Party Pirates on the outside looks like a fun game to play with friends on a sleepover but when you actually get around to do it, you start to see many flaws this title posseses. The game tries to be Overcooked but with pirates, which is a very fun concept that could work, the issue, however, lies in execution. I've played the first 30 levels and would like to share my thoughts.
Before jumping into the bad aspects, I want to highlight some positives about the game:
[list]
[*] I like the game's artstyle. The models are simple but pleasant to look at.
[*] I actually tested the game with friends prior and enjoyed playing the first few levels even though the gameplay was simple.
[*] As I said, I really love the concept of Overcooked with pirates. I enjoyed my time playing Overcooked 2 with friends and felt hyped to try this one out.
[/list]
Now onto the negatives:
[list]
[*] Party Pirates has a linear campaign similar to Overcooked games with the only RNG being positions where enemies shoot their projectiles. This decision, in my opinion, is already a mistake for a title trying to be a fully couch co-op game you play with friends, as restricting the game to a campaign without at least including different modes or minigames, takes away a lot of freedom and replay value couch co-ops are known for.
[*] The gameplay consists of player(s) defending their ship from up to 3 waves of threats, those being navy sailors along with their ships, slime monsters or undead pirate ships. Levels need to be completed under a time limit, which determines how many stars are rewarded at the end. The game sometimes throws different type of levels into the mix, which need the player(s) to dig up treasure chests and bring them on board while running away from tribesmen. Gameplay is very bare-bones. The lacking enemy variety and little amount of mechanics introduced makes levels and their waves feel all the same. Paired with the game's flawed level design, they can easily become unfair, speaking of which...
[*] Level design is another beast in and of itself. It again follows a structure similar to Overcooked. The players are able to freely roam the level stuctured similarly to a grid but the way those ships were designed grinds my gears. Overcooked 2's levels are balanced to be challenging but fun, introducing new mechanics nearly every level, spacious enough to navigate with ease and vastly different from one another not only in their aesthetics but gimmicks as well. All that combines into an experience that can be difficult in the beginning but ultimately if it isn't fun to play, it will be at the very least fun to watch. Party Pirates lacks all of that. You'll be playing on a ship that is somehow cramped even when you play alone, with weird, sometimes unbalanced, structure that will periodically enable and disable areas of the ship, which could have tools crucial for the situation player has found themselves in. For example - Level 23 and 30. Level 23 features a ship with a saber stand and cannonball container and one cannon on the ship's left side and 3 cannons, one left, two right, a broom and repairing planks in the back. Both parts are connected with a single-square-wide bridge in the middle, which means if an enemy ship strikes the bridge planks and there's no one on the left, you have no way to get to the ship's right and defend it. Level 30 on the other hand has a cannonball container and ship's left and right with their respective cannons separated from each other via a row of trapdoors set up in a way that won't allow you to reload a cannon more than once before the trapdoors will fall in again and you'll have to wait. This level throws two tanky slime monsters, which will only slow you down even further and an undead ship with enough cannons to two-shot the player's ship.
[*] The difficulty curve is also incredibly flawed and makes me question if this game was tested before release. The levels I've run into were either piss easy 3 stars or made me restart multiple times in order to not get wrecked by RNG, nothing in between. In my short time playing this title, I was met with at least two difficulty spikes that made me feel like the next 5 levels after were breathers.
The game wouldn't even be that bad if it wasn't for its asking price, which is the same as for example Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate, which, in my eyes, despite also having some considerable flaws, is a far superior title in Rogue-like genre than Party Pirates is in couch co-op.
Before coming to the conclusion, I wanted to give some of my ideas to fix the game without reducing the pricetag:
- Change the main mode to something more sandboxy, like Ultimate Chicken Horse. Switch out the campaign in favor of a menu with different modes and/or minigames focused around pirates, including treasure digging and defending the ship.
- Custom Ship creator for defending the ship like you do in main campaign would be awesome.
- More content, namely more enemies, some customizability options, maybe even procedurally generated levels for some of the minigames if you're feeling fancy.
Overall, I'm pretty sad to give this game a "not recommended" because when I saw it in the store, it genuinely looked like a fun game to play with friends or family. Maybe the devs will revisit it and add some stuff to justify the price tag. I doubt that but if they do, I'll come back to this title and reconsider my review.
