Blood & Gold: Caribbean!

About

"Blood & Gold: Caribbean" is a strategy and RPG game set in the 17th century Caribbean. Formerly known as "Caribbean!", the game now includes new features such as a playable female character, native tribes, and special missions. The game is an open-world pirate adventure, where players can decide their own role and create their own story. It is an improved version of Mount & Blade: Warband engine.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

+14

57%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,479 reviews

story40 positive mentions

graphics38 negative mentions

Engaging naval combat and ship boarding mechanics that enhance the gameplay experience.
Offers a variety of roles to play, such as pirate, trader, or privateer, allowing for diverse gameplay styles.
The game has improved significantly since its initial release, with ongoing updates addressing bugs and adding content.

Severe performance issues and bugs that can hinder gameplay, including crashes and long loading times.
The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult for new players to navigate and understand game mechanics.
Repetitive quests and lack of variety in missions can lead to a monotonous experience over time.

story
280 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
76%
10%
The game's story is largely criticized for its lack of depth and coherence, with many players noting that it feels more like a sandbox experience than a structured narrative. While there are numerous quests available, they often suffer from bugs, poor guidance, and repetitiveness, leading to frustration rather than engagement. Overall, players appreciate the freedom to create their own stories within the game, but many feel that the potential for a compelling narrative is largely unfulfilled.
- “What it does have is freedom of exploration, freedom to play as you see fit, freedom to write your own story.”
- “The game really creates a story for your character allowing you to be whoever and whatever you want.”
- “The combination of traditional roaming conquest from Mount & Blade: Warband with the additional option to follow a storyline is genius and I had loads of fun with it.”
- “Not too surprising considering how bare bones the game's story is; the most minimal narrative possible.”
- “The scripted campaign does not offer much of interest, and the quests quickly become repetitive.”
- “The quests are either poorly guided or just poorly implemented.”
gameplay
179 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
58%
18%
The gameplay of this title, built on the Mount & Blade engine, is often described as clunky and buggy, with many players reporting issues such as incomplete quests and confusing combat mechanics. While it offers some unique features like naval battles and a pirate theme, the overall execution is criticized for being unpolished and repetitive, leading to a mixed reception where some enjoy the core mechanics while others find it frustrating and lacking depth. Familiarity with Mount & Blade is recommended for a more enjoyable experience, but many players feel the game falls short of its potential due to its numerous flaws.
- “I would argue that this is possibly worth the £15 though if you're going to sink some hours into it, it has many new gameplay features, such as naval battles.”
- “For those who love the mount & blade series, this will feel very familiar as it uses the same engine and a lot of the same mechanics, but this game also brings some different things to the table: bar fights, horse races, a great pirate theme, escaping slavery, naval battles, and much more.”
- “The naval combat and ship upgrading system and addition of sea trade routes are all incredibly welcome and add some much needed variety and new game mechanics to the mount and blade formula.”
- “It was a fascinating concept that was absolutely ruined by the worst combat mechanics I've ever seen, a god-awful interface, and a complete lack of any instruction as to how to accomplish nearly anything in the game.”
- “The gameplay is clunky and confusing, with certain decisions having entirely random outcomes it seems.”
- “Despite a solid effort to transpose the Mount & Blade engine onto the golden age of piracy, a number of game-breaking bugs and clunky mechanics (that still haven't been ironed out since launch) leave the game feeling marooned like Robinson Crusoe.”
graphics
124 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
53%
31%
The graphics of the game have been widely criticized for being outdated and reminiscent of the older Mount & Blade titles, with many users noting poor textures, clunky animations, and frequent bugs. While some players appreciate the gameplay and content, they often feel that the visuals detract from the overall experience, with reports of low frame rates and long load times even on lower settings. Overall, the consensus is that the graphics are a significant drawback, failing to meet modern standards despite some improvements over its predecessors.
- “Very good game looks and plays exactly like M&B but with better graphics and a better setting in time :)”
- “Amazing graphics for a game using the old M&B engine.”
- “Although the graphics are a bit dated for a game released in 2015, this game is more substance over style, and if you love the open world sandbox pirate genre and can accept a game with charisma and depth but may not be all too pretty then this game offers a unique perspective to its gameplay for this genre.”
- “The visuals are quite bland, with models and textures looking outdated by over a decade, and a UI that makes me want to keelhaul myself.”
- “Unfortunately, because of the fact that they tried to build a pirate game out of Mount and Blade, the graphics are terrible and the engine is severely limited.”
- “The graphics are horrid, the gameplay is awful.”
stability
111 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
The game is widely criticized for its numerous bugs and glitches, which significantly impact gameplay, including pathfinding issues, quest failures, and frequent freezes. While some players find it enjoyable despite these problems, many agree that the game's stability is poor, with reports of crashes and unpolished mechanics making it feel incomplete. Overall, the consensus is that while the game has potential, its current state is marred by instability and technical issues.
- “Too buggy, really just not worth it, too many pathing bugs; so you have to jump into the water to drown and end the mission, then you get to break out of slavery, again.”
- “Game is buggy, crashes, and just isn't finished.”
- “Great game, but it crashes constantly, freezes constantly on the overworld map and has general performance issues.”
optimization
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
39%
52%
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with many players reporting severe performance issues, frequent crashes, and stuttering, even on high-end PCs. Despite some improvements noted by a few users, the overall consensus is that it remains poorly optimized and feels like an unfinished mod of the original Mount and Blade, leading to a frustrating experience for many. Overall, the game's performance problems significantly detract from its potential enjoyment.
