Pirates: Rogue's Fortune - review

Wandering across the open sea, battling pirate ships, exploring distant islands, and uncovering their underwater secrets—Pirates: Rogue's Fortune brings all of this to life. The game combines survival and resource gathering to protect yourself from enemy attacks with full-on  ship combat, firing cannons at foes, and the use of special powers obtained through diving and uncovering mysteries. From island curses to massive sea monsters, even the bravest players are pushed into quick thinking and strategizing, whether choosing a fully defensive approach, an offensive strike, or something in between. Each action has a different result, making each battle tense and unpredictable.

Despite the fact that the game helps you through your journey, it still finds a way to keep you on the edge of your seat. Traveling from one island to another, diving for resources, upgrading your ship, and fighting enemy ships at every turn creates a sense of challenge and excitement. Pirates: Rogue's Fortune brings the tension, thrill, and excitement of a pirate's life in a mission that cannot be abandoned.
The story of Henry Barrington

The game begins with the player taking on the role of Henry Barrington, a pirate captain who dreams of becoming a famous legendary pirate. After finding a crew, Henry sets out on a journey with his tiny, improvised ship through the most treacherous parts of the Caribbean Sea. Henry's mission becomes finding lost treasures and reclaiming his reputation.

In the early stages of the game, Henry becomes stranded on an island called Itacali. This island becomes the center of his activity because it is here that Henry will prepare for his expeditions, upgrade his ship, and get ready to sail into dangerous waters full of pirates, monsters, and, of course, treasure.

As Henry explores the waters around him, he will dive underwater in order to find valuable resources and artifacts, but diving and exploration will be interrupted by hostile ships and pirates who attack him in battles of life and death. Through exploration, Henry will encounter many strange characters, including a hermit who lives on an abandoned island, believing that the world around him is much darker than just deserted ships and pirates.

Gameplay

Gameplay is reduced to exploring islands and their depths, ship combat, collecting resources using a diving suit, as well as surviving in waters full of pirates. The player controls Henry and his ship, traveling toward islands marked on the map. Each of the given islands is different and has its own purpose; some are for resources, some are for exchanging goods using "Pieces of 8," a gold currency, and some are for buying relics and cleansing curses.

One of the key mechanics of the game is ship maintenance. The player must constantly upgrade and repair the ship using resources found by diving into the sea. These upgrades are crucial for progressing in the game. The possible upgrades for the ship are:

·        Attack Upgrades

·        Armor Repair

·        Utilities – This function facilitates resource collection, diving speed, and similar perks.

Each upgrade requires a different amount of a specific material; it can be just iron or a combination of iron and gold. To unlock additional upgrades, the player must level up Captain's Renown—which can be seen in the Log at the top left. This is earned every time Henry's ship sinks, or rather, every time the player dies. The maximum level of Captain's Renown is 3, which unlocks all possible upgrades.

Combat makes up the majority of the game. The time when an attack happens is marked at the top of the screen in the form of a wave that decreases, moving to the left. When the wave reaches zero, the attack begins—regardless of whether the player is underwater or at the ship, the attack starts, so the time spent underwater must be constantly watched so the player doesn't accidentally end up at the bottom of the ocean while the ship is burning.

Attacks happen in consecutive waves and each island has a different number of attacks; in the beginning, attacks are short, but as you move toward larger and stronger islands, attacks will be more frequent and stronger. Combat is fairly simple: the player has a set number of balls in the cannon and when that number is emptied, the cannon reloads by pressing the button written below—in my case, it’s Space because I played on a keyboard.

When reloading, a mini-game appears below, in which the green area must be hit to successfully reload the cannon. This is very tricky because the player must take care to hit the green area and hit the ship with the ball at the same time, so it can be said that combat is quite difficult, especially later during the Boss Fight.

As far as the overall gameplay, in the beginning, it was really difficult—juggling the search for resources and fighting against enemies, it was simply challenging, especially with the mechanic of loading balls into the cannons, specifically hitting that green line and shooting ships at the same time. Over time I got used to it a lot, but I have a feeling that if someone sat down to play today, went to sleep at night, and sat down to play tomorrow after work, they would have the feeling as if they hadn't played for 2 months rather than a few hours. As for the content, the islands change, as does the part underwater, but the search for resources and upgrading the ship and abilities became a bit monotonous. In the beginning, it was challenging, I died, surely 15 times, not knowing what or how to do next, but later a certain routine was caught and through ship upgrades it became easier, but still challenging enough because the game gradually raises the difficulty based on the upgrade level.

