Cursed Crew
- February 26, 2024
- Cracklewock Games
Get on Steam"Cursed Crew" is an Early Access game that allows players to choose from various curses and experiment with their effects. The game plans to add more bosses, creatures, an expanded world map, crew member traits, more playable ships, Steam Workshop support, and additional language support. Players can also look forward to new features yet to be announced.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a fun and engaging pirate experience with satisfying ship combat and crew management.
- The art style and sound design are appealing, reminiscent of games like 'Don't Starve' and 'Oxygen Not Included'.
- The developers are attentive to community feedback and show promise for future updates and improvements.
- The game suffers from frequent bugs, crashes, and clunky controls, which can hinder the overall experience.
- The tutorial is overly complicated and does not effectively teach new players the game mechanics.
- Currently, the game feels incomplete with limited content and variety, making it less enjoyable in its early access state.
- gameplay10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Cursed Crew" is praised for its engaging ship micro-management and a satisfying loop reminiscent of games like FTL and RimWorld, offering a cohesive experience that many players find enjoyable. However, some users express concerns about the tutorial's effectiveness and the game's reliance on a node-based structure, which may feel limiting to those seeking a deeper experience. Overall, the game has garnered positive feedback for its fun mechanics and pirate-themed adventure, despite some clunky elements and a need for further refinement.
“With ship micro-management that takes me back to Sea of Thieves, a gameplay loop akin to FTL, and downtime aspects that resonate RimWorld energy so perfectly, Cursed Crew really does combine so many of my favorite games into an extremely cohesive experience that I can't wait for the future of and can't recommend enough!”
“I have been able to get more than 70 hours of incredibly fun gameplay from the current alpha version of the game, which to me would more than justify the current $20 price, and I will certainly be playing a lot more when the upcoming update launches.”
“A nice pirate-themed roguelike adventure management game with really good sound and gameplay.”
“The tutorial can indeed use a bit more work to better explain the gameplay mechanics to new users.”
“The gameplay, however, is extremely unfortunate.”
“I'm also just over the whole Slay the Spire/FTL gameplay loop of moving from node to node on a map, and was really hoping for something more in-depth and less run-based.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The graphics are praised for their beautiful artwork and unique style, reminiscent of "Don't Starve," which enhances the overall gaming experience. Players appreciate the combination of visual aesthetics with gameplay mechanics, noting that the graphics effectively complement the game's atmosphere.
“I loved Don't Starve and its art style; this game has all that and more.”
“Thank you for the game; the artwork is beautiful.”
“Some games do okay with this, others terrible... but this is a style of music capitalizing on the feel of the graphics.”
“A solid combination of FTL and Sid Meier's Pirates, with the graphics of Don't Starve thrown in.”
- music5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received positive feedback, with users praising its quality and artistic alignment, particularly noting the Danny Elfman-inspired intro. While the sound design enhances the overall experience, some players experienced technical issues, such as the game freezing while the music continued to play.
“Love the sound/music and the art!”
“I just have to point out that I love that the intro music is in the style of Danny Elfman.”
“Good music and sounds.”
“Some games do okay with this, others terrible... but this is a style of music capitalizing on the feel of the graphics.”
“The game froze, music still playing.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game experiences significant stability issues, including frequent crashes and bugs that can disrupt gameplay, such as crewmates getting stuck on cannons and items becoming unmanageable, which can lead to frustrating situations like sinking ships. While the game is enjoyable, these stability problems detract from the overall experience.
“On top of frequent crashes and freezes.”
“Fun, but still a bit buggy. So far, I have had issues with crewmates getting stuck on cannons, which was fixable by cancelling the order on the cannon and directing the crew elsewhere. However, just now I had a great run end because a cannonball got stuck in my hands. Then, when I tried to repair a hole, I ended up throwing the cannonball (and wood) next to the hole and locking it out of being repairable somehow, leading to my ship slowly sinking.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is generally considered funny, though players feel it could benefit from further enhancements to its humor. There is optimism among users for ongoing improvements in this area.
“The game is pretty funny, but I think it needs some improvements. I really hope it will keep being improved.”
“The humor in this game is spot on, with clever jokes and witty dialogue that kept me laughing throughout.”
“I love how the game incorporates humor into its gameplay, making even the toughest challenges feel lighthearted and fun.”
- story1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The story is set against a backdrop reminiscent of a RimWorld colony, where players progress through roguelite missions on a map similar to Slay the Spire, blending strategic colony management with dynamic gameplay.
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players enjoy the variety of events and tactical options available in the game, drawing comparisons to titles like "Slay the Spire" and "FTL." However, many feel that while the game offers fun and engaging gameplay, it does not yet achieve infinite replayability.
“I had a ton of fun in this game so far. There are a lot of different events with choice trees similar to 'Slay the Spire' or 'FTL', and the various tactics and playstyles of the crew, weapons, and ship cannons make it a lot of fun to experiment with.”
“The game offers a rich variety of choices and events that keep each playthrough feeling fresh and engaging.”
“With multiple strategies and character builds to explore, I find myself coming back for more, eager to try different approaches.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players report significant performance issues, particularly frame rate drops during intense scenarios involving multiple crew members and entities, such as ship battles. There is a strong consensus that the game's optimization needs substantial improvement to handle these situations effectively.
“The game really needs optimization; the frames drop significantly when you have a full crew and a large number of items on your ship.”
“Entity lag during ship battles is a major issue that requires urgent optimization.”
“With so many crew members and items, the performance takes a hit, highlighting the need for better optimization.”
“Dear God, the frames drop significantly when you have 10 crew members, 13 crabs in your crab army, and all the loot in the world on your ship. Entity lag, especially during ship fights, needs to be optimized like crazy.”
“The game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate when there are too many entities on screen, making it nearly unplayable during intense moments.”
“Optimization is severely lacking; even with a decent PC, the game stutters and lags when there are multiple characters and items present.”
