Video Game Review: King of Seas

3DClouds

Team17

Genres: Simulation, Adventure

Nintendo Switch

Pirate-themed games have been coming out slowly over the last few years, so every new game sparks my interest. Among those games is King of Seas, a pirate simulator that has been inspired by games like Sid Meier’s Pirates!. While it fails to reach the standard set by the beloved franchise that influenced it, King of Seas does a fine job at carving its own name into the genre.

King of Seas offers a blend of pirate simulation and role-playing. Players will choose between two characters who strive to be the king of pirates (Among a few other things). While it offers a good amount of freedom for players to explore, the narrative does focus on the main storyline. Players will do quest after quest, meeting eccentric characters on the seas as they get closer to achieve their character’s goals. The story isn’t particularly groundbreaking, but the cute characters and the journey make the narrative interesting enough.

After a couple of quests designed to get players used to navigating the seas, players will have a good grasp of how the game works. Exploration, combat, and trade are all covered in the brief tutorial. Not too long after the tutorial, players will get the opportunity to customize their ship too, opening the door for new ships, skill trees, and parts. Every game of King of Seas is procedurally generated, giving players a new experience every time they want to start over and explore a new world.

Navigating the seas is about everything you would expect from a game in this genre. Players have full control over the direction that their ship goes. While players do have their own freedom, the wind and weather will have an impact on how difficult it is. Players can still sail against headwinds, but it can be a chore. Sometimes it is just easier to go with the tailwind and change course later on. The wind also significantly affects turning. This demands skill from the player if they need precision in their maneuvers.

Players will also run into storms that can heavily damper their journey. It’s easier to just go around the storm, but sometimes players won’t have the time or resources to play things safe. All of the weather and elements of the sea add a nice bit of strategy to King of Seas as players learn how to adapt to everything thrown at them. There are even a few mythical creatures out in the sea to avoid, giving the game a bit of a whimsical feel at times.

Quests are simple and aren’t too inspiring. Just about every quest involves picking something up and transporting it somewhere else. On the way will be battling with other pirates, the navy, and monsters. The quest structure isn’t great, but the seafaring is entertaining enough to make this forgivable.

The combat is fine, though it is frustrating early on. The controls don’t feel too intuitive, so players will spend some time trying to figure out a decent way to approach combat. The tutorial’s combat section is just too brief to offer any real help to the player. The wind and how it affects turning gives combat a high skill ceiling, and it will take practice to actually get there. Until then, combat can be frustratingly difficult, though not necessarily unenjoyable. It’s not a deep combat system, but it gets the job done.

The graphics aren’t particularly impressive on the Switch, but they are adequate. The sea doesn’t look stellar but it isn’t offensive either. The character portraits have a fun quirky style that looks like they belong in a comic by BOOM! Studios. Whether King of Seas is being played docked or handheld, this is a fine-looking game. The frame rate does go through the occasional dip, but it never gets to the point where the game can’t be enjoyed. The soundtrack is fun, with great little pirate tunes to make every trip through the seas one that players can hum to.

At a cheap price tag, King of Seas can offer tons of content to players. Its frustrating combat makes for a difficult experience at times, but players who can sail past that will find have a great time exploring and trading.