Arcane Waters
- November 14, 2022
- Black Mammoth Games
- 14h median play time
Get on Steam"Arcane Waters" is a nautical action-adventure game that takes players on a journey through treacherous seas filled with mythical creatures and ancient curses. As captain of your ship, you must navigate the waters, battle enemies, and solve puzzles to uncover the truth behind a mysterious artifact. Featuring a dynamic weather system, day and night cycles, and a variety of customizable ships, "Arcane Waters" offers a vast open world to explore.
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Reviews
- The game has a charming art style and engaging ship combat, making it enjoyable for players who appreciate pixel graphics and naval battles.
- The developers are responsive to player feedback and actively work on updates, showing a commitment to improving the game and its community.
- There is a friendly and helpful community, which enhances the multiplayer experience and encourages player interaction.
- The game suffers from significant bugs and server issues, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences and a lack of stability.
- Many players find the combat systems, particularly the turn-based mechanics, to be clunky and unfulfilling, detracting from the overall enjoyment.
- The game has a low player base and feels empty, with repetitive gameplay and a lack of meaningful content, making it hard to stay engaged.
- grinding38 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is heavily centered around farming, which players find both relaxing and tedious, often leading to repetitive gameplay. While some enjoy the grind for its cathartic qualities and the community support, others feel it detracts from the more adventurous elements like exploration and combat. Overall, the balance between farming and other activities is seen as a mixed bag, with many players wishing for improvements to farming mechanics and a more engaging variety of tasks.
“This can get boring after grinding each over and over again.”
“Farming can be quite the grind, but if you have it open on another monitor while you do something else, it's tolerable.”
“The farming to being a pirate ratio is not so fun; I find myself logging in and spending my time farming potatoes and carrots instead of exploring and fighting and looting and being a general pirate.”
- gameplay24 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
Gameplay experiences vary significantly among users, with some praising the engaging mechanics, exploration, and cooperative elements, while others criticize abrupt shifts in gameplay style and poor level design. Many appreciate the unique farming, crafting, and ship mechanics, though issues like controller support and server lag can detract from the experience. Overall, the game shows promise in its early access state, but it still requires refinement and additional content to fully realize its potential.
“Really great music, I love the details on the pixel art, ship gameplay is great, puzzles are the best, and there are tons of hidden content in the game.”
“Had fun with the mechanics and playing with friends; the weekend monster raids were the best.”
“The gameplay loop is quite cozy.”
“Halfway through the game, the developers randomly decided they wanted to make an entirely different kind of game, so the gameplay just switches entirely and it's jarring as hell.”
“Still very early access, so there's a lot to be desired in terms of gameplay and interactions.”
“Disappointing; from what I've seen in my short time playing and interacting with other players, the game mechanics are worse than a 2005 Flash game somehow.”
- story13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game offers a mix of exploration and questing, allowing players to sail and discover new islands at their own pace. However, many users find the narrative progression slow and frustrating due to a lack of clear guidance on quests, incomplete implementations, and inventory bugs. While the absence of quest markers encourages exploration, it can also lead to confusion, detracting from the overall experience.
“Explore, quest, and solve puzzles…”
“Finding quest items is tricky at first; there are no real quest markers, which is really cool. You kind of need to learn the zones/areas and what drops what.”
“Farming and exploring are both nice aspects of the game where you can set up, decorate, and manage your own farm. If you enjoy 100% completion, there are trackers in towns to see how many quests in the area you've completed, along with exploring the map to fill it out.”
“Really slow start and quest rewards could be better as they feel like placeholders for now (early access, I guess).”
“You just kind of get thrown out into the world taking quests with no explanation as to how you should ascertain some of the items.”
“It gives you some quests that have some information in your log, and others that you just have to kind of figure out, and it's frustrating.”
- graphics11 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many players appreciating the simplified and nostalgic pixel art style, which is described as cute and cheerful. The visuals are noted for being polished and effective, contributing positively to the overall aesthetic, although some feel that the repetitive combat mechanics detract from the experience. Overall, the graphics successfully blend various genres, enhancing the game's appeal.
“I am personally a fan of the simplified graphics and aesthetics of the game in general.”
“Graphics.”
“Simple yet effective pixel graphics.”
“Nostalgic pixel graphics with many different genres mixed in, giving it potential in so many directions.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers some replayability through its voyages across three playable islands, but players note that the puzzle maps lack replay value, limiting overall replayability.
“As of today, three islands are playable.”
“As of today, only three islands are playable.”
“The most replayable parts of those islands are the voyages.”
“There is zero replay value for puzzle maps.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game's stability is lacking, with a smooth initial experience overshadowed by numerous bugs and issues in later stages. The user interface struggles with visibility, animations are inconsistent, and the PvP mode is described as a chaotic and incomplete experience.
“I'd have expected the initial experience to be smooth, with the later stages being a little buggy due to lack of testing.”
“Very fun, but very buggy.”
“The UI is really struggling with visibility, animations are rough around the edges, and PvP was just an incomprehensible, buggy mess with missing features.”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised, with players noting its quality and how it enhances the overall experience, particularly during ship battles. The combination of great music and detailed pixel art contributes to an engaging atmosphere, making it a standout feature alongside the gameplay and puzzles.
“The ship battles and music are my favorite part so far, and there is so much more to come.”
“Really great music; I love the details in the pixel art, the ship gameplay is great, the puzzles are the best, and there is tons of hidden content in the game.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect is primarily driven by social media advertising, as users are drawn to the game through targeted promotions, indicating a reliance on platforms like Instagram for visibility and potential sales.
