Sailwind

This is a deceptively deep sailing simulator. I ignored it to begin with because I thought that it was similar to Salt, which I enjoyed but have played to death. I ended up picking Sailwind up because it's so frequently referenced by players of other sailing games as being one of the best. I have been trying to get the hang of Following Seas and failing quite badly, I was hoping that this might help. It hasn't but I have had a lot of fun with it. The graphics are quite cartoonish which, in my opinion, is its worst feature. Once you get past that, the game is fantastic. There are three archipelagos to choose from - you start at one and can sail to the other two. The maps seem small but are actually more than large enough - sailing from New Port to Sage Hills (I think) will take you the better part of an afternoon and a few in-game days, particularly if the wind is against you. Sailing the ship is not just a case of pointing in the right direction and waiting, you have to sail it properly by adjusting the sails for the wind conditions and, frequently, problem solving entries and departures from ports when the wind is in an unfavourable direction. The wind that allowed you to sail straight in is going to be a headache when trying to get back out. The introduction of kedging is a massive bonus and helps you get out of really annoying situations more easily. I would love to see the introduction of a hireable, crewed, rowboat that can pull you out of harbour but what there is works. From your starting island you need to take on a few missions to get some reputation and a little cash so that you can feed yourself and maintain your ship. Once you hit level 1 reputation you can start trading and making some real money, you can use this to buy a bigger ship, outfit your ship with items to make your life easier, customise your ship etc. There are some surprisingly sophisticated tools for a small indie game made by one guy - the chronocompass in particular is a complex bit of kit. The tools and navigation systems are all very nicely implemented. The game is quite slow, it's a sailing game after all, but there's plenty to do - keeping yourself fed, watered, and on course, bailing out the ship, and patching up the ship is a full-time job. Long voyages from archipelago to archipelago are pretty challenging and require the use of some of the more advanced navigation tools if you are not to get totally lost, sail off the map, and die of thirst or starvation. This game is very good value for money, I would highly recommend it.

I don't usually write reviews for games but I'll make an exception for this one as it's quite a unique title that provides an experience that I haven't found in any other game (~400 games in steam library.) What it is: At it's core it's an age-of-sail sailing simulator. There's no minimap or waypoints to follow and only a brief tutorial which I find refreshing in 2026's game market. Sailing mechanics are realistic; getting your boat moving requires proper sail trimming and sailing techniques used in the real world. Navigation is also realistic; you'll need to use techniques like triangulation and dead reckoning to figure out where you are and how to get from A to B. There are even some more hardcore players that utilize star charts for more precise navigation. The core gameplay loop as it stands revolves around trading resources between islands but the dev's roadmap includes treasure hunting and random encounters in the future. Who it's for: This game is NOT for the average dopamine-addict fortnite/COD kid gamer. It's very slow paced game that rewards careful deliberation, sail optimization, navigational technique and logistics planning for longer voyages. If you've had fun with other simulators like Spintires or aviation simulators, definitely try this game out. What I like about it: This game is (in my opinion) the perfect balance of realistic simulation and gamey mechanics. I've always liked simulators that go in depth with the mechanics but not TOO in depth where the entire gameplay loop revolves around tedious mechanics that should be abstracted out. It also doesn't hold your hand so there is a learning curve that needs to be overcome. What I don't like about it: The survival mechanics almost seem placeholder. Hunger, thirst and sleep are a thing in this game and they're kind of annoying. It's not that I believe that they shouldn't be in the game, but that, as things stand right now, there's no real depth to the survival elements and they sort of pull away from the core gameplay loop when instead they should complement them. I don't think this warrants a negative review however (unlike other reviews on here.) Bugs/Polish: From what I understand, it's a one man dev team so expect bugs. I had issues with resolution scaling that I managed to resolve. I've never really encountered something incredibly game breaking, even after 60+ hours. There was one time I bought a few barrels of beer and one of the barrels spawned halfway across the island I was on :/ but that's about all that I've encountered.

Very good indie sailing game, extremely addictive. If you are reading this review, go play it. I look forward to the full release.

I wish I could recommend this game, there is a lot to like. But the wind simply hates me, every time I try to sail anywhere the wind turns against me and there is nothing I can do. I spend hours battling against the wind trying to get into port. Its just not fun, there needs to be some agency over the wind. Let us make offerings for favourable winds or something because right now it feels deeply frustrating trying to make any progress.

Buy a boat. Then spend more time tweaking it than sailing. I'd say that matches my experience IRL.

Wonderful chill & cozy sailing game with gorgeous stylized graphics. Navigate by the stars, the sun, a watch and your compass as you crisscross archipelagos or cross the open ocean. Each archipelago has a distinct vibe, culture, currency, geography and weather patterns. The ships can be customized to an impressive degree with different rigging and different sails. The minimal to no HUD helps immerse you in the beautiful scenery. Still under active development, lots of Quality of Life updates recently. Dev listens to player feedback. For example many players complained about the removal of pushing while swimming, because the ore is too weak for the big boats. So the next update introduced a anchor kedging mechanic. Which is both more effective than the ore and more interesting as a game mechanic than pushing while swimming. Sailwind is rather niche but still highly recommended. Be warned the very early game can feel a bit hard and slow. Buying the fishing rod early helps to both have something to do while sailing and reduce the food expenditure. And staying at the inn is always worth the fee.

It looks like someone's first project in Unity with Synty Studio assets. The UI is horrible, overlapping over it's elements. The water is just a plane with solid material and it looks bad (for a sailing game). Islands are not realistic at all. I tried multiple times to enjoy this game but I was unsuccessful.

Игра была нормальная пока разработчик не выкатил сраную обнову где все перестало работать, меня прижал к причалу нпс и я не смог выбарться от причала , лодку разбило все затонуло , сохраненки не грузятся. Из игры убрана возможность сдвинуть лодку по этому любое застревание карх игре, ибо загрузить сохраненку нельзя... Игра превратилось в ГОВНО! Очень жаль обычно если разработчик не дебил он улучшает игру, а тут наоборот !!!!!!