Abandon Ship

About

Abandon Ship is a single player survival role playing game with fantasy and historical themes. It was developed by Fireblade Software and was released on October 22, 2019. It received positive reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

"Abandon Ship" is a naval combat game set in a fantastical Age of Sail world, where you battle enemy ships and sea monsters in treacherous environments. With a wide range of unique, story-filled islands to discover, each voyage brings new challenges and the risk of permanent death. The game's Art Style is reminiscent of classic Naval Oil Paintings, adding to its immersive atmosphere.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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73%

Audience ScoreBased on 758 reviews

story106 positive mentions

grinding48 negative mentions

The game features beautiful graphics and a captivating art style that resembles classic maritime paintings.
Engaging combat mechanics that allow for strategic decision-making, including targeting specific enemy ship sections and managing crew assignments.
The story is well-written and offers a unique blend of pirate adventure and Lovecraftian horror, keeping players invested in the narrative.

The game can become repetitive quickly, with battles and encounters feeling similar after a few hours of play.
The save system is frustrating, as players can lose significant progress due to the lack of manual save options and the punishing nature of permadeath.
Some gameplay mechanics, such as crew management and boarding actions, can feel clunky and unintuitive, leading to frustrating moments during combat.

story
309 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
62%
4%
The game's story is generally well-received, featuring engaging writing and a unique pirate-themed narrative that includes elements of Lovecraftian horror. However, many players note that the story can become repetitive and lacks depth in certain areas, with some quests feeling linear and uninspired. While the overarching plot is intriguing, the gameplay often detracts from the narrative experience, leading to a mixed reception regarding its overall impact.
- “The writing is engaging, the story is fun to follow, and the combat is fun.”
- “The story is interesting; if you like pirates and crew-management games, this game might be for you.”
- “The story had me hooked from the start and I'm genuinely enjoying this game.”
- “While the premise is quite interesting and neat, it does not really go anywhere major with the story, and at the end I felt a bit underwhelmed.”
- “The story is worn out Cthulhu cult forced into a 'pirate' genre... yawn.”
- “The main story is very linear with no real side quests and also the impact of your choices is minimal.”
gameplay
226 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
58%
7%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by engaging mechanics and a thematic naval battle experience, reminiscent of titles like FTL, but it suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of depth in certain areas. While players appreciate the strategic elements and the satisfaction of ship upgrades, many find the combat and exploration can become monotonous over time, particularly due to a punishing RNG system and a clunky save mechanic. Overall, the game offers a fun experience for fans of pirate-themed gameplay, but it may not hold long-term interest for those sensitive to repetitive mechanics.
- “The core gameplay mechanics are great, thematic, and fun.”
- “Its captivating visuals, strategic gameplay, and the thrill of commanding your own ship on the high seas make for an enjoyable experience.”
- “Once you get the hang of the mechanics, it provides for solid hours of entertainment.”
- “Even on an easy save, the RNG is still way more punishing than rewarding, which makes the moment-to-moment gameplay suck and makes me want to turn it off and play something else.”
- “The gameplay loop gets pretty boring quickly.”
- “There's mechanics that should result in variation and depth at the strategic map level and in tactical ship battles, but it seems to not be fully developed or well thought out -- ultimately there's an optimal approach to both, and the game becomes very repetitive and monotonous.”
graphics
97 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
38%
3%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their stunning, stylized art style, often described as reminiscent of oil paintings that enhance the seafaring atmosphere. Many players appreciate the unique aesthetic, which combines beautiful visuals with immersive sound design, creating an engaging experience. However, some critiques mention that while the graphics are appealing, they may not significantly impact gameplay depth, and a few users noted occasional graphical stutters.
- “The visuals in Abandon Ship are striking, featuring a stylized art style that beautifully captures the atmosphere of a seafaring adventure.”
- “The graphics are stunning to behold and awe-inspiring the first time you encounter a heavy storm!”
- “The visuals are great - the 'painted' art style on the sea surface in particular is amazing, and the wide variety of different biomes, weather, and climate types are all really atmospheric.”
- “Very tedious game, shame should and could have been better, no effort in graphics nor scenery.”
- “So in summary: graphics are terrible - reminiscent of 1990s, storyline is okay, gameplay while fun is extremely hard on the easiest settings, and the save system sucks given how difficult the game is and unforgiving.”
- “This is a badly made FTL knockoff with graphics from a PlayStation 1 cutscene.”
grinding
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
96%
The grinding aspect of the game has received largely negative feedback, with many players finding the process tedious and unfulfilling. Players report that battles and exploration become repetitive and drawn-out, leading to frustration, especially when progress can be easily lost. While some enjoy the challenge of grinding in roguelike games, the overwhelming consensus is that the game lacks sufficient rewards to justify the extensive time spent grinding.
- “If you want a casual story-filled game with little to no grinding, you're barking up the wrong tree.”
- “Some people just want to enjoy the story, not grind for hours only to start over again due to a small mistake.”
- “You gain so little from battles that it takes a lot of grinding just to get the items you are aiming for.”
