate it, told me to find shelter to meditate, went to thing you spawned in, didnt work, tried going to second objective shape, couldn't get to it, went to final objective thing and sat for 3 minutes before leaving because it didn't work, seriously needs an update on the objectives and how to do stuff not just "drink" or…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i am so confused. not worth $25 bucks get it on a sell like i did for $5-10
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Completed in 30 hours. I posted a plea for help on the discussion boards when I was stuck early on, and didn't get a response. I'm glad I didn't give up, because I'd have missed out on such a surprisingly beautiful game. At the very beginning, it's not entirely clear in the tutorial that the "ruins" are gold/yellow colored, and normal meditation zones are blue. But you truly need to know this up front, and it should be communicated better than it is. The point is to find the gold/yellow ones.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Using 3950x w/ 3080 GPU. Game looks great yet I'm three hours in and I'm kinda bored. For $25 i hope to see some improved game play in the near future. I don't recommend it at this time.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Has potential but as it stands currently 8/2022, there just isn't enough in the game to recommend it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game looks amazing, the ambient sounds, the map/areas but it just lacks something that sets it apart from every other survival game. Nothing against the game or the dev but it's just missing something that makes you go "Oh, this is different, think I'll drop a few hundred hours into it." At the moment it's the same ole same ole kind of survival game. Sadly there's only a positive review and negative review button. I'm going to give this a negative review meaning pass. I don't hate the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Load of QOL missing, Product is still in development (building like green house has no description how it works, you build it, it dose not clear the land inside, and if you want to move, rebuild you lose 50% of mats)
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR: This has all the elements to be a relaxing and enjoyable craft/build/survive game, but a few questionable design choices are holding it back. That said, I would still recommend it, but maybe wait for a sale or the developer to make some game updates. This is your typical craft/build/survive game with beautiful landscapes, fauna and flora to exploit, and various things to craft and build. The game world is divided up into 3 small biomes. The global environment and each biome present a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS GAME, and I don't understand the negative reviews!!! The map is easy to navigate, I never got lost once, the entry portals are always visible in your field of view, so is your shelter, and you can plant flags. The meditation is not burdensome at all, it takes about one minute and it it just another vital (like thirst and hunger) which you can replenish at domes around the landscapes, no issues at all (I actually use this minute to stretch my legs and get a glass of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm a bit sad about this one, it looked really cool. Movement makes me nauseous, no way to turn off the head bobbing. In-game menus and crafting not very intuitive. Graphics okay, but you can step into trees and they vanish. Awful visual effects when swimming, even if you stay above water.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No useful map. Constantly rebuilding basic needs. Inventory issues.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I put around 10 hours into this game. It starts off really fun. Gathering and crafting are great. But then it feels like things become harder and harder to find. Malnutrition is what kept killing me. Apparently antiseptic cures this. Why? Wouldn't be so annoying had the devs added more of the flowers that craft the antiseptic. But no, I kept dying and reverting back to a previous save that inevitably leads me to malnutrition, and death.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not recommended at full price or even half price. This game should still be in Early Access. QUALITY: ~ Graphics & animation along with general audio provided great overall ambiance. ~ Player movement, notably swimming mechanics. STANDARD: ~ Controller use. ~ Weather effects. ~ Building mechanics (snap-to). POOR: ~ Inventory menu only allows moving one item at a time, no stack movements. ~ Building/Crafting menus are poorly sorted, and have no filtering options. ~ Settings: can't customize…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall I do like the game. But there are a few issues or things I dislike. First thing, the game does not auto save. I was not aware of this, I don't know if it tells you anywhere that it doesn't, but if it does I didn't see it. I found out the hard way when I was exploring and fell off some rocks and "died". It took me back to the main menu where I could either start a new game or load my game, but there were no saved games under the load game tab. Your shelter has a save option on it, but I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When I first saw Retreat To Enen on Steam, I awed at the beauty and the original concept. Wishlist immediately! A few days later, one of my Subscribers suggested I play it. I'm so glad he did, it's a nice balance of beauty, survival, relaxation and quick thinking. At first I the map confused me but once I identified the land marks and aligned with my environment, I got it. The crafting and building were very enjoyable and knowing there are so many options you can unlock, made it so much better.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice visuals but lacking content. Not worth almost £20 imo
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Similar to what others have mentioned, having to completely stop any task or goal you're working on to replenish your "spirit" by having to "meditate" completely contradicts the theme of a survival game. This isn't a fun or helpful game mechanic, and actually feels more like an inconvenience that completely breaks the immersion in this game world. Also, the game is VERY short, and only consists of 3 small arenas that have basic flora and fauna. I kept exploring hoping to find more, but there…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to like this game. It looked like a perfect fit for what I've been looking for lately. However the experience was disappointing. The mechanics are not smooth at all, and there are a lot of weird bugs in how you navigate the game that really get in the way of actually playing it. Additionally, I had to set the mouse sensitivity to 0% (50% is the default), as well as turn down the DPI of my mouse, to make it playable. And it was still super sensitive to look around. Combat felt…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Worth a try, give it a fair chance. If you enjoy playing survival games on creative/peaceful mode, Retreat to Enen might be for you. There is no real tutorial so my first few hours in this game were absolutely frustrating and it was tempting to rage quit. But, instead, I looked around online and found the Discord server which had plenty of new player tips and other players who answered my questions. I started a fresh new game and had a much better experience. You spawn in on an island and are…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a survival game, it looks easy; however, the start is far from it. Those YouTubers who recorded themselves starting were not wrong. Build one thing, get sick die, build another thing, get bitten die, and consume a pathogen that can not find plants, then die. OMG, my daughter thinks it's hilarious. I died so much. The graphics are stunning. It is annoyingly addictive so I highly recommend
