European Ship Simulator
- November 21, 2014
- Excalibur
Get on Steam"European Ship Simulator" is a game where players can captain eight detailed vessels and explore famous European ports. Each ship has unique handling and features highly detailed bridges. The game also includes a mission editor, weather conditions, and realistic water physics. Updates and DLC are planned for post-launch support.
Mac OS
PC
Reviews
- The graphics are visually appealing, especially the water animations and ship details.
- The game offers a realistic experience of maneuvering various types of ships, which can be enjoyable for simulation enthusiasts.
- There is potential for future updates and improvements, including the possibility of more missions and features.
- The game is plagued with bugs, frequent crashes, and performance issues, making it frustrating to play.
- It lacks essential features of a true simulator, such as realistic navigation tools, a free roam mode, and a comprehensive mission structure.
- The game feels abandoned by the developers, with little to no updates or improvements since its release.
- story88 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 86 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is primarily mission-driven, with players engaging in a limited selection of scripted tasks that often lack depth and replay value. While there is a mission editor allowing for custom scenarios, many users express frustration over the game's bugs, lack of free-roam options, and insufficient mission variety. Overall, the narrative experience feels constrained and underdeveloped, leaving players wanting more content and better execution.
“The cruise ship mission is more like a puzzle than a simulator, as you try to maneuver a behemoth ship around the port while avoiding other traffic.”
“The introductory mission of tug and tow is quite accurate, and the final 'nesting' of the cargo freighter into its assigned berth is testing but fun, using both towing skills and knowing when to drop the tow.”
“While there are only a few missions available in the game at this point, these missions are fun and appear to have all features.”
“The game is very smooth and realistic other than the tug mission where you can slam a bulk carrier around with no consequences.”
“Its not really a simulator and the missions are lacking details, and it's boring with little replay value - even completing a mission gives no rewards (it's just mission over) or even a points or scoring system.”
“This game was supposed to be a 'free game' for those that bought the 'ship simulator extremes' which was buggy as hell back in 2012 and abandoned to.. now this is abandoned.. this same menu, missions work and such but not much else.. sad to see this game still as abandoned as ever when I re-visit it in 2019.. really had my hopes high up for this one.”
- graphics71 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the visuals, particularly the water effects and ship details, while others criticize them as poor or unpolished. Many users note that the graphics are decent for an early access title, but they also express disappointment over limited graphical options and performance issues. Overall, while there are standout elements, such as the bridge interiors and water animations, the graphics are often described as inconsistent and lacking in depth compared to other simulators.
“The game has excellent graphics and the water looks visually stunning, especially when you are out in the middle of the ocean and high up on the bridge.”
“The graphics are excellent, and it is a challenge to operate your ship right.”
“Graphics are great, can you change views from inside and outside the vessel, gameplay is smooth, and no crashing or problems with the simulator.”
“Not a patch on Ship Simulator Extremes, can't walk around the ships, graphics are poor, save/continue function does not work.”
“The graphics are bad and I'm kind of sad now.”
“The graphics options are limited and not what you would expect from a current generation game (for example: no real-time shadows, no anti-aliasing, low resolution reflections).”
- gameplay15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many users criticizing it for being outdated, buggy, and lacking realism, leading to crashes and a frustrating experience. While some players appreciate the smooth mechanics and true-to-life sailing simulation, others find it slow, boring, and plagued by performance issues, ultimately deeming it unsatisfactory for a modern simulator. Overall, the gameplay fails to meet expectations, with significant room for improvement in both mechanics and stability.
“The gameplay and graphics are solid.”
“The gameplay is very true to real life sailing.”
“Gameplay is really good; at the moment it's more about maneuvering your ship around port, as you can skip the bits at sea.”
“Really outdated, full of bugs, crashes on newer systems, and the mechanics of the game are just not up to today's standards and what you would want from a simulator in terms of realism.”
“Even if I could forgive some of this game's faults, the constant crashes and restrictive gameplay are just too much.”
“The game is running at a very low fps (10 fps) and this makes it very bad gameplay; it's a shame as I had hoped it would be a good simulator, but it was not!”
- stability10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 90 % negative mentions
The game's stability is severely criticized, with numerous reports of freezing, crashing, and buggy missions that render it nearly unplayable. Users express frustration over the lack of updates and ongoing issues, leading to a consensus that the game is poorly developed and not worth purchasing. While some players note it runs well on certain systems, the overall sentiment is overwhelmingly negative regarding its stability.
“It runs great on my laptop, and I hope the further development of this game continues to enhance its stability.”
“The game has been incredibly stable since the last update, making my experience smooth and enjoyable.”
“I've had no crashes or major bugs, which really shows the developers' commitment to stability.”
“This game now freezes and crashes. Do yourself a favor and don't buy this game; there have been no updates since, and there are better games out there.”
“I play a mission which takes a while, and when I'm either in the middle of the mission or right about to complete it, it freezes.”
“Don't buy this game; it freezes completely after just a few minutes.”
- music4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received largely negative feedback, with users finding it annoying and noting the lack of options to customize or mute it. The audio settings are minimal, combining sound and music controls into a single slider, which limits user control. Overall, the music contributes to a sense of unpolished gameplay, further exacerbated by technical issues like crashes.
“The music is incredibly annoying.”
“I can only hear the music to it and then it crashes completely.”
“The options menu is bare bones, with three non-descript settings for graphics and an audio slider that controls both sound and music at the same time.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users reporting excessive CPU usage and high RAM consumption, leading to poor performance even on capable hardware. Many feel that the game's optimization is so lacking that it detracts significantly from the overall experience.
“Badly optimized; I wasted my money, and Floating Sandbox is better.”
“Game optimization is awful, with Task Manager showing it using 1.8 GB RAM and 93% CPU (on a Core i5), taking my CPU to 100%.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by the absurdity of driving heavy ships as if they were cars, with exaggerated steering mechanics reminiscent of go-karts. Additionally, the comedic effect is amplified by the unrealistic braking behavior of cruise ships, which stop abruptly like cars when power is cut.
“It's funny that you can drive the heavy ships like a car, and steering a heavy-weight ship feels like driving a go-kart.”
“It's also amusing how the cruise ship comes to a complete stop within a few meters when you have 0% power on the engines.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users express frustration with the emotional impact of the game's mechanics, noting that unrealistic boat reactions to choppy water detract from immersion and seem designed to artificially engage players rather than evoke genuine feelings. This lack of authenticity undermines the emotional experience, making it feel more like a chore than an engaging journey.
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game has low replayability due to its lack of detailed missions and absence of rewards or scoring systems, leading to a monotonous experience that fails to incentivize players to revisit completed missions.
“It's not really a simulator, and the missions are lacking details. It's boring with little replay value; even completing a mission gives no rewards—it's just mission over—with no points or scoring system.”
“The lack of variety in missions makes it hard to find motivation to replay the game. Once you've seen everything, there's little incentive to go back.”
“After finishing the game once, I found no reason to play again. The story doesn't change, and the gameplay feels repetitive.”
