Abandon Ship

Ok finally a gritty survival ship management game that is actually good. I've played a TON of garbage, i've played so much garbage that i've learned to love garbage. THIS is not garbage, this is what a good ship game should be.

BEFORE I GET INTO IT: THE GAME IS FRIGGEN HARD! It gets much easier as you go, the snowball is really really nice and slow but starting out is very difficult, the cult hunts you down on a timer which is easy to evade if you are watching but sometimes you get caught out, but you can clear this timer after you defeat the kraken which is actually more a mechanics fight akin more to an MMO than it is a power level fight. I beat it at a point where my boat was in the red health because i was broke, i couldn't fix it, i was missing some men, and i just said screw it and once i realized it was rotation based i knew i could beat it.

The game has a lot going for it. Save Points are actually a recourse you get either from saving someone or missions. I actually really like it because it's a great way to get yourself into a save point when you are doing really well and then you can go do risky stuff and revert to your save.

Another thing is navigation is really fun, you instance into a zone, clear the zone, and can go N E S W to the next part of the map, at first i didn't think i'd like this but it's actually quite nice. You can go back to these places and they will have more events occasionally but you mostly go back if there is a port you like there with items you want to buy.

It's a slow game, so far i haven't found an efficient way to farm gold or abuse mechanics, you have to go out and get lucky in a series of events in order to go over in gold, it's tough to save but once you do and upgrade your ship, you really feel a difference, every enhancement swaps over to a new ship you buy so you dont' just lose progress.

Combat is varied, you can specialize in many different ways to fight such as ramming into boarding, close range shotgun like weapons, long range bombardment, sinking their ship through water intake, going for high damage and ripping them up, setting fire for them to deal with so they can't man their equipment, killing the crew from afar, etc etc. It's so cool and your play style is probably here.

Over all 9/10 game.

I wish in the earlier ships i could buy a couple more crew per ship, sometimes i felt really understaffed and it was annoying. Also I played on normal to learn the game and while I ended up fine, i did experience some serious frustrations early that might push some people away who would other whys love the game. The difficulty might be a little much for normal. I can't imagine higher difficulties but i'm pretty excited to try them. Also i'd like some abilities in the over world, something to boost you faster at times to help you escape persuers or something.

Abandon Ship is a difficult mixture of a pirate/sailing game, a Lovecraftian story, and FTL.

You play as a ship in a world infested with a Lovecraftian cult and the associated monsters. Gameplay consists of manning a ship and surviving through battles with other ships or monsters, and sailing from port to port for exploration or quests.

The world is made up out of multiple smaller maps, connected with gates. On these maps there are multiple random (and some story-scripted) encounters, which consist of random events, simple decisions such as give food to a stowaway (or not), or full on ship to ship battles.
Often, you have to clear a number of these random events before the gates on the current map unlock, allowing you to proceed.

Battles are the core gameplay feature. The ship has multiple stations such as the helm, cannons, and mortars, and you have to assign crew members to each one you want to be active. You are limited by the number of max crew, and crewmen can die or get injured during combat or events, which means you will have to juggle positions during the fight. Fortunately, it is pausable. Enemy shots can also cause hull breaches or fire, which has to be taken care of. And on top of that, some maps have features like lightning storms or massive waves, which cause further danger during combat.

Ports are literally the safe havens. Here, you can repair and upgrade the ship, and revive wounded crew, or get new one. Most story missions also take place in ports.

The story serves well to keep you going from port to port and does a good job of explaining how to play, but the game remains difficult. Each encounter is a real challenge.

It's like FTL. But in water. You set out over various ocean maps to escape(and defeat) a cult that worships Cthullhu esque creatures. Ship combat isn't the best and sufferes from becoming repetitive pretty early. But the story is well done, lots of customizing options, and a nice soundtrack.

Good game!
A bit similar to the FTL in terms of playstyle. It seems it is long enough (haven'f finished yet after 12 hours of gameplay) and it's quite enjoyable, although fights get a bit repetetive. The story is interesting; if you like pirates and crew-management game, this game might be for you.

A solid game with enjoyable combat, though it can feel a bit clunky at times. Managing boarding and focusing attacks can be tricky due to overlapping units, often requiring pauses to issue commands. If you liked FTL’s combat, you'll probably enjoy this—it's a longer campaign rather than a roguelite, with saves and the risk of total failure. Worth checking out!

Absolutely gorgeous game. I love the setting, i love the story. Simple to learn, difficult to master.
At the time of this review (32 hours), i have finished the main campaign on normal difficulty. I felt it was a good balance of difficulty at the start, but got easier late-game, so i might try some harder difficulties later.
All devs & publishers, take note, make more games like this.

Amazing game for fans of RPGs and strategy, the sea battles are engaging and even if you can pause at any time there's a real feeling of tension behind every decision made during combat.