Your Cozy Corner of Chaos in The Survival Genre
Another week, another set of chaotic survival tales. If you blinked, here’s what went live on the blog:
One story wraps up, others carry on. Thanks for tagging along—more survival chaos ahead next week.
I was planning to post a brand-new Day One Diary for ARK today… but life, as it tends to do, had other plans. Between work, chores, and trying not to get stomped myself, there just wasn’t time to spawn, craft, and get eaten properly.
So instead, here’s a look back at one of my previous ARK Day One disasters — complete with early optimism and inevitable doom, along with some others:
👉 [Day One Diaries | Survival Game Playthroughs & First-Day Survival Challenges]
New entries are still coming soon. SnowRunner kicks off on Friday, and more chaos is always just around the corner.
She never asked for this.
She never wanted to be shrunk down and tossed into a backyard where everything — ants, mites, bees, spiders, the wind — wanted her dead.
She just wanted to craft a lean-to, maybe roast some gnat meat, and figure out why the grass was taller than a skyscraper.
But she was brave.
She fixed lasers. She investigated an oak tree that promptly exploded.
She learned to fear the sounds of tiny feet in the grass.
She fought valiantly with spears, fists, and panic as her most reliable tools.
In the end, it was the bugs that got her. As they always do.
Not the spiders, no — that would’ve at least made sense.
No, her end came via something smaller. Meaner. Possibly several somethings.
The logs are unclear. The screaming was not.
She will be remembered for her resilience, her questionable armor choices, and her ability to stay alive just long enough for things to get interesting.
Rest in pieces, Backyard Explorer.
You were small, but your chaos was mighty.
Read their tale here: The Backyard Trials: Grounded Permadeath
Just a quick update for all fellow sunburnt survivors: I’ve added a couple of useful visuals to the Stranded Deep hub page—
🧭 A screenshot of my starting map (so you know where I washed up)
🎮 And the Nintendo Switch controls I’m using to wrestle with coconuts, crabs, and my own bad decisions
You’ll find both right below the Series Overview section. Whether you’re following along or planning your own island misadventures, I hope it helps!
Back to hunting crabs.
(Out of revenge, not necessity. Mostly.)
Welcome to Survivor Incognito! This is where survival games meet chaos, comedy, and a healthy disregard for difficulty settings.
If you’re new here and wondering what this blog is all about, here’s a quick guide to help you dive in:
Think playing on easy makes survival games easy? I’m living proof it doesn’t. 👉 Surviving, Not Suffering: Why I Choose Easier Difficulties
🗺 The Long Dark Complete Region & Transition Zone Survival Guide
📆 Survive Your First Week in The Long Dark
🕷 The Backyard Trials: Grounded Permadeath
🏹 Sneak, Snipe, Repeat: Skyrim Survival
🚢 Dark Waters: A Dredge Survival
SnowRunner Survival: The Permagear Diaries Main Hub
Sunburnt & Sinking: A Stranded Deep Survival Diary
👉 About Me
👉 The Long Dark Customloper Settings: Easier Interloper Survival Mode
👉 FAQ
Thanks for joining the mayhem. Surviving is optional. Storytelling the downfall? Mandatory
Just a quick post today to say a big welcome to everyone who’s recently stumbled into the chaos of Survivor Incognito. Whether you came for the haunted fish, the frozen lakes, or the exploding oak tree, I’m glad you’re here.
If you’re new, here are a few good places to start:
This week marks the end of the Grounded permadeath run — the backyard won, basically. But starting next week, we’re trading bugs for busted axles with the debut of SnowRunner: The Permagear Diaries. Expect mud, ice, and a lot of “well that truck’s gone now” moments.
Thanks for reading — and remember: surviving is optional. Storytelling the downfall is the point.
Oh — and if you think playing on easier difficulties makes survival games easy? It doesn’t. I’m living proof that you can still freeze, starve, drown, fall off cliffs, and get stomped by wildlife with the difficulty slider turned all the way down. Turns out survival isn’t just about the settings — it’s about the decisions. And mine are… let’s say “narratively interesting.”
Just when I thought the seas were clear… turns out Dark Waters had one more entry left! The final chapter of the Dredge permadeath run has now been scheduled, so we’re giving Stranded Deep a little breathing room (and maybe giving me a moment to dry off).
Meanwhile, SnowRunner: The Permagear Diaries is still on track to launch next week.
I am also still in the process of adding more ARK maps, but life finds a way to make that as slow as possible it seems, but I’m doing my best to add more as and when I am able. Thank you for your patience on that.
I have also seen people downloading my rules for games like The Long Dark, Dredge and even Grounded. If you have any suggestions for rules I could follow, please let me know and I will see if they could add to my playthroughs in any way.
