Exploring the seas on a magic surfboard looks awesome in this 16-player co-op survival game from former Riot devs

Fantasy heroes exploring strange islands
(Image credit: Treehouse Games)

I know it's hard to believe but GTA 6 isn't the only game that got a new trailer this week. Today the former Riot devs at Treehouse Games released their own trailer for 16-player co-op survival game Voyagers of Nera. 

Coming to early access in 2024, you're invited to grab your friends, explore the world, battle monsters, and build a huge base together on your very own tropical island. Check out the trailer below, which was shown today at the Wholesome Snack showcase:

If Voyagers of Nera looks a bit familiar that's because it was announced back in July as Codename: Islands with a brief teaser that looked lovely but didn't really give us much to go on. Today's trailer is much more substantive with a good look at the characters, the world, the monsters you'll battle, and the island base you'll build with your friends.

"Play as Runeborn, powerful stewards called upon to restore balance to the chaotic, unstable oceans of Nera," reads the game's Steam page. "As you travel to distant islands, you will encounter mighty leviathans, explore ancient ruins, and protect villages in peril."

Sure sure, I'll restore the whatsit and encounter the thingies, definitely. Sorry if I seem distracted, but I can't help but stare intently at those sick-looking magical surfboards I can use to skim over the oceans at a hundred miles an hour. Do I have to kill some leviathans to get one of those? Or explore a ruin? I'll definitely do it.

Surfing isn't the only way to get around in the open world survival craft game. Yes, there's the required glider, of course, but there's also huge, speedy sailboats, and I can't help but notice someone approaching an enormous and friendly-looking sea turtle. Maybe it'll give us a lift, too?

It's hard to say how much survival is in this survival game—a brief glimpse of the HUD shows what appears to be a red health meter and a second blue meter (mana, I'm guessing), but I don't see any indicators for hunger, thirst, or other survival systems. On the plus side I see plenty of resource harvesting, crafting, and some cute and happy pets. Throw in a magic surfboard, and you've got yourself a deal. 

Christopher Livingston
Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.

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