- “The main campaign is way too long (40+ hours to complete in a single playthrough), and combat gets very tedious after a while.”
- “The game itself looks fun, but the battles are long, drawn-out, and tedious.”
music
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
29%
8%
The music in the game has received a mixed reception, with many praising its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the immersive experience, particularly during combat and exploration. While some players find the soundtrack captivating and fitting for the game's themes, others criticize it for being repetitive or forgettable. Overall, the music is seen as a strong aspect that complements the visuals and gameplay, contributing to the game's unique identity.
- “I love this game and it makes wandering through the endless ocean so much fun with its awesome soundtrack, exploring the different seas and creative NPC encounters.”
- “The music is fantastic, and the sound effects work very well.”
- “It’s a far cry from your typical pirate game, there’s no stereotypical sea shanties or squawking parrots, but there is a heavily stylized world that’s been cleverly realized and it’s instantly immersive and accompanied by some epic musical scores which support the feel and flow of the game perfectly.”
- “Poor, repeatable music.”
- “Forgettable music and sound.”
- “Also, I think that the music during battles is a little bit repetitive.”
atmosphere
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
10%
10%
The atmosphere in "Abandon Ship" is widely praised for its striking visuals and stylized art that effectively captures the essence of a seafaring adventure. The combination of atmospheric music, detailed environmental effects, and engaging narrative elements creates a captivating experience, despite some critiques regarding gameplay depth. Overall, the game's immersive atmosphere stands out as one of its strongest features, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the adventure.
- “The visuals in Abandon Ship are striking, featuring a stylized art style that beautifully captures the atmosphere of a seafaring adventure.”
- “The visuals are done very well and the audio team pulled off the atmosphere perfectly.”
- “Where Abandon Ship shines is the atmosphere of the game.”
- “Which is above average, as it could have been pixel graphics and nothing about the atmosphere would have changed.”
- “Where Abandon Ships shines is the atmosphere of the game.”
replayability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
33%
17%
The game's replayability is largely criticized, with many users noting a lack of engaging mechanics typical of roguelites, such as fast restarts and meaningful upgrades. While some players appreciate unique storylines and visuals, the overall sentiment leans towards low replay value due to repetitive gameplay and limited variety in mechanics. Comparisons to other games highlight its shortcomings in replayability, suggesting that it fails to deliver the depth and challenge expected from the genre.
- “Everything is perfect and it's replayable; simply a must-buy if you like pirates.”
- “Unique storyline, good visuals, lots of replayability, and decent gameplay.”
- “Strongest suit is true replayability and it delivers a great ambiance through music and art direction.”
- “Zero replayability.”
- “Low replayability.”
- “I've seen a lot of comparisons to FTL, and while the game mechanics are similar, there is less replayability because of the small number of weapon variants (regular, fire, acid) and that boarding seems significantly more effective than using cannons at this point.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
Overall, stability in the game has received mixed feedback from users. While some players report a generally bug-free experience with solid gameplay and beautiful visuals, others have encountered significant bugs, particularly during the tutorial and specific gameplay stages. The consensus suggests that while the game has improved since early access, some issues still persist, warranting caution for new players.
- “The game seems to be quite bug-free, and ultrawidescreen is supported.”
- “Beautiful artwork, solid gameplay, and bug-free so far.”
- “Bug-free and beautiful to play, it has a surprising amount of depth considering it's just been released.”
- “A little buggy, and ultimately feels like a mobile game.”
- “Currently, the tutorial is super buggy.”
- “Be warned it is buggy; after 50 minutes of play, there seems to be a bug between the Kraken and the 'find port' stage.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
60%
The humor in the game is hit or miss; while some players appreciate the sound effects and find them well-executed, others feel that repetitive events leading to crew knockouts and unfunny captain logs detract from the overall experience. The balance between managing crew levels and humor can lead to frustration rather than laughter for some players.
- “Having six crew and getting them leveled up is pretty much the difference between laughing in the face of enemies and frantic annoying micromanagement.”
- “Sound effects humor is very well done in this game; I was hard pressed to find much wrong with it.”
- “[b]Check out my [url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/ucjtq9htq19vhvyu-u4fomng?]YouTube channel[/url] for hilarious playthroughs of other such games!”
- “It was okay the first few times, but when every second event knocks out one of your crew, that's absolutely not funny for me.”
- “The jokes felt forced and repetitive, making it hard to enjoy the humor.”
- “I expected clever wit, but instead, I got tired clichés that fell flat.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The optimization aspect of the game is criticized for its reliance on crew traits that can only be found rather than earned, making it challenging to justify replacing fully leveled characters with new hires that offer marginal performance improvements. Players feel that the trade-offs often do not provide sufficient benefits, requiring extensive gameplay to achieve meaningful upgrades.
- “Positive traits cannot be earned, only found on crew hired at taverns, and they aren't worth much when you're trading off a fully leveled character that may have 200% better performance at something for someone who has 20% better performance inherently. However, you'd need at least 30 battles to get to that 220%.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy has received mixed feedback, with some users appreciating the inclusion of ads for adding a "pirate flavor" to the experience, while others express dissatisfaction.