Make Sail

About

Make Sail is a sandbox sailing adventure game where you build and customize your own sailboat from various materials and scraps. Explore a procedurally generated ocean world, discover islands, and survive harsh elements. Use physics-based sailing mechanics to navigate your boat and adapt to changing winds and sea conditions. Sail solo or team up with friends in multiplayer mode.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

54%

Audience ScoreBased on 93 reviews

gameplay8 positive mentions

stability10 negative mentions

The game has a charming atmosphere with beautiful graphics and relaxing music, making it enjoyable for casual