If you’re a fan of pirate-themed games, Sea of Remnants may have been on your radar since its announcement. This fantastic open-world RPG aims to make its mark by combining the best aspects of turn-based free-to-play games while offering something fresh and new. After the closed alpha officially set sail, we were able to experience what the game has to offer players later.
Set sail and experience a new story
Right when you start Sea of Remnants, you’re given the perspective of a puppet lost at sea. But this is not the sea that anyone knows, and as you sail on, a mysterious landscape slowly reveals itself. You awaken in a whole new world after seeing the reflection of the moon in a giant waterfall, with two other dolls near you in another unknown location.
The game then takes you on a more on-rails journey for a while, allowing you to create your character and complete some short combat tutorials to get used to the gameplay loop. For the most part, character creation is quite well thought out and varied. While some options are missing (the ability to create a more muscular or slimmer character is not available), there are still many other options for customizing your character. You can truly create your own unique pirate that reflects your personality, even without the many options that other games offer.
When you finally reach the stage of the game where you get your own ship, the game opens up for you to explore. You have the opportunity to sail freely and explore some of the islands scattered around the world. While there aren’t many of them at this point in the game, there was still plenty to explore and play around with to get to grips with all the systems on offer. The scope of the game in this alpha test is already quite impressive and entertaining. Players have the opportunity to sail around and solve puzzles on the open ocean or go to an island to search for riches and treasure while defeating bosses. It’s a common formula, but still very entertaining and worth the time if you’re interested in these games.
Familiar combat and premise
The plot in “Sea of Remnants” is also quite familiar: the main character you play wakes up from sleep and finds that he is suffering from amnesia. This is nothing new, but the way it is handled is very special in its own way. You discover something new with your character and sail into the unknown with the first companion you meet, RS. Speaking of RS: She is the carefree and free-spirited character of your down-to-earth and somewhat normal main character. When you first meet, you see how carefree she really is, while also learning that her story is also intertwined with your own. The characters are two sides of the same coin, ensuring that every interaction remains fresh as the story on offer progresses.
All characters have their own network of other NPCs with whom they interact – 400 characters, each with their own routines that they perform throughout the day and social statistics. Even if you have no interest in exploring the world of NPCs, it’s still pretty impressive. While the world’s NPCs don’t necessarily have the most vibrant designs, the playable characters all look fantastic. From their outfits, animations, and ultimate abilities, they all have something about them that reflects their personality and story.
As you go through the combat, you’ll most likely be surprised to hear that the game plays very similarly to Honkai: Star Rail. Many people might expect an action game from something that follows the story of pirates on their adventures through the seas. But this unexpected turn-based combat is wonderful and really takes the best parts of other games and runs with them. Each character has an ultimate ability, two abilities depending on their class, and the ability to defend themselves during their turn. The system isn’t as deep as, say, Persona, but is still in line with what we’ve seen in some other turn-based free-to-play games. It’s a fun system that allows you to work with different characters and create a group of pirates who work really well together to secure more loot and levels.
Not many games stick to naval combat; There aren’t many pirate games that delve into this. When you think of ship combat, something like Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag might come to mind. Sea of Remnants’ naval sections have a more arcade-like feature, offering the ability to rotate quickly and fire your cannons consistently. It’s not bad, it’s not great by any means, but it’s still surprisingly fun if you can participate in these sections. Escaping a gorilla manning his own ship while hurling cannonballs your way is not something you would ever imagine in a game, but in this game it is, and it’s hilarious and entertaining in its own way.
Characters also receive upgrades throughout the game. Returning to the main port city will improve their various stats, giving them even more ability to survive on the high seas and in the dungeons you explore. You can also choose subclasses for them, which offer new possibilities for combat. For example, your main character can be a pure DPS character who shreds through enemies, or you can turn him into a tank that absorbs damage and heals by taking big hits from your enemies. There’s a lot of variety, and you’re encouraged to play around with the systems and really find out what party composition and classes work best for you.
Vibrant and unique world
The game is incredibly vibrant and fun to explore. One of the first dungeons you’ll find yourself in will be a cave, which shouldn’t be a colorful place to go through. Although the cave lacks color for the most part, one can tell that it fits the mood and themes that Sea of Remnants offers. Exploring hits many of the same notes as other games you may have played. You run through each area collecting treasure from chests and collecting materials from the enemies you fight.
Another unexpected addition is the game’s music. Where you might expect sea shanties and pirate music in general, you get the exact opposite. The music isn’t bad. In its own way, everything is quite good. But it’s almost like whiplash when you’re expecting something and listening to pop music while watching two punk rock pirates have a bar fight. Expect the unexpected as the game contains different genres of music.
The game has an incredible amount of polish for something in the alpha testing phase. There are some minor issues, many of which will be resolved as the game develops. Placeholder text is used frequently and some spelling errors occur in certain item descriptions. But these are not major problems at this stage and that does not change what is on display at this stage. What you can expect is a fun, over-the-top game about a bunch of pirates making their way through the world. Sea of Remnants is shaping up to be a heavyweight, with great characters and wonderful graphics wrapped in a captivating story that makes the game shine.