Burly Men at Sea

Was quite a cute game until it lost its novelty, became quite tedious and boring towards the latter stages.

I don't remember how this game appeared on my account at all. It might have been a purchase in some bundle, but I noticed it thanks to a fairly quick platinum - all achievements can be done in 2 hours. The game is a simple flat drawn story about 3 men who go on adventures. There are 12 possible endings in different variations. Sometimes, this repetition starts to get boring, and the game itself is very white, which is definitely not pleasing to the eyes, accustomed to dark themes everywhere possible. In any case, it was an interesting adventure and I'm glad that I got to know this game. Definitely recommend if you need something calm and simple.

This game has a strong core idea and certain well-executed parts. You can tell where work and heart went into it - the music, for example, has this kind of a capella, homemade sound that makes me think it took time and passion to create. As a game, though, it's lacking in some ways that turned me off from it. The controls for PC are irritating. They don't break the game or anything, but at no point do they feel good, and at times for me they didn't work without trying a couple of times. The little stories that are told in each route are cute, but they're made of compartmentalized parts, meaning you'll have to replay the exact same first three parts you've already played just to see a fourth part that's different. There's no way to make that process easier, like skipping dialogue or anything, so you'll have to just sit through the same 3/4 of each story a few times. They're really not interesting enough to warrant that. There's an achievement tied to each unique route ending. The final achievement in this game (get all other achievements) didn't pop for me. They did a weird thing where achievements don't pop at all until you close the game - I saw the dev say somewhere that the choice was made so the achievements wouldn't interrupt the art of the game or something like that, which I thought was kind of pretentious. It makes achievement hunting a frustrating process because you need to keep closing your game to make sure they're actually triggering. Some of them took a few tries to pop for me, despite doing the routes correctly. Several other people have had the same problem with the final achievement not triggering and have posted on the discussion board about it with no response. I still haven't figured out how to make it pop, and that's a huge con for me in a game. If you're really interested in this game, buy it on mobile. It's cheaper there by 50%, despite being the exact same game.

A nice little game telling 12 small stories of adventurous journeys, taking path between three routes, each of which will make you choose between two choices, leading to another pair of last choices until you loop back to the beginning, ready to take on another of those 12 stories. :P The stories are short and the actions simple, but sometimes you'll have to wait a bit as the characters transition from a scene to the next one, but it's not a problem unless you wanted to hurry through the game in a speedrun mindset. XD These stories are clearly meant to be experienced in a more chill way anyways. :3 Graphics are minimalistic, with a clean simple artstyle and it works for this game. There are also cool smooth animations as the stories unfold and we are being taken from one scene to another. The soundtrack is simple and calm too, comprising mostly of ukulele music with some electronic sounds here and there, and often accompanied with non-verbal singing of voices too. Many sound effects in this game are made a cappella style too, which makes for fun sounds as you interact with your environment! :D

[h1][b]🎮 Reseña de Burly Men at Sea[/b][/h1] [h2]Resumen del Juego[/h2] Burly Men at Sea es una aventura casual e indie que se siente como un cuento interactivo minimalista: tres “hombres fornidos” se suben a un barco y tú decides qué tan mala idea va a ser su día. La propuesta es simple y coqueta: estilo 2D, atmósfera de fábula, mitología coqueteando desde la orilla y un “elige tu propia aventura” que te vende la ilusión de control… hasta que recuerdas que eres un lector con mouse. La primera impresión es: “qué bonito, qué limpio, qué zen”. La segunda es: “ah, o sea es una novela visual con apuntar y clic y decisiones que importan… pero con la intensidad de elegir entre té o café”. Es corto, estilizado y familiar, perfecto para jugar cuando quieres algo con buena trama sin comprometerte emocionalmente como si fuera una serie de 8 temporadas. [h2]Lo Épico y lo Que Te Deja con Cara de “¿Ya?”[/h2] Lo Bueno: ✅ 🎨 Estilo minimalista 2D bien logrado: se ve elegante sin gritar “mírenme, soy indie”. ✅ 📖 Buena trama con vibra de cuento y mitología: más encantador de lo que suena “tres tipos en un barco”. ✅ 🧭 Decisiones y estructura no lineal: te invita a probar rutas distintas sin castigarte. ✅ 🎵 Gran banda sonora y ambientación atmosférica: te mete en el mood de aventura sin esfuerzo. ✅ ☁️ Steam Cloud + 25 logros: sí, puedes coleccionar dopamina oficialmente. Lo No Tan Bueno: ❌ ⏱️ Es corto: cuando te acomodas en el sillón, el juego ya está pensando en despedirse. ❌ 🧩 Dificultad casi inexistente: la IA aquí es básicamente “deja que el jugador se sienta listo”. ❌ 🖱️ Apuntar y clic muy ligero: si esperas mecánicas de aventura más “de videojuego”, esto es más “pasar páginas con estilo”. ❌ 👥 Comunidad en el momento: 0 jugadores actuales… el mar está tan solo que hasta el Kraken se fue a dormir. [h2]Tabla de Evaluación[/h2] [table] [tr][th]Aspecto[/th][th]Puntuación (0-10)[/th][th]Comentario[/th][/tr] [tr][td]Jugabilidad[/td][td]6[/td][td]Interactiva, sí; profunda, no tanto.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Dificultad / IA[/td][td]5[/td][td]Más paseo marítimo que reto.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Contenido[/td][td]6[/td][td]Varias rutas, pero se siente breve.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Gráficos / Video[/td][td]8[/td][td]Minimalista con personalidad y buen gusto.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Historia[/td][td]7[/td][td]Encantadora, bien contada, sin inflarse.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Ambientación[/td][td]8[/td][td]Atmosférico: te arrulla y te atrapa.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Efectos (VFX)[/td][td]7[/td][td]Sutiles, coherentes con el estilo.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Música[/td][td]8[/td][td]Acompaña perfecto y eleva la experiencia.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Voces[/td][td]6[/td][td]No destaca como pilar central.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Diversidad[/td][td]5[/td][td]No es su enfoque; se mantiene básico.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rendimiento[/td][td]8[/td][td]Ligero y estable, como debe ser.[/td][/tr] [tr][td]Rejugabilidad[/td][td]7[/td][td]Las decisiones invitan a repetir, aunque sea por curiosidad.[/td][/tr] [tr][td][b]Total Puntuaciones (Bueno)[/b][/td][td][b]6.8[/b][/td][td]Bonito, breve y efectivo: te deja satisfecho, no transformado.[/td][/tr] [/table] [h2]Conclusión (Bueno)[/h2] Burly Men at Sea es ese juego que te cae bien aunque no te cambie la vida: una aventura casual con alma de cuento, decisiones simpáticas y una presentación minimalista que hace más con menos. Es ideal si quieres una experiencia tranquila, estilizada y con buena música, sin que te pida horas de compromiso ni reflejos de campeón. Ahora, seamos controversiales: si buscas “videojuego” con mayúsculas (mecánicas, desafío, sistemas), aquí te van a dar más narrativa interactiva que aventura tradicional. Y con 0 jugadores actuales, queda claro que esto no es una fiesta en altamar: es un barquito de papel precioso flotando en un charco de nicho. Aun así, las 192 recomendaciones totales sugieren que, para quien entra en su vibra, funciona. [h3]Recomendación de Compra (En oferta o si te gusta el género)[/h3] Puntuación Total: 6.8/10 Número de jugadores activos al momento de hacer esta review: 0 Descuento máximo registrado: N/A Veredicto: [i]Recomendado con reservas: un cuento interactivo bonito y corto, más para saborear que para “jugar duro”.[/i] Si te gustan las aventuras narrativas, lo minimalista, la mitología ligera y tomar decisiones sin que el juego te castigue por existir, vale la pena. Si necesitas acción, complejidad o algo que te rete, mejor zarpa hacia otro puerto.