Gathering and resource management

The underwater system functions by having the player control Henry in a diving suit, moving with the intended commands the player uses, whether it is a keyboard or a controller, everything works the same way. Henry approaches a block and begins to mine it; the blocks differ, but at the beginning, a player can very easily get confused. There are several types of blocks, but those needed for upgrading the ship are iron, gold, and gem. These are the 3 most important resources, and while gold and iron are in abundance, gems are a bit harder to find. The maximum number of resources a player can carry to the surface is 3; that number can, of course, be extended later through upgrades.

The underwater system is not as complex as it seems; the player is located near the top, meaning the water surface, and starts to dive; the commands are fairly simple and easy and are the same regardless of the control type, whether it is a keyboard or a controller. The player can stay down as long as they want and can explore as long as time permits, then it is time for the next attack. Various types of resources can be found there, the most important being the 3 basic types which are iron, gold, and gems. Iron is in abundance and can be found everywhere around the surface, as is gold, while gems are a different story; for them, one must dive deeper so they require a slightly stronger equipment level. Iron is the basic resource type for upgrading the ship's defense, while gold serves as the next level of upgrades.

Gems are the rarest among them and they are used as the final level of ship upgrades and should not be spent lightly. As the game progresses, balancing resources becomes very important because otherwise, the player will find themselves in a Boss fight with a basic defense level and a finished attack tier, which is not smart at all.

The special abilities

To help the player, Henry sometimes receives an ability located in the Booty barrel attached to the ship at the surface. By interacting with the Booty, the player receives a special power that can be very different and is never the same; for example, one of the powers is the Fog Horn. It is used for combat while the player controls the ship; in an attack against enemy ships, that ability allows the player to create fog around their ship, which reduces the enemies' chance of a precise cannon hit.

These abilities can act as a temporary solution for finding resources, but as the game progresses, they become increasingly important. If during a dive, the player gets another ability in their Booty, they are given the option of whether they want to accept the new ability or want to keep the one they already have, and that is done fairly easily, by holding a click or button on the mouse or controller. The abilities seem nicely balanced and while some are used underwater, some are also used above water for combat. My favorite so far is Cannon Fury, which enables the automatic loading of the next 3 shots, which can help a lot in situations where there are too many ships.

Each of these abilities has a cooldown which means that they cannot be used constantly, combat abilities have a significantly higher cooldown than abilities that are used underwater. The Booty system is very unpredictable just as it should be because it maintains that level of difficulty it brings, leaving the player to decide on their own when to use that ability and in which situation.

These abilities can act as a temporary solution for finding resources, but as the game progresses, they become increasingly important. If during a dive, the player gets another ability in their Booty, they are given the option of whether they want to accept the new ability or want to keep the one they already have, and that is done fairly easily, by holding a click or button on the mouse or controller. The abilities seem nicely balanced and while some are used underwater, some are also used above water for combat. My favorite so far is Cannon Fury, which enables the automatic loading of the next 3 shots, which can help a lot in situations where there are too many ships.

Each of these abilities has a cooldown which means that they cannot be used constantly, combat abilities have a significantly higher cooldown than abilities that are used underwater. The Booty system is very unpredictable just as it should be because it maintains that level of difficulty it brings, leaving the player to decide on their own when to use that ability and in which situation.

Treasure chests and underwater equipment

Two types of treasure chests can also be found on the seabed; one must be broken with a pickaxe, while the other requires solving a quick puzzle, usually a combination of numbers or buttons on the controller, which must be completed quickly. If the combination is missed, the chest will still be there and can be activated again, but it will be a different combination every time, which is, of course, randomized. The second chest, which is opened by breaking a block because it is stuck inside it, gives the player the option to choose one of 4 pieces of equipment that can be used underwater. The equipment is as follows:

·        Bag - Gives the player one more slot for collecting resource

·        Diving Suit - Enables faster movement underwater

·        Anchor - Enables faster mining of blocks

All of this listed equipment can be further upgraded by finding that same chest trapped in stone. This can be seen directly below each piece of equipment (as shown in the image).

A special feature of the equipment is that with each new upgrade, it becomes more efficient, but the problem with it is that when picked up, it is cursed—meaning it takes something away from you while you use it, whether it's having less time to spend underwater or a weaker strike when breaking blocks. Each piece of equipment can be purified by having the player complete a specific mission given by that item. For example, for the Diving Suit, the player must cover a certain number of meters underwater. When the mission is finished, the game displays on the screen that the mission is complete, and at that point, the cursed part—the Penalty—turns into a bonus. The bonus can provide various effects, such as a certain percentage chance that when a gold block is broken, you receive an additional gold.

Relics and curses

During Henry’s voyages across the Caribbean Sea, the player may occasionally find mysterious relics located in the ruins of a wrecked ship, at the bottom of the sea, or in deep areas of the sea bed. These relics are ancient items believed to have unique powers linked to the stories and legends associated with the sea. Collecting these relics equips Henry with unique passive abilities.

