Sunkenland Beginner’s Guide

(Estimated Read Time: 9 minutes)

As a new player in Sunkenland, the number of things to do as soon as you spawn into the game for the first time can be overwhelming. So, let this Sunkenland Beginner’s Guide help you make the most out of your first few hours in the game.

Sunkenland: An Overview

Released on August 25, 2023, as an Early Access title, Sunkenland is a Waterworld-themed post-apocalyptic exploration and survival game. It supplies various familiar features, including building, crafting, and fighting enemies. However, Sunkenland distinguishes itself from similar games by focusing on deep-sea exploration. Players can search for resources and other loot in underwater buildings, theme parks, and sunken ships. Alternatively, players can search for islands and raid enemy hideouts. Those interested in playing Sunkenland should also ensure their PCs fulfill the game’s hardware and software requirements. You’ll find the Sunkenland’s minimum and recommended system requirements below, according to the game’s Steam page: Minimum System Requirements

• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Dual-Core 2.4 GHz
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT

Recommended System Requirements

• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Quad Core Processor
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560

Sunkenland Core Mechanics

Unfortunately, Sunkenland does somewhat little to explain its core systems to players. So, here’s a quick overview of some of the main mechanics you’ll use throughout your Sunkenland gameplay:

Diving

Most of the world in Sunkenland is underwater, meaning you’ll spend most of the time searching submerged ruins. Thankfully, it’s easy to lower yourself under the water. All you need to do is point your mouse down and move forward. An oxygen meter will appear while underwater, slowly decreasing as you remain submerged. Stay longer than needed, and you’ll take damage over time. Failure to rise to the surface when you’re out of oxygen will spell death. You can increase your character’s oxygen reserves by using oxygen bottles. Then, use research and build the air-filling station at your base to refill your oxygen tanks when they’re empty.

Base Building and Defense

Like swimming through underwater ruins in Sunkenland, base building is a reasonably straightforward affair. A more detailed look into building your first base can be found in a later section. Once built, hostile NPCs will want some (or all) of your loot. So, defend your base from enemies like mutants, pirates, and raiders. Over time, you’ll encounter enemies with heavy firepower, like shotguns and grenades. If you’re brave, search for these opponents before they can find and attack your base.

Crafting

Crafting in Sunkenland is possible by hand or through a crafting station. If you’re crafting something by hand, simply open the inventory and navigate to the crafting section. Otherwise, interact with a particular crafting station, such as the Workbench, to make items (as long as you have the right ingredients).

Travel

Apart from swimming across Sunkenland’s waters, you can craft various air and water vehicles for faster travel times. Note that each vehicle uses different controls for navigation. For instance, the sailboat requires you to turn the sail in the correct wind direction to propel the watercraft forward. Alternatively, understand the helicopter’s controls to ensure you’ll stay in the skies and not crash into an underwater grave.

Getting the Best Start in Sunkenland

Do you find yourself getting eaten by sharks more often than expected in Sunkenland? This section helps you survive and thrive as a new player in this post-apocalyptic, mostly underwater world.

Gathering Resources

Like other survival games, gathering resources is a requirement to ensure you stay alive in Sunkenland. So, walk around the island you spawn into and collect as many essential items as possible. Don’t forget to search inside containers for things like Herbal Medicines and Fishing Baits. Also, consider not taking furniture or cosmetic items at this point. Remember, you’re dealing with a reasonably small inventory space during the game’s early stages. You don’t want to catch yourself running out of backpack space when a vital item appears. Additionally, equip your Stone Hatchet to whack furniture on the island or underneath it. Doing so will give you additional resources, such as wood. However, pay attention to your Oxygen meter while scavenging for items underwater. If it’s empty, you’ll start losing health. Failure to quickly remedy the situation can lead to a sunken grave.

Crafting the Crude Axe and Scrap Metal Spear

Although the Stone Hatchet is a free tool since you’ll spawn into the game with it, this item will only get you so far. So, craft the Crude Axe and the Scrap Metal Spear with the materials you gathered recently. The Crude Axe requires 10x Wood Plank, 10x Scrap Metal, and 1x Rope. As for the Scrap Metal Spear, craft it by using 15x Scrap Metal, 5x Components, and 2x Duct Tape. Equip the Crude Axe to disassemble and salvage items faster than the Stone Hatchet. On the other hand, equip the Scrap Metal Spear to help deal more damage to enemies than the Stone Hatchet.

Building a Base

Remember, building an elaborate fortress is highly challenging when you’re a beginner in Sunkenland. However, you can make a reasonably small base to keep your items and respawn if Davy Jones decides to knock at your door. First, craft a Simple Bed, which will be your spawning point. Craft it by using 10x Wood Plank and 3x Cloth. Next, craft a Metal Chest with 10x Scrap Metal. Note that each Metal Chest has a 10-item capacity, so you may need additional units of this container. Then, craft a Simple Grill by combining 15x Scrap Metal. This crafting station allows you to cook food, especially the mushrooms found on islands. Remember, eating raw mushrooms will restore some hunger but will also consume 5 health. Also, the Simple Grill is powered by wood. Finally, craft the Simple Purifier using 10x Wood Plank, 10 Scrap Metal, and 3x Component. As its name implies, this crafting station boils seawater to make it drinkable.

Establishing Defenses

Perhaps the last thing you’d want is to find your small base ransacked after exploring the deep. So, don’t forget to deploy some defensive items. Start by crafting Barbed Wire, which uses 7x Scrap Metal for each unit. Thankfully, you can overlap Barbed Wire units to help save space. If your base is out in the open, close it by adding walls and windows to the foundation. You can add these building items before placing the Barbed Wire, albeit the task might become more difficult than initially intended.

Making Your First Boat

It’s time to travel to explore different islands, but swimming to those locations isn’t ideal since you’ll likely run out of oxygen and stamina. Instead, open your inventory and click on the Build tab. Select the boat icon on the left sidebar, and then build the Wooden Sailboat using 25x Wood Plank, 8x Cloth, and 2x Rope. Since it’s a sailboat, you must pay attention to the wind speed and direction. Do so by looking at the small flag on the boat. Now that you have a Wooden Sailboat, the world of Sunkenland is yours to explore!