[h1] Great Potential but it's abandoned[/h1]
Honestly, the game had tremendous potential. It is essentially similar to Patrician, Rise of Venice, or Port Royale, but it lacks many of the features and developments that those games have incorporated over time, such as managing your own production buildings. Therefore, once you establish a few profitable trade routes and manage to avoid significant losses from pirates early on, you essentially dominate the game. In just about 5-6 hours, I feel like I've exhausted all there is to do: I've purchased competitors, established and maximized the level of a colony, and engaged in buying and selling stocks in private companies.
However, in terms of quality of life (QoL), the game is lacking. For some reason, whenever you need to scroll, whether it's for zooming the map or scrolling through lists, you have to scroll excessively. Additionally, the auto route creation screen is not very efficient; you have to place orders in a sequential manner. Patrician 4, for instance, handles this much better.
Combat is actually something I enjoy in this game. Unlike in the aforementioned games, here it's turn-based, and if you upgrade your ships properly, you don't need exceptional skills or reaction times to defeat your opponents. The combat duration is reasonable; it won't take 10 minutes to sink a ship, but it will require a few shots. My only complaint is that escaping combat is extremely difficult. So, if you're caught with a slow cargo ship, you either have to surrender your goods or fight. Furthermore, if you fight and lose, you lose the entire ship. I believe this punishment is excessively harsh. You should either be able to surrender mid-battle or only lose the ship on certain occasions.
All of these issues would be completely acceptable if the game were not abandoned. There have been no updates since 2018, so we have every reason to believe that this is the final state of the game.
I would recommend it because of its potential and for those who like to support indie developers and enjoy this niche genre. However, since the game is no longer being actively developed, I suggest buying Patrician 4, Rise of Venice, or Port Royale instead.