Thanks for keeping up with the chaos — more doom is on the horizon!
A mysterious mansion, a weird engine, and an eyeball fish that failed to impress. Day 6 of the Dredge permadeath run brings new quests, strange artefacts, and a Collector with a taste for cursed objects.
Missed the previous day? You can find it here: Dark Waters: A Dredge Survival Day Five
The day starts before I’ve even had a chance to stretch my sea legs. The Mayor greets me with a new concern—apparently a photographer passed through recently, heading south. I’m told I should find her and say hello. Social obligations while I’m fishing for my life? Fine. I’ll add it to the to-do list… just beneath “don’t go mad at sea.”
I set off from Greater Marrow and head south, making landfall on the first island that looks like it might have plumbing. It turns out to be Blackstone Isle, which sounds charming in the “haunted Victorian manor” kind of way. I arrive at 8:55 AM.
I check the mansion—naturally, it’s locked. I poke around the nearby workshop instead, only to find a Sign of Ruin and something called an arterial engine, which I assume isn’t medically approved. I also learn a harsh lesson: I forgot to sell yesterday’s catch. Either that or the game saved before I did. Either way, I’m hauling stinky fish back to town.
I dock at Greater Marrow around 12:49 PM and go through the usual unloading dance with the Fishmonger. Then I chat with the Mysterious Figure again, who—surprise—sends me back to Blackstone Isle.
Naturally, I fish on the way. Because of course I do. This time I reel in an all-seeing cod, which sounds cool until I try to impress the Fishmonger with it later and he gives me a book instead of admiration. Apparently, cod with eyeballs where they shouldn’t be are so last season.
At 16:12 PM, I dock at Blackstone Isle again. This time, the mansion is open and I meet The Collector, who is absolutely not sinister at all. I hand over the handkerchief I fished out of a monster, and he offers to upgrade my ship to allow dredging—basically seabed looting. Sounds good!
He gives me a cursed scavenger hunt: find a ring, necklace, watch, music box, and key. Why do I feel like I’m helping someone complete a haunted wedding registry?
I attempt once again to find the elusive Black Grouper on the return journey. I fail again. The Grouper and I are clearly not fated to meet.
Back in Greater Marrow at 22:55 PM, I get flagged down by multiple NPCs who seem to think I don’t have enough to do:
The Lighthouse Keeper shares a shipwreck location.
The Builder wants to move and gives me a shopping list:
● 2x Lumber
● 2x Scrap
● Deliver to Steel Point
I finish my last few conversations, sell the disappointing fish, and finally rest—making sure to save and quit properly this time so I don’t repeat the rotting-fish incident.
Daily Summary
Date: Day 6
Events:
Spoke to the Mayor about the missing Photographer
Visited Blackstone Isle and found the Sign of Ruin
Forgot to sell fish from Day 5
Met The Collector and received dredge equipment
Fished an all-seeing cod (not as exciting as it sounds)
Got quests from the Lighthouse Keeper and the Builder
Still haven’t caught a Black Grouper
Slept peacefully after a long, confusing day
Want to know more about what this is and what rules I need to follow? Please read the Dark Waters: A Dredge Survival hub page
A quick update! One of our permadeath series end this week, but next week we launch SnowRunner — the survival chaos continues!
It’s a big week on Survivor Incognito — two of our current permadeath series are reaching their dramatic (and probably messy) conclusions.
But don’t worry… the chaos isn’t stopping. Next week, we’re kicking off a brand new adventure:
We also have another series ending next week, the week after that, a Day One Diary for the game taking it’s place will be up, the week after that, that series begins.
Stay tuned — more mayhem is just around the corner.
A look back at the survival chaos from this week on Survivor Incognito: from haunted seas and freezing wilderness to dino disasters and exploding oaks.
It’s been a week full of questionable decisions, close calls, and new beginnings here at Survivor Incognito. In case you missed any of the madness, here’s your survival cheat sheet!
The search for one stubborn fish continued, along with a steady descent into darkness and dread.
Charcoal maps, rabbit stew, and a sudden storm — because survival in The Long Dark is never boring.
A behind-the-scenes update! I’m working on expanding the ARK Survival Evolved map page to cover all Switch maps. All the regions, all the doom.
Vampires, arrows, and highly questionable footwear choices. My Argonian had quite the day.
The lasers were fixed, the oak tree exploded (as it does), and the backyard remains terrifying.
Punching trees, hallucinating plants, and being reminded why Aberration is not the friendliest place to spawn.
More chaos, more permadeath, and maybe even a few victories (no promises). Stay tuned!
Survivor Incognito 