What is it like to play Stranded Deep in 2022?

It's 2022, 7 years after Stranded Deep's Early Access release. The game is still in beta. Has much changed? Is it worth playing?

The game was released as part of early access in January 2015 on the PC (Windows) and Mac platforms. After 5 years, we got a version for Xbox and PlayStation, and from last year you can play Stranded Deep on Nintendo Switch.
There are currently some differences between PC and the consoles. The most noticeable difference is the size of the map, it is much larger on PC. The developers have noted that it takes time for everything to be transferred to the consoles.

Is this a good time to play a relatively finished game? In a way, yes.
We have a relatively large world, generated randomly, although after a few islands we will notice their repetition. There are some animals, places to explore, and of course the plot - although not so obvious, but this is probably the norm in survival games. There are still some mistakes, but they are really minor. I played for a few weeks on the Xbox console and nothing happened that would significantly hinder gameplay.

Still there is something missing. I have the impression that not all the ideas have been implemented. After a few hours of gameplay, you will notice that many resources are either useless or they have little benefit. Building lofty buildings is fun only for sandbox lovers, because it doesn't make much sense, and it requires a huge amount of resources. There is simply no benefit to having any kind of building. You don't have to protect yourself from animals behind high walls or from rain under a roof. Sun protection does come in handy, but it's not a reason to build a huge property. Fighting animals is schematic and gets boring quickly.

In Stranded Deep, we can play in cooperation with others, but only on the same platform, because the game does not offer a cross-play mode. Even on consoles, we have access to a simple world and island editor, which allows for additional variety of the game. It is a typical survival game that allows you to freely build with the use of popular foundations with square and triangle blocks.

Exploring the world and sourcing raw materials gives a lot of satisfaction at the beginning, after a while you will notice tiring repetition. Climbing coconut trees, waiting for rain or planting new shrubs has its own appeal. You can get satisfaction from the moment when you look at your pile of obtained raw materials which will motivate you to take further action.

It is unknown when the game will be fully completed, but it is now playable. Don’t expect many updates as they are quite rare. A very small team is working on them, and maintaining the game on all the platforms is difficult.
While browsing the official forum, I found information about the last update 5 months ago (January 10, 2022) with only bug fixes.

Unfortunately this game doesn’t score well, compared to others in the same category. Green Hell or The Forest made a much better impression on me. I spent a lot more time playing these games. However, as a lover of this genre, I could not pass by. Anyone who likes survival games will spend many hours at Stranded Deep with a smile on their face - as long as you don't expect to be blown away. For my part, I rate the game 5/10. I feel as if something is missing and I become bored quickly with the gameplay. Let's hope the Creators will make up for it in the future.