Nantucket

1. Finish Tutorial
2. Set out in a new game with my fresh crew
3. Reach the first mission area
4. Storm does 20 damage to my Captain
5. Game over

There are almost no whaling games out there but luckily Nantucket exists and is a great game. It can be rough at first especially when you get tag teamed by whales who stun every attack but once you find your stride everything starts to come together. It's also fun the whole time even when you're being mollywhopped by a group of whales or sharks.

If I have one complaint it's that the game takes just a little too long when turns are being played out and you can't increase the speed of the messages.

The tutorial teaches you the game and is short but it really takes your hand and drags you through it without giving you a moments pause. It's effective tho and teaches you enough to play but leaves you to figure things out.

Also real world knowledge of whaling in New England has been useful in finding whaling spots.

Nantucket is an indie strategy game about managing a whaling ship and chasing after the legendary whale Moby Dyck (yes I know it's a typo, Steam censorship is doing wonders here).
It is the beginning of the 19th century, widely considered as the golden age of whaling. You are the sole survivor of The Pequod, a ship that hunted for Moby Dyck under captain Ahab's command and suffered a terrible demise. Having sworn to chase Moby Dyck for the rest of your days, you start again with a new ship and a fresh crew, following in Ahab's footsteps.
The gameplay in Nantucket consist of sailing the globe while hunting whales (and sometimes pirates), trading materials and completing quests that you can pick up in various ports. You can also hire crewmembers, upgrade your ship or read about the current events in the world by reading newspaper. Your crew will consist of different classes, from cabin boys to sailors and harpooners. Each crewmember has different talents and abilities that you can use, whether it's a combat ability or a passive ability granting him some kind of bonus (like bonus to sailing speed when he's assigned to the helm). When your ship encounters a whale, you engage in combat with a whaleboat. A whaleboat can take up to three of your crew, allowing you to strategically combine their abilities. Once you get a bigger ship, you can have more than one whaleboat. The combat itself is turn-based and more or less straightforward, you'll get the hang of it immediately. Actually, the whole game is pretty simple when I think about it, you'll learn everything the game has to offer in about half an hour.
Nantucket has a strong atmosphere and is very fun to play for the first several hours. However, it doesn't really feature much content and you can easily complete the main quest in under 10 hours. I'm a little disappointed with a low number of different quests, whale types, ship upgrades and content in general. The graphics are nice but I wish there was a scaling option for higher resolutions. The music score is great, hosting a couple of fitting background tunes as well as several high-quality shanties that I can't seem to get out of my head. Overall, despite the Nantucket's relative shallowness, I can honestly say that I rather enjoyed it.
Nantucket is a brief breath of fresh air. It’s a game with a distinct atmosphere and a lasting impression, perfect for those moments when nothing else feels right to play.
Score (out of 10):
7

An absolute must play if you're into the whaling time period.

A fun, yet fairly difficult game, about managing your crew as you grow a whaling ship to conquer Moby Dick. The combat has a high-ish difficulty floor, as the player has to become very used to having a very low action economy compared to their enemies.

The nice artstyle and shanties in the background make for a very fun experience.

The game plays like map and resource section of Mount and Blade, so incredibly fun if you are into that style of game.

Absolutely loved it

Nantucket is such a cute game that does an amazing job of enveloping you into their world. Every piece of this game feels like a stylized artpiece. The sea shanties that play periodically while you sail add a level of charm and atmosphere that ties the whole package together. I could not recommend this game enough, and if you're still on the fence its supporting a small dev for less than $20

Good little game.
Low on "replay-ability". Overall, 7 / 10 and its FUN.

Before I had gotten distracted by another game I was fairly addicted to calmly hunting whales, buying, selling, and taking care of my crew.