Some relics may enhance the durability of the ship, improve efficiency in resource collection, and enhance Henry’s abilities during his exploration of the sea bed. Relics may also enhance the power of the cannons, improve the speed of the sailing vessel, and increase the chances of collecting rare resources such as gems. Since these items are passive, they will always be active for the entire period of the expedition after collecting them.

However, these relics may sometimes come with a price. Relics are linked to powerful stories and legends associated with the sea and thus come with a curse. This is a negative effect associated with the use of a relic. This may be exemplified by a relic having the power to increase the damage caused by the cannons, but at the same time, it attracts more enemy ships, or having the power to enhance resource collection at the expense of the durability of the ship.

This forces players to think about whether or not they need that relic. While these relics can be very beneficial, they can also create new problems that players must overcome while on the expedition. This adds an extra layer of strategy that players must take into account when deciding if they want to keep that relic.

Since the game is a roguelite, players can only have these relics and curses during that one expedition. If Henry's ship is destroyed, players will lose these and have to find new ones on the next expedition. This adds variety and forces players to constantly adapt to these new combinations of powers and curses while they explore the treacherous waters of the Caribbean Sea.

Roguelite system

The game uses a roguelite system that influences the gameplay and character development. Every time Henry travels across the Caribbean Sea, he is on a new journey. While on the journey, he explores the seas, discovers new lands, collects resources, finds relics, and encounters enemies or surprises. Due to the roguelite system, a lot of what Henry encounters is partially randomized. Hence, no two journeys are the same.

A key aspect of the system is the balance between permanent failure and continuous development. When Henry loses his ship during a journey across the Caribbean Sea or dies during exploration, the expedition ends. He returns to Itacali, the island he uses as a base from which he explores the seas. Although he fails the expedition, he learns from the experience and uses the knowledge to improve his chances on the next expedition. While on the island, Henry uses the resources he accumulated during the previous expedition to improve his ship. These upgrades improve the ship and Henry himself.

Henry becomes better and more capable on every new expedition. The randomized system means that the enemies he encounters, the resources he collects, the relics he finds, and the special power he accumulates during the expedition are partially randomized.

This means Henry must adapt to the new situation instead of sticking to a same old way of playing the game. System uses the concept of experimentation and learning.

Graphics and visual design

From my experience, I can comfortably say that the game runs really well. There are no stutters, crashes, or frame drops throughout the entire gameplay experience. The animations are well done, the ship movements, dives into the water, and the interactions with objects are all fluid. The graphics are not photo realistic, instead they are much more simplistic, which really adds to the entire concept of the game and blends in well together.

The water scenes are well designed, it was comfortable to move around, and it is obvious how deep the water is. The darker areas are shaded, which adds a nice sense of danger and uncertainty. The glow-in-the-dark elements are on point and resource lights gives clear sign that there is something in the dark.

The game also has day and night system that works properly, and the weather changes based on which island Henry visits.

Music and Sound

The game does a great job with its music and sound effects to really immerse you in that pirate atmosphere. As you sail around and explore the Caribbean, the music is consistent with that atmosphere and does a great job of keeping things relaxed as you search for resources and navigate your path, then kicking up the pace as you encounter enemy vessels.

The sound effects are good and really add to the immersion of every action. From the cannons firing to the sound of your hull scraping against something to the sound of the ocean itself, every aspect is well done to help you stay immersed in the moment. As you're in naval battles with enemy vessels, you'll hear various cues to help you know whether you're being hit or not.

The underwater sound effects are slightly different from those on the surface. As Henry dives down into the water, you'll notice that everything sounds muffled and slightly softer. This is a nice touch to help immerse you in the experience as you explore the ocean floor and search for resources.

While the music itself is not particularly complex, it is perfect for the atmosphere and tone of the game. Instead of being distracting, it really helps to keep everything flowing naturally as you explore and fight through the world.

Final verdict

After some time playing the game, my overall opinion is neutral, neither positive nor negative. The game definitely has several interesting mechanics, such as combining exploration, resource gathering, fighting enemy ships, as well as a roguelite system. In the beginning, all of this gave the impression that the game was fresh, that everything changes, renews, and progresses, and I was very curious about what would happen on the next island. But, after spending several hours in the game, everything slowly began to merge together and lose meaning.The game mechanics remained the same but over time, everything started to repeat. From the very process of exploration, diving for resources, surfacing then back down for more, all the way to the combat, it started to feel monotonous.

And in the end, I can't say either that I liked the game or that I didn't like it; as I said, it has truly interesting parts, the content will surely change over time, but many segments are still missing for it to be complete, both for exploration and for working on the ship. The idea is interesting, it has a good foundation, but over time everything starts to repeat and that gameplay rhythm gets lost