#Lovecraft #Steampunk #Atmosphere
I started playing this game when it was on early access and loved it from the start. The game has seen some big changes and balances since then and has improved with each one.
Its all about choosing your story (or not) and then taking to the underzee (you read that right) to find wealth, fame.... maybe your fathers bones, its totally up to you. You are the captain of your vessel and its upto you to craft your own adventure.
Fuel and food supplies are vital and each journey will require some planning. You really do feel tense when you set off to an undiscovered part of the map and dont know when the next port will appear. Random events add to your anxiety which can cause further problems or might bestow you with some lucky find.
Fear is also a huge part of the game. As your vessel sails through the blackness your crew get scared and might behave irrationally and the terrors of the night might invade your dreams and give you the occasional vision. You can manage your fear by retuning to your home port or visiting the local bars, brothels etc, at other ports, or by leaving the lights on your ship but this can attract some of the creatures or other pirates of the underzee.
Combat is simple enough and there are some tactics to it although having the bigger gun certainly helps and ship upgrades are available and necessary for those longer, more rewarding journeys. Officers can also be recruited to give stat boosts to your ship. They all have their own backstory which can be unlocked through sharing secrets with them.
Imagination is your biggest companion for this game as most of it is text based, a little like Zafehouse Diaries, but you have total control over the ship. The stories at port develop wih quests or certain actions and are well written and sometimes quite chilling.
The game is unforgiving but its supposed to be. Play it with permadeath on to get the most out of it. Now go and take to the underzee with your zailors and report back tothe admirals office with your port stories, secrets and moves in the Great Game.
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