It’s been quite a year and everyone is getting ready to wrap up 2020 in the next few weeks. There’s always a lot of wrapping during this time of year as families prepare to celebrate Christmas. You might have been one of the lucky few who was able to snatch up a PS5 or Xbox Series X in time to try out your new games. Even if you weren’t quick enough to nab one of these consoles, there are still plenty of new games available for PC, including an upcoming one set in a fantastical land with buried treasure and battles.
King of Seas is an RPG that is set to release in early 2021. If you’ve been looking for a simple game that allows you to sail the seas and explore a world as a pirate, this might be the game for you. You must avenge your father after someone using voodoo magic assassinates him, but you are accused of being the murderer and must become a pirate. As a result, you set out to become the king of pirates.
You have the option to play as one of two characters: Marylou or Luky. I decided to play as Luky since he has more of a pirate look. The first step was learning how to navigate, steering my ship safely to a new port to deliver a shipment of gunpowder. The controls are very simple: you use two keys to guide your ship across the sea and two keys to control the speed of your ship. Personally, it felt a little too simple and I didn’t find it very challenging sailing my ship.
The excitement picked up once I had a Royal Navy ship start chasing me. Fighting, like the navigation, is a simple concept in this game but it is very unsophisticated. There’s no option to aim or change the angle at which the shots are fired. This made it somewhat difficult to attack the enemy ship. I’ve played other games that involve naval battles but this one does not come close to having the same amount of finesse. The most exciting part was watching my ship explode and sink as I let the enemy destroy me.
While the gameplay of King of Seas did not meet my standards, the narrative is not bad. I enjoyed seeing the caricatures as they conversed or gave me instructions. It’s a nicely done hand-drawn style. Additionally, the open world is beautifully designed with vibrant colors, bright foliage, and a wide array of landscapes to explore. It reminds me of Koopa Troopa Beach. Depending on weather conditions, the water might become rough in a storm which will impact navigation in your ship as the winds change direction. The creators did an excellent job of paying attention to those fine details.
While there are some elements that King of Seas executes well, the game as a whole lacks richness both in its gameplay and narrative. It feels like a knockoff version of other pirate games and does not bring anything new to its genre. For players who are looking for an introduction into a naval-based action-adventure, King of Seas is a good starting point but probably won’t pique the interest of more experienced players.