- “I could love this if it was better optimized.”
- “I'm glad the developers were willing to keep working on optimization.”
- “Optimize 8/10; they did fix FPS drops and freezes, but it can be optimized more!”
- “This game had a lot of promise, but the huge amount of bugs, the terrible economy, and the completely unoptimized combat make it essentially unplayable.”
- “People are right, this game is sadly very poorly optimized and now abandoned by the devs.”
- “Game has very poor optimization, which is a shame since it seems to be fun otherwise.”
music
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
38%
24%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising the soundtrack as beautiful and mood-setting, particularly the "Drunken Sailor" song, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking variety. Many players express frustration over the limited number of tracks and instances of music stopping entirely, leading to a less immersive experience. Overall, while the music has its highlights, it is often overshadowed by complaints about its repetitiveness and the game's technical issues.
- “The soundtrack is beautiful.”
- “Soundtrack sets the mood nicely.”
- “Spent an hour listening to the main menu music.”
- “The few soundtracks this game has become annoyingly repetitive after an hour or two.”
- “The command system in battles is crap and the music is damn repetitive and annoying.”
- “I don't know exactly how many music tracks this game has, but I found it very repetitive and on other occasions the game was just mute.”
humor
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is a mixed bag; while players find moments of genuine hilarity, particularly in quirky enemy behaviors and some amusing quests, the overall experience is marred by bugs and frustrating gameplay mechanics. Many reviewers note that the humor can only carry the game for a short time before the unfinished state and errors detract from the enjoyment. Overall, the humor is appreciated but often overshadowed by the game's shortcomings.
- “Good humor, found myself laughing a lot.”
- “Hilarious.”
- “Game is funny!”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
Overall, the game offers significant replayability, allowing players to explore different storylines and character choices, reminiscent of the endless replay value found in "Mount and Blade." While many users appreciate the freedom and combat mechanics that enhance replayability, some express a desire for more diverse quests and content to further enrich the experience. Despite minor glitches and graphical shortcomings, the game's engaging nature keeps players coming back for countless hours.
- “A great game, only some glitches but it is very enjoyable to play. I find it to be infinitely replayable, creating different storylines for each character.”
- “It's all the same endless replayability of Mount and Blade with pirates and naval combat - just try it out!”
- “That is the game... anything goes and you can be whatever and whoever you want to be, making the replay value as good as it can get in this type of game.”
- “Content seems a bit lacking as far as quests and replayability go. I would like to see a greater variety of quests and rewards.”
- “Most warband mods have much more content and replay value than this.”
- “It's all the same endless replayability of Mount and Blade with pirates and naval combat.”
monetization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
The monetization aspect of the game has drawn criticism for the developers' apparent abandonment of the project, as they focus on promoting their new title, "Feral Blue," rather than addressing the existing game's shortcomings. While there are no microtransactions, the lack of completion and support for the game has led to disappointment among players, who feel that this approach undermines their investment and trust in the developers.
- “After these past 4 years of game developers turning out bad unfinished products or just plain simply ruining a good game, or throwing in microtransactions, it's important to learn that it's bad to support such developers.”
- “No, there's no microtransactions, but not finishing a game is just as bad as actually finishing it and throwing in that garbage.”
- “I love how the devs pretty much acknowledge they have given up on this game by advertising their new one 'Feral Blue' on this game's store page. Long story short, like I told the devs, I took a gamble on you and lost... and in turn, you have lost my business.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
38%
25%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its realistic sound effects and well-designed island towns, contributing to an immersive experience in sea warfare and sword fighting. However, criticisms arise regarding poor graphics, a cumbersome user interface, and a lack of depth and story, which detracts from the overall in-game feeling. Despite these issues, the game manages to evoke a sense of atmosphere reminiscent of its predecessors.
- “The sound effects and atmosphere of sea warfare and sword fights are incredibly realistic, rating an 8/10!”
- “The well-designed island towns create a vibrant atmosphere that truly immerses you in the experience, also rated 8/10.”
- “While it may lack the depth of the former and the story of the latter, it captures the feel of the former and the atmosphere of the latter beautifully.”
- “Poor user interface, bad graphics and atmosphere (especially in the towns), cumbersome controls and overall a quite poor in-game feeling.”
- “It lacks the depth of the former, and lacks the story of the latter - but it does have the feel of the former and the atmosphere of the latter.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players note that grinding is a significant aspect of the game, primarily focused on upgrading your crew and ship to face tougher enemies. Unlike other ship games, the grinding process is described as more dynamic, with less emphasis on slow pursuits, although some players find it can lead to frustrating moments, such as getting stuck on islands.
- “You will spend most of your time grinding up a crew and ship to take on big enemies (unless you cheat).”
- “On the campaign map, my ship will just run into some island and sit there grinding against the beach while the rest of the world keeps running around me.”
- “It's not a slow and tedious chasing of ships like other ship games.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express strong emotional disappointment regarding the game, with one reviewer feeling a deep sense of regret for their purchase, indicating that the game's current state has left them feeling upset and disheartened.
- “The fact I paid money for it makes me want to cry.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate a notable lack of focus on character development, with players expressing disappointment that proposed updates do not address improvements in character design. This oversight suggests a missed opportunity to enhance player engagement through deeper character exploration and customization.
- “I just read a list of things they want to add to the game, and they didn't even mention anything about character design.”
- “I just read a list of things they want to add to the game, and they didn't even mention anything about character design.”