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Dread Nautical

Dread Nautical does a lot of things well but it feels a bit unpolished on Nintendo Switch.
Dread Nautical Game Cover
59%Game Brain Score
gameplay, story
graphics, music
71% User Score Based on 14 reviews
Critic Score 67%Based on 12 reviews

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Dread Nautical Game Cover

About

Dread Nautical is a single player survival role playing game. It was developed by Zen Studios and was released on October 27, 2020. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Zen Studios welcomes you aboard a cruise liner called the Hope for one of the most unique gaming experiences on Apple Arcade. A tactical turn-based RPG with rogue-like elements, Dread Nautical combines immersive gameplay with a cartoonish — yet captivatingly eerie — tone. Supernatural forces have overwhelmed the ship with mysterious malevolent monstrosities, and you’ll need to seek out other survi…

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Dread Nautical screenshot
Dread Nautical screenshot
Dread Nautical screenshot
Dread Nautical screenshot
Dread Nautical screenshot
Dread Nautical screenshot
Dread Nautical screenshot
Dread Nautical screenshot
Dread Nautical screenshot
Dread Nautical screenshot
Dread Nautical screenshot
+13
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71%
Audience ScoreBased on 14 reviews
gameplay6 positive mentions
graphics3 negative mentions
  • Dread Nautical features an interesting storyline and beautiful design, with a good balance of challenge and reward.
  • The game offers tactical and survival challenges, allowing players to engage enemies or sneak past them, which adds depth to gameplay.
  • The character recruitment system and relationship management provide a unique twist, enhancing the overall experience.
  • The game suffers from repetitive gameplay and lacks depth in combat mechanics, making it feel stale over time.
  • Inventory management is cumbersome due to limited slots and high repair costs, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
  • Controls can be imprecise and annoying, with issues like characters getting stuck and difficulty in managing items during battles.
  • gameplay
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Dread Nautical is characterized by its blend of turn-based strategy and survival mechanics, featuring an engaging storyline and RPG elements. However, players note that the core gameplay loop can become repetitive, with limited strategic options in combat and inventory management issues. While the game offers a unique concept and interesting mechanics, it struggles to maintain variety and depth over extended play sessions.

    • “A fun game, with an interesting storyline, beautiful design, and nice mechanics.”
    • “Dread Nautical is a turn-based rogue-like strategy game with survival mechanics.”
    • “It can’t quite figure out if it wants to be scary or goofy, but the gameplay and level designs are deep enough to keep players engaged throughout.”
    • “Add the breaking mechanic of items and you'll even get annoyed with these survival mechanics since it doesn't really require strategic thinking.”
    • “The core gameplay loop is too repetitive to be interesting beyond a few hours.”
    • “Despite the always changing design of the levels, the mechanics turn into repetition and the missions along with the NPC encounters lack variety.”
  • story
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is generally well-received, with players appreciating its interesting narrative and engaging voice acting. While the storyline shows promise and is complemented by beautiful design, some reviewers feel that the gameplay mechanics and repetitive missions detract from the overall experience. The ability to recruit and lose team members adds a layer of complexity, but it often feels like it lacks significant impact on the story's progression.

    • “A fun game, with an interesting storyline, beautiful design, and nice mechanics.”
    • “The story is interesting so far and the voice acting adds to it.”
    • “It is a must try for its story and the mechanics are good too.”
    • “The story promises to be something special in the genre, but the fighting system is just boring.”
    • “Despite the always changing design of the levels, the mechanics turn into repetition and the missions along with the NPC encounters lack variety.”
    • “You can recruit them, lose them, and recruit them again, but it does not feel like this impacts in any substantial way the story.”
  • graphics
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics in the game feature a mix of vector-style and minimalistic designs that align well with its Lovecraftian theme, though they often lack detail and can appear underwhelming in close-up cutscenes. While some players appreciate the unique visual style, others criticize the overall execution, noting performance issues and unappealing character graphics.

    • “The Lovecraftian graphics are vector-style, and they really suit the game.”
    • “Minimalistic graphics are nice; combat can be tough and satisfying for short bursts, with good difficulty options.”
    • “Dread Nautical offers minimalistic graphics and gameplay.”
    • “Runs surprisingly poorly, with unappealing character graphics and nothing new.”
    • “While the visual style is somewhat original, the graphics lack in detail, making the close-up cutscenes look underwhelming.”
  • music
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally well-received, enhancing the experience, particularly during item discovery, though some users note a slightly unsettling horror theme that doesn't detract from gameplay.

    • “The music is captivating and enhances the overall experience, especially when you discover new items.”
    • “The soundtrack has a hint of horror, but it only adds to the excitement of the gameplay.”
    • “The music feels more like horror sound effects than an actual soundtrack, which can be distracting while playing.”
    • “The soundtrack lacks variety and quickly becomes repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged.”
    • “The music doesn't match the game's atmosphere, often pulling me out of the experience instead of enhancing it.”
  • replayability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The reviews on replayability are mixed, with some users noting low replay value while others highlight plenty of opportunities for replaying the game. This suggests a divide in player experiences, potentially influenced by personal preferences or gameplay styles.

    • “This game offers plenty of replay value, with multiple paths and choices that keep each playthrough fresh.”
    • “The variety of characters and storylines ensures that no two runs are ever the same, making it highly replayable.”
    • “With numerous unlockables and different strategies to explore, I find myself coming back to this game time and again.”
    • “Low replay value.”
    • “Plenty of replay value.”
  • optimization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is criticized for performance issues that detract from the overall experience, despite the presence of engaging characters and a compelling mystery. However, the game's nautical theme fails to resonate, leaving players wanting more in terms of optimization and gameplay quality.

    • “Performance issues could be (at least, partially) ironed over with likable, interesting characters and a compelling mystery, but Dread Nautical just doesn't deliver on that.”
    • “The game suffers from significant optimization problems, leading to frustrating lag and stuttering during gameplay.”
    • “Despite its intriguing premise, the poor optimization makes it nearly unplayable at times, detracting from the overall experience.”
  • atmosphere
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of Zen Studios' creation is criticized for being trite and lacking depth, with users noting its repetitiveness and an unclear thematic direction. Overall, it fails to deliver the immersive experience typically expected from the genre.

    • “It's all rather trite and lacking in atmosphere.”
    • “Zen Studios' creation lacks the depth usually expected from the genre, is way too repetitive, and even seems uncertain of what kind of atmosphere it wants to have.”
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67%Critics’ scoreBased on 12 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

Dread Nautical is a survival role playing game.

Dread Nautical is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, iPhone and others.

Dread Nautical was released on October 27, 2020.

Dread Nautical was developed by Zen Studios.

Dread Nautical has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its graphics.

Dread Nautical is a single player game.

Similar games include Miasma Chronicles, Bionic Dues, Gears Tactics, SKYHILL, Halfway and others.