Raft

Raft gives you a single tool at the start, a hook for pulling in drifting debris, and lets the entire survival loop grow outward from that one action, every plank reeled in expands the raft, and every expanded raft opens up new crafting options that weren't possible on a smaller structure.

Because a shark actively threatens the raft's hull rather than just the player, building basic defenses before venturing far from a stable base tends to matter more here than in calmer survival games, an unprotected raft can lose structural pieces while you're away exploring an island. Balancing time between reinforcing the raft and sailing toward new islands for resources is the core tension the whole game is built around. Raft Life runs a similar ocean-survival loop with a lighter focus on crafting depth.