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Retreat to Enen is a survival game built around a quiet, contemplative core, presenting a future in which humanity has rediscovered the value of nature after nearly destroying the planet. You play a young initiate sent to the island of Enen as part of a rite of passage, tasked with living in harmony with the land, meditating at ancient ruins, and slowly building a personal refuge. This premise sets a tone uncommon in the survival genre—one that emphasizes reflection and serenity over dominance…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game was interesting, but a few major design choices made the game a not recommend. 1. Compass or some way to navigate beyond line of sight and 'navigation flags'. A soceity that can materialize or dematerialize items on command can't figure out a basic magnet? Uh, yeah ok. 2. Building options are lacking. Ir you don't build a box or rectangle house you *will not* be able to make a roof for that section due to the lack of an inverted corner roof piece. Every survival game of the last 10…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Open-world survival game Retreat to Enen coming to PS5, Xbox Series on October 22 www.gematsu.com/2024/10/open...
unlabelledView post →lacks basic survival aspects and gets boring super fast. Still a very relaxing game for a chilled evening session.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →sound can make the game. this game dosent have it. cool concept but not quite right. like subnautica on land with weird meditation stuff with the book divergent society vibe.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A good game, worth playing. If you played Green Hell and liked it, you will like this game too. The beginning is hard, you have to think correctly to survive, then it becomes easy once you learn to use all the resources on the map. A little short, only 27 hours to get to the last map, but there you can turn a survival game into a building game. I recommend.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Starting on a positive, it’s good to see that the game is still being updated and improved upon. This is a beautiful game with very detailed, hand crafted environments. Extremely dense and lush environments which gives a sense of realism. However, in this game it’s a double edged sword. Let me explain. The starter biome is an island which seems to be designed in such a way as to trap you in cul-de-sacs. I constantly got lost, turned around and blocked which on the one hand is very…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i absolutely loved this game. tutorial needs some work, and having to find everything out youreself can be/get frustrating, but the rewards are awsome. once i disabled the predators game became so relaxing. its great to have this so beautifull world to be in. game looks so nice..... and game has room to expand, add more biomes..more crafting. cause only thing the game doesnt really have is replayability. but more content can fix that. but in short: i love the game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty chill game. A very bold move making a survival game with a meditation. The combat is a bit jank, but not really a core mechanic and I think can be disabled altogether . The graphics and ambient sounds are amazing. Explore 3 relatively large biomes at your leisure. Find temples to meditate at (or not if that's not your thing) and unlock new crafting upgrades. I'm no architect, but the base I've built looks beautiful, especially at night with the warm glow of a nearby fire. Quick tip -…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not a bad game but would not recommend picking it up early access the building is fun and easy until you accidentally step into a snake and have no choice but to lose all your progress if you weren't lucky enough to find an antivenom early in the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a base building game, so it checks the box on that, but there is a lack of content if you're not into just grinding for materials. There is limited useful upgrades, most being restricted to luxury items of little use other than decor. The meditation aspect is cumbersome and sometimes annoying but if that's your thing then it checks that box as well. There are a couple of things that are desperately needed. First off a marker for where you are on the map or a more detailed map, one or…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very short and too simple for a survival game. Meditation is a gimmick. You never really meditate other than filling your bar. You do it if you want to but do you need a game for this? it should have been implement as a way to complete mission. the survival aspect is barebone and there is no point unlocking upgrades you can go through the whole game with the basic shelter and just build a ton of food and water generating stuff. Pro tip: Don't bother with the winter level, just build your base…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ATM I can not recommend this game. I died too many times of poison mostly while trying to find the flowers, or trying to find my way back to my home to cook the antivenom and once I took the antivenom and was out searching more flowers so I could have some in my inventory and before my health had rebuilt, I got bit and died quickly. The map doesn't work at all. It doesn't acknowledge where you are on the map so how can you find where you need to go. I hope they add more antivenom items or get…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not a bad game, but it also falls well short so the mixed reviews are fair, I am recommending it but it's pretty lacking in many areas for an open world survival game. Pros: Really nice graphics, the first 2 maps are very well done. Ambient sounds are good. Base building is decent. Its a nice and relaxing game. Cons: Gameplay is very shallow, you go find 9 gold domes, eat food, drink and meditate, beyond base building thats pretty much it. Meditation is just a gimmick that gets old fast,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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