The game's developer Squeaks D'Corgeh has openly expressed disdain towards the "mascot horror" genre, claiming that most games in the genre are bad and expressing disappointment towards "genuinely good ideas" being wasted, particularly highlighting that many games primarily use the same gameplay loop. In that regard, when making Shipwrecked 64, he wanted to prove that there was more that could be done with the formula, and he claimed that he didn't want to hold back on anything, stating "I either go all the way, or I just don't go at all."