What’s in the demo
From the developer’s own description of the demo:
- The harbour and your trawler — every voyage starts at the harbour; once your boat is ready, the swamp opens up.
- Explore and scavenge — search cabinets, crates, floating debris and containers; pull drifting cargo in with the Grappling Hook Gun; pick locks; solve puzzles; tune the ship’s radio to find new places.
- Fish and trade — peaceful and predatory fish; process your catch into materials; trade fish and salvage with the locals → fishing guide.
- Craft lures and tackle at the workbench; unlock perks in the Fishing Skill Tree → bait & crafting.
- Ship Upgrade Skill Tree — Hull Armour Mk I, two engine options, a fish storage upgrade and a roof-mounted lantern → trawler upgrades.
- Survive — refuel at gas stations or with fuel cans, repair damage, scrape off Sea-Blight polyps, rest to pass time; carry the Harpoon Launcher for defence → night.
Demo vs the playtests
| Version | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Early pre-alpha playtest | Jan 2026 | One swamp-lake area, five fish types, short questline |
| Fan preview (Steam Ocean Fest) | May 2026 | Day–night cycle, sleep, night tentacles, lockpicking, radio, Mastery-tab recipes |
| Playtest | Aug 11–17 | Ship upgrade tree, hull armour, two engines, fish storage, barnacles |
| Open playtest | Sept 10–14 | Quest rework, pier fishing with tutorial, new fish Shovelnose and Gleamer |
| Demo | Oct 6 → | Optimisation, better animations, 12 languages, English and Russian voice acting, Steam Deck playable |
Tips if you’re playing it now
- Coming from a playtest? Delete the old Saved folder first (steps in the FAQ).
- Report bugs with the in-game form or the #dockyard channel on the official Discord.