Crafting A New And Exciting World In Tribe: Primitive Builder

Atrue craftsperson never blames their tools, and when building in Tribe: Primitive Builder, it doesn’t matter if you’re sporting a DeWalt, Makita, or a spoon made from bread crusts and ferret hair; what you need is patience. That’s not a life tip – it’s one of the ingredients needed to progress in this laidback simulator.

It doesn’t matter how good you are at your job; one error on your part and the gang will throw you to the lions. That’s what happens in the prologue as you’ve been exiled to an island. Fortunately, some chap sporting a wooden mask similar to those seen in PixelJunk Monsters takes you under his armpit and puts you through several trials. Yep, you’re the chosen one who’ll build a boat and save the inhabitants from ye gods and a moody volcano.

I covered Tribe Primitive Builder in the Summer of 2021 and forgot all about it until now. The early trailer looked great, but would it really look like that? Visually, Space Boat Studios et al have done a decent job. The island layout is as authentic as a Kardashian, but only because it makes a better game. It can’t all be perfectly natural-looking.

Tribe: Primitive Builder Review – We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat

There’s an abundance of opportunities to get some steps in. Without an electric scooter or dad’s taxi service, travelling can be tedious. There are fast travel options which require some sacrifices before unlocking, so expect plenty of backtracking to fulfil your needs – food, water, Netflix, then sleep. It can be a bollockache.

Still, Tribe: Primitive Builder is mostly an enjoyable, chilled experience. The hero is both a hunter and a gatherer, providing for the greater good by sourcing fish, meat, herbs, water, and a host of construction materials and later, performing that ‘teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’ thing through NPC automation; gathering resources, making tools, and setting up links between trade points.

Spoiler alert: you’re not alone on the island. It’s not Far Cry: Primal, and neither is it Lost, but there are workers for hire and other tribes to unite, refuelling the loop of establishing a new settlement and connecting it to the last. First-person simulators are as repetitive as a Sunday morning’s “I’m never drinking again” mantra, and that’s where the wholesome fun kicks in.

For about five hours straight on a Sunday, I cut down enough trees in Tribe: Primitive Builder to have my own designated eco-warrior protestors with their vegan pitchforks at the gates, yet there were no regrets. That repetition of going back and forth to a site to get just enough wood/fish to move forward was brill. And that bridge construction? Loved it. Anyone who’s played it will know the part.

Build-A-Tribe

Items are stored in a backpack, while a workshop and storage room hold items needed to keep the machine oiled (the workers doing their part). As for threats, there are wild animals about, though nothing on par with the mother-in-law or an erratic rabbit with a butterfly knife to press you whatsoever. Even the fall damage is incredibly generous.

The builder aspect in Tribe: Primitive Builder might disappoint those wanting an intricate system. As long as you have the initial parts, a 3D blueprint shows where you can place a structure, then click on each component to ‘build’ it. The only element within your control is rotation – don’t expect to build anything freestyle.

Also, there aren’t any stats to develop as such. Each time an action is undertaken, it’ll increase the mastery. Collecting items will improve your gathering ability which reduces stamina cost, and the same for building and so on. New structures and equipment unlock with rituals and sacrificing items.

Other than that, Tribe: Primitive Builder performs as a relaxing and satisfying open-world survival/crafting with minimal sidequests, meaning it’s a game you might complete before your mid-life crisis. 

My verdict? A good simulator that errs on a cosy style of play with intuitive mechanics. Not everyone has the time for Starfield.