Written by Patrick Orquia
Title: Under the Jolly Roger
Developer: HeroCraft
Publisher: HeroCraft
Genre: Action, Adventure, Open World RPG
Number of Players: 1
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: September 03, 2020
Price: $19.99
I’m not a fan of seafaring, both in video games and in real life. And yet, upon seeing the trailer of this game, Under the Jolly Roger, I thought that it would be a good game. It is an open world action adventure RPG, with lots of pirate-y goodness in store. It looks good, especially during naval battle scenarios, with soaring soundtrack to boot. But do the first impressions hold up?
In this game, you play as the captain of a pirate ship that survived an attack of a kraken in the open sea. At the start of the game, you go through a quick tutorial and from there, you can take up quests, visiting ports to fulfill them across a wide map. You also have the option to battle other pirate ships and take their loot, if you manage to defeat them. As you earn money, you get to upgrade your ship, arming it with cannons and other weaponry to make it more formidable on the sea. The game also has some magical elements, and if you equip a magical artifact that will allow your ship to attack elemental magic, giving you a significant advantage while battling against other ships. You also get to recruit your crew and have them rise up in the ranks if you manage to have them survive battles. You will also meet interesting persons that you can also recruit to be officers aboard your ship, each of them offering different advantages. And of course, since this is an RPG, you also accumulate experience points which will allow you to unlock new abilities and skills to further boost your chances in becoming a more renowned captain.
When you are not out and about in the open seas, you will find yourself docked at a port. Here, you can upgrade your character, upgrade/repair your ship, recruit new crew members if you are missing some, buy and sell goods, and take in quests. A good number of the quests will require you to visit other ports or some areas of interest in the middle of the sea. You can even dock your ship on some islands and explore them and gain loots from defeated enemies. All quests are recorded in your journal, and you can do multiple ones at the same time. The quests are the bread and butter of the game, and as you progress into the game, you unlock new upgrades, meet new NPCs, accomplish quest goals, and see yourself get more and more refutable, gaining respect from other pirate captains. You can gain new allies, defending on the faction that you choose to join.
Overall, Under the Jolly Roger is a good, enjoyable game to play, with a surprisingly good amount of content. It is not perfect, especially the performance, with some frame drops and floaty controls that can be experienced from time to time, but nonetheless, the more you play it, the more it will grow on you. I especially enjoyed the exploration aspect of the game while in third person view and the deep customization options. So if you have what it takes to be a good captain of a pirate ship, give this game a go and you will rule the seas in no time.
REPLAY VALUE: High
PROS
- Excellent visuals, especially during scenes on the sea
- Soaring music that complements the visuals well
- Deep customization options, from upgrades to inventory and crew management
- Multiple difficulty modes
- Lots of quests to do
- Naval battles scenes are good
- Plays well on handheld mode
CONS
- Frame drops, though infrequent, are very noticeable
- Floaty controls
- Stiff animation
- Lacks overall polish
- The tutorials do not explain a lot of the game mechanics beyond the basics
- Narration is presented in walls of text
- No voice acting
- No online multiplayer mode
RATING: 3.5/5 Aye Aye Captains
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