Such a pretty game, but also very boring. I'm not a fan of repeating things multiple times, and this game started to feel grindy even though it is a very short game. The idea is there and I liked the characters the burly men met. I just wish there had been less branching and more story for each branch. Now it was 3 clearly different main branches which then each branched to a 2 different sub-branches, and then these sub-branches branched again to two different endings. So there were a total of 12 different endings. The further you got, the less new content (changes in scenes, different dialogue) there was. I feel a bit mixed about this game, because there wasn't anything major wrong with it. No issues, looks nice, nice idea and the story is there, albeit it is very very very short and keeps repeating way too much. If I'm being honest, I wouldn't recommend this game for a full price. If you enjoy a nice looking game and maybe play each ending with a week between each playthrough so you have time to forget the (super short) story and how repetitive the game actually is, I guess it's worth a try.

Slow, bland and painfully repetetiv picture book, and even for the minimalistic interaction there is, the control/input style feels quite bad. Story/stories are forgettable and unimaginative, and even the art style is the same "Corporate Memphis" you already forget while you are looking at it.

The Credits Rolled Before I Could Even Understand What the Game Was About I don’t mind short games or ones with limited interactivity, but this particular game takes that formula a bit too far. The act of interacting with it felt almost meaningless, and I couldn’t help but feel disconnected from what was happening. While I do appreciate the simplicity of the art style, some scenes—like the one with the island and the giant—are so convoluted that it's hard to discern what's going on. The game also features three characters, but it doesn’t really matter because they’re essentially just one asset. There’s nothing about them that stands out, and none of them have enough depth to justify their presence in the game. Why bother creating three characters if none of them are developed enough to make a difference? The only redeeming quality I can give the game is that some of its sound effects are actually funny, but that’s where the positives end. Ultimately, I’d advise you to avoid this game. It’s a waste of time, and I’m sure you can find something far more creative and enjoyable to do with just 30 minutes of your life.

Burly Men at Sea is basically an interactive story book with 12 different endings. I kept playing it hoping there would be more, but it's just a giant decision tree to show different scenes. It took me about 2 hours to see all the endings. It's quite repetitive, boring and the controls are not very good.

got this 2018 in a humble bundle, finally played it as part of my goal to play through my older untouched games. it's...alright? the art direction is gorgeous, i love the acapella sound design and it has a very whimsical storybook charm, but it's charm doesn't carry it. controlling it feels awkward as hell, the drag mechanic feels annoying in it's best moments and detrimental at worst. it's very obviously a mobile mechanic lazily ported over- just giving me the choice to use wasd+mouse would have infinitely improved my opinion of it. getting all achievements is where cracks show. this game is SO tedious to repeat. everything that was cute the first time feels slow the second. by my sixth ending (there are 12), i just muted it and watched youtube on the side to quickly crack out everything. it somewhat tainted it in my mind- when i think of this game really, i think of tedium first. kind of a shame. if you don't care to finish it, just experience it and get a few endings... maybe. it was super cute the first few times. but as a complete game, i feel like i wasted those 2.6 hours i spent on it. i can't really recommend it, unless you already own it. in which case.. ehh, only if you don't like achievements. as a note, it was also pretty glitchy at times, with sprites being visible at the sides of the screen. i am however playing on linux, so that may be why, i won't count that against it