Drake Hollow

Drake Hollow is a third-person PC survival-building adventure from The Molasses Flood, published by CD PROJEKT RED. The current Steam and GOG storefronts still use the original name, with no verified rebrand, definitive replacement edition, or renamed legacy version. Its central loop combines exploration, resource gathering, village construction, direct combat, and online co-op for up to four players.

Explore The Hollow and protect the Drakes

The game begins in a shattered world called The Hollow, where vegetable-like villagers known as Drakes are threatened by hostile creatures called the Feral. Your role is part caretaker, part builder, and part combatant. You travel through dangerous regions, clear threats, gather materials, and improve a camp that must support an expanding Drake population.

Third-person exploration keeps the action immediate while leaving room for resource management. You can move between islands, investigate hazards, collect materials, and search supply caches for the components needed to expand your settlement. The world is dynamically generated across changing regions and seasons, giving each stage a different visual setting and resource-planning problem.

The main progression loop is easy to understand but has several competing demands. You may need metal for defensive structures, crystals for Drake development, or general supplies for food, water, entertainment, and camp improvements. Choosing which objective to handle first is often more important than simply collecting everything in sight.

Village needs, buffs, and base progression

Drakes are not passive decorations. They require food, water, shelter, and entertainment, and their well-being directly affects the settlement. Gardens, wells, beds, recreational objects, and utility structures help maintain the population, while happier and healthier Drakes can provide useful buffs and gifts.

Camp construction is freeform rather than locked to a strict grid. You can arrange production buildings, defensive devices, utilities, and decorative objects according to the terrain and your preferred layout. The settlement gradually develops from a small survival camp into a more capable village as you unlock additional construction options.

Power management becomes important as the village grows. Structures such as treadmills and solar panels can generate energy for equipment including Tesla coils and electric fences. This gives the building system a practical logistics layer: expansion is not only about placing more objects, but also about keeping the infrastructure supplied.

Experience and skill progression are tied to the broader save rather than being limited to one particular world instance. Activities completed in campaign, sandbox, solo play, or while visiting another player can contribute to global progression, allowing abilities and bonuses to carry into later sessions.

Combat and Feral raids

The Feral are the primary hostile force in The Hollow. They occupy parts of the world, threaten the Drakes, and can attack the camp. Combat is real-time and uses an unusual collection of improvised weapons, including tools such as tennis rackets and nail guns.

You can confront enemies directly or make the village do more of the work. Automated defenses let you prepare the settlement for attacks, while careful placement of electric barriers and other fortifications can reduce the pressure on the player during a raid. The strongest camps combine active fighting with a layout that makes enemies pass through defensive coverage.

Combat is not separated from the survival systems. A poorly supplied village is harder to defend, while an overbuilt camp can consume resources that would otherwise improve Drake development or exploration equipment. This tension between preparation and expeditions is one of the defining features of the game.

Players who prefer survival games built around gathering, construction, and gradual environmental improvement may also enjoy co-operative sandbox survival games such as The Planet Crafter, although Drake Hollow places much more emphasis on defending a living settlement.

Campaign, sandbox, and co-op structure

Campaign mode provides the main guided progression through The Hollow, while Sandbox mode offers a less structured way to develop a village and experiment with the building systems. The game does not revolve around a traditional loot treadmill or a competitive multiplayer ladder. Its longer-term appeal comes from settlement mastery, exploration, Drake management, and improving the efficiency of each camp.

Regions change with the seasons, and the village can travel with you as the adventure moves forward. That structure means a successful settlement is not necessarily permanent in one location. You must rebuild or reconnect travel infrastructure while adapting to the next environment.

Online co-op supports one to four players. Friends can divide responsibilities between gathering, building, fighting, and maintaining the village. The game supports online co-op, but current PC storefront metadata does not identify split-screen or local co-op as a feature.

There is also a useful distinction between playing alone and playing with a group. Solo players must balance exploration and camp defense themselves, while co-op groups can specialize. That makes the game more approachable for players who enjoy shared base projects but may feel repetitive if they want highly varied combat encounters or a large competitive endgame.

PC features, controls, and storefront status

The PC version is available through Steam and GOG. Steam lists Steam Cloud, Steam Achievements, Family Sharing, and online co-op. GOG lists controller support and an optional Galaxy layer for features such as cloud synchronization and achievements, while the game itself can be installed through GOG's offline installer.

Full controller support is identified for the PC version, making gamepad play a practical option for both solo sessions and couch-style online setups. Keyboard and mouse remain useful for players who prefer precise menu navigation and construction management.

The current Steam listing identifies English, French, German, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Latin American Spanish interface support. Full audio is not listed for these languages, so players should expect localized text and interface elements rather than a multilingual voice track.

No separate PC anti-cheat product is identified in the current storefront metadata. The game uses the relevant platform services for purchasing, achievements, cloud features, and online connectivity, but it is not presented as a live-service title with a recurring season-pass structure.

Drake Hollow remains a paid base game rather than a free-to-play release. Current storefront information does not present a substantial DLC catalog, season pass, or renamed complete edition replacing the original listing. Players searching for the PC version should therefore use the original title.

Who should play Drake Hollow?

Drake Hollow suits players who like co-op survival building, colorful fantasy settings, light colony management, and a clear reason to keep expanding a base. It is especially appealing when the fun comes from making a settlement more functional, protecting friendly NPCs, and deciding how to spend limited resources.

The game is less suitable for players seeking hardcore personal survival simulation. The main maintenance burden falls on the Drakes and the village rather than on an elaborate hunger, thirst, or temperature model for the player character. It is also not the best match for players who expect deep character classes, highly technical combat, or a huge crafting tree with constant equipment replacement.

Its strongest audience is likely to be small groups who enjoy building a shared project. Solo players can complete the experience, but the division of labor and emergency defense pressure make co-op the clearest expression of the game's design.

Similar PC games

For a more creative sandbox with generated worlds, building, discovery, and online collaboration but less settlement maintenance, open-world construction adventures like LEGO Worlds are a natural comparison.

Players who want a more resource-focused survival sandbox with crafting, farming, exploration, and base expansion can compare Drake Hollow with bird's-eye survival RPG sandboxes such as Force of Nature. Drake Hollow is more action-oriented and places greater emphasis on protecting a population of friendly creatures.

The most distinctive difference is the combination of Drake care, freeform village construction, seasonal relocation, and tower-defense-style camp protection. Few comparable PC games make the population's happiness and entertainment as central to the building loop.

Drake Hollow FAQ

Is Drake Hollow still the official PC name?

Yes. The current Steam and GOG listings use Drake Hollow. No verified rebrand, renamed legacy edition, or definitive replacement version was found in the current storefront checks.

What type of game is Drake Hollow?

It is a third-person survival-building adventure with exploration, crafting, base construction, light colony management, real-time combat, seasonal regions, and online co-op.

How many players can play together?

Drake Hollow supports one to four players through online co-op. The PC storefront listings do not identify split-screen or local co-op support.

Does Drake Hollow have a sandbox mode?

Yes. Alongside the campaign, Sandbox mode provides a less structured setting for experimenting with village construction, Drake care, resource planning, and defenses.

Does the PC version support controllers?

Yes. Current PC storefront metadata identifies controller support, including full controller support through Steam's hardware feature listing.

What languages are supported on PC?

The Steam interface is available in English, French, German, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Latin American Spanish. The storefront does not list full audio localization for these languages.

Is Drake Hollow free to play?

No. It is sold as a paid base game. Current listings do not show a free-to-play transition or a major season-pass structure.