Recent reviews by PC-Doodle

This game has amazing potential just because of the proximity voice chat alone--its map generation and the currently available moons also make for wild times and varying experiences.

Several things I'd definitely love to see in the future that I feel would help the QOL of the gameplay loop:
- A way to mark dead-ends/pathways you've been to. Something like a spray paint where we can mark Xs on dead-ends or arrows to point back to the entrance after you've gone particularly deep. Could utilize a monster/enemy in the future that could mess with this as a mechanic?

- A way to upgrade our ship to be a bit bigger--the available space on the current one is a bit too small.

- Quotas quickly hit a spot where they become impossible--it's not very fun once you've hit this point a few runs in and know you're basically doomed.

- A way to balance for amount of players. Currently, solo play seems impossible to do because of quota requirements.

- Possibly longer days. As it stands, it feels as if we're being rushed through and only have 1-2 chances inside a facility before we have to leave depending on how bad the entrance spawn is. This seems to be the main complaint from my friend group, we feel as if there just simply isn't enough time during a run (especially on certain bigger maps).

I want to start this review off by saying I have severe thalassophobia, so I play 99% of this game above water unless I'm forced off the boat to go to shore or am unfortunately knocked off by some very notable monsters.
As someone who screams and turns the game off the moment I'm knocked too far away from my boat, I 100% recommend this game to anyone who's interested in a pirate's adventure!

Graphics:
Just... look at the trailer. That trailer is accurate to what it looks like in game: it has that beautiful Rare style to it with a nice blend of realism when looking at the ocean. The light effects, the fog, the different types of oceans...
There's very few things in this game that look off-putting or wrong, and usually it's just your pirate's face.

Sound Design:
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Do you love the sound of creaking wood? Water? Gun clicking? Sword swinging? How about when the music picks up because a kraken just spawned underneath your boat for the SECOND time in a single day? Then you'll love the ambiance in here!
Also, the cats purr directly in your ear. Highly recommend for anyone who loves cats!

Gameplay:
Depending on your hardware and how high you have the graphics cranked up, the game can lag for you. If you tweak them, everything should RELATIVELY run smooth like butter.
Some people complain about the sword swinging: "Why is it only 3 times?" That's because of PVP my fellow plunderers! Everyone in the game can be killed in about 3 sword swings, AKA one solid combo on an unsuspecting pirate. With how health is managed and how respawn works (15 seconds in timeout before you're allowed to respawn back on your ship), this is purely for balancing the game and works quite well once you've played enough to realize the design nuances. Ocean fights with other players can be VERY intense because of this, so try to focus on sinking their ship as fast as possible!
Digging treasure out with your shovel is possibly one of the most satisfying things I've gotten to do, and fishing and cooking food is more entertaining in this game compared to others.
Sailing your ship is where you can tell most of the care went to though, even if the instruments and lantern and opening and closing your pocket watch is fun. The controls for each ship vary depending on how big it is, just like in real life: it's considerably easier to pilot a sloop than it is a galleon, but with enough practice, you'll get a feel for how each one sails in no time.

Everything is highly accurate in this game in terms of aiming, no janky hitboxes here! I main a sniper rifle and frequently practice my sharpshooting from the crow's nest if I'm not the captain for the day, and I can confirm that if you're in bullet distance, you CAN hit things as long as you aim and account for bullet travel, disruption from waves, enemy movement, etc.

General Enjoyment:
Despite being a big chicken with my ass firmly planted on the boat, I REALLY enjoy this game! I'm hoping it'll eventually help calm my phobia of the ocean and the monsters in it over time. So far, I can't bring myself to even jump into the water to help my crew loot shipwrecks, but this has forced me to know how to pilot each and every boat perfectly.
I can't jump in the water? That's okay! I'll just gently ease the boat in place and just harpoon everything up myself.

So far, other players have tended to heed my warnings and I've only encountered 3-4 hostile ships. My friends (one of which is a high-ranking PVPer) warned me that people disable VC in this game and to not trust others, but most of the time when I pull my megaphone out, I get positive responses and people adjust their course, realizing we don't want to sink their ship for no reason.
I have yet to fully turn to the "kill on sight" mentality my friends possess and seek peaceful resolutions first... but if someone ignores my verbal and written warnings, then I'll happily participate in a brawl.