Abandon Ship

it's a decent crew management game but it becomes quite repetitive in the long run.
The game is split up into 2 parts(disregarding some side campaigns), the exploration with events on the map, and the combat, where you fight enemy vessels or the kraken.
The exploration have you sailing around the given area on the map, discovering various different events, vessels, forts and ports.
All of these are randomized as well as the layout of the map, so it changes everytime you play a new playthrough (unless you use the same map seed)
Events are categorized into a few different groups, that will give you a specific event, based upon what category said event was from.
For example, a ship icon with smoke will give you an event where a ship is in distress, and will select from a small selection of outcomes.
It is without a doubt highly likely that you're going to see 99% of the events many many times.
In order to progress into other areas, that you haven't explored yet, you're tasked with triggering a specific amount of events, that corelates with the number for the gate you want to go through.
this makes it so that you have to engage with the area, and take risks and hoping for the best.
once explored, you can go back and forth as many times as you want, if you have the ressources for it.
There is special events that aren't randomly generated and gives the gameplay a nice bit of fresh air, but the majority of the time, you're going to be doing the same thing
over and over, and seeing the same kind of events and encounters again and again.
The combat is all about managing your crew, having them crew the various stations, and dealing with obstacles that comes along the way.
The enemy will be a randomized ship, crew, armament and equipment, that will play to a specific style, that reflects the weapons onboard.
That also means that the player is able to build their loadout for the ship as they want, the same with the crew, as there are different classes that are good at 1 or 2 things, but not as great at other things.
So you can then mix and match to design you prefered method of dealing with the enemy.
while there is a decent variety, most of the time you just set the various guns to auto hit the enemy and wait to deal with anything the enemy or the enviroment throws at you.
And similar to the events, the combat becomes VERY repetitive.
Maps can have various different parameters, when you eventually enter combat, these can be something like fog, big waves, lightning, volcano eruptions and so on.
this gives the combat a bit more variety and more to keep focus on.
The main campaign, sees you defect from a cult and throughout the story, try and defeat said cult and their plans.
While the premise is quite interesting and neat, it does not really go anywhere major with the story, and at the end i felt a bit underwhelmed.
Don't go expecting an amazing story in this game, it's more a "go here to do the same kinda things you've been doing the entire game, to continue the story".
On top of that, the game also have a decent selection of side content besides the main campaign.
which includes
- An abridged version where you take the role of a cult member, quickly rising through the ranks and get to play with the kraken as a weapon, it is short but decent.
- A short campaign, in which you take on the role of a captain, getting lost in ghost ridden waters, which is literally an exact copy of the same type of missions from the main campaign, but with a different story added on to it
- and 2 combat campaigns, that have you duke it out against 10 ships in a row.
Probably one of the biggest hurdles i could imagine people would have issues with, is the way saving works in the game.
Dying is "permanent", meaning that if you die, you have to restart from the very beginning, except if you have saved at a port, using a captains log, this is mostly for the main campaign.
These logs are only obtained from a rare event, that requires you to have a specific item upgrade on your ship to access.
plus the amount of logs are limited, meaning that you eventually will run out of saves.
You can save whenever you exit, but when you die, you either have to restart from the beginning or reload from one of the limited saves.
As a roguelite it does not really do many things you usually expect in a rogue lite (fast restart, lots of replayability, usually includes a upgrade that is account bound rather than playthrough bound and so on)
and if you're looking for that classic style of roguelite, you won't find it here, it's still a decent game, just not a decent roguelite.
So, while i do recommend the game, it is with a caveat that the gameplay is going to be quite repetitive and the save system might scare some away.

"You are bit - you are completely dished. Don't you know that in the Navy you must always choose the lesser of two weevils?"
Abandon Ship is a wonderful FTL-like for those who like that sort of thing. Art, Sound, Gameplay, it all works well together. There are minor UI/polish gripes I may have, but they're not major enough to really feel like they detract from the game and these days even Triple A games can be sorely lacking in finishing touches.
Definitely worth the cost of admission.

Abandon Ship is surprisingly enjoyable. It takes a few playthroughs to understand the strategy and mechanics, but learning is part of the fun. The oil painting aesthetic is beautiful, and the game controls are easy and intuitive.

I wish there was a game where you can crew a ship much like Master and commander, this certainly isn't it but it is an amazing game in its own right. It's rare to see a game that I lose track of time. It's overall pretty simple but the combat as well as all of the types of cannons, and active crew management that it's most definitely more a strategy game in my opinion. Granted it's really not all that deep for a game tailored towards exploring, all the towns are exactly the same shy of their stock of crew and types of cannon. The sailing in combat to either approach the enemy ship or to turn around is performed by having someone man the helm, charge a meter and then press a button. My favorite aspect is that it is somewhat difficult and you will lose crew members as well as your ship.

Nice little game to play.
There are bugs that annoy me personally like sometimes ur guns glitch out and u cant "auto target" anyone and have to manually operate ur entire ship. Has happend to me many times where 50% of my guns work, 50% dosent on a fully healed ship.
Other then that good story and good game overall.

The game offers a distinct take on maritime exploration and survival that sets it apart from other games in the genre. The game's premise of commanding a ship and crew while navigating treacherous waters and battling formidable foes is intriguing and provides a refreshing twist.
The visuals in Abandon Ship are striking, featuring a stylized art style that beautifully captures the atmosphere of a seafaring adventure. The dynamic weather effects and the diverse range of sea creatures add to the immersive experience.
One of the areas this game shines is in its strategic gameplay. Managing your crew's assignments, ship systems, and combat tactics requires careful planning and decision-making. The real-time combat system, which involves maneuvering your ship and choosing when to unleash devastating attacks.
However, the game isn't without its Cons. The learning curve can be steep, and newcomers might find themselves overwhelmed by the various mechanics and intricacies of ship management. Additionally, the pacing can feel uneven at times, with moments of intense action followed by periods of slower exploration that might not appeal to all players.
While the concept is intriguing, Abandon Ship's execution falls short in a few areas. The narrative progression could be more engaging, and some players might find themselves yearning for a deeper connection with the characters and storyline.
This game will offer a unique maritime adventure that's worth exploring for fans of strategy and naval simulation games. Its captivating visuals, strategic gameplay, and the thrill of commanding your own ship on the high seas make for an enjoyable experience. The learning curve, pacing issues, and technical hiccups might hinder the game's appeal for a broader audience.

After finally completing this game, I can finally give my review.
My god. This game is an adventure and a half. If you're one those people that actually like to read when text pops up instead of skipping over it then this game will be an absolute pleasure to play. This game has so much going for it! The graphics are amazing and the story is absolutely phenomenal!!!
I have went everywhere in this game just to get more story from each place that I visit on my way to the end of the game. I've freed people in places from enemy control, I've done things for people here and there that needed help though there was one that I regret helping.
There is a lot more stories than just the main campaign in the game as you sail all over the place and boy do they all make the world feel alive in its own way that's filled with such wonders that leave you in awe and horror at what places actually exist in the world.
I can honestly and proudly say that this game will be one of the few games that will stick with me for the rest of my life due to all the amazing experiences and journeys that I had in this amazing game. To me, this game is quite addicting to the point where I spent many late nights well into the morning, wanting to do just one more thing.
I cannot recommend this game enough. You'll just have to buy it and experience it for yourself. But if you do give this game a chance, I can promise that this game will leave you wanting more. Wanting to know what happens next as you continue your journey to the end of the game. And boy is there a lot of game play to keep you entertained for many hours.
I absolutely love everything about this game and I will always cherish the memories that I've made with it. Thank you to everyone that made this game possible so people like me could experience this amazing gem of a game. I already miss this game after completing it today but I will always look back on with fond memories. Who knows. I may end up playing this game again 10 years down the road, wanting to experience it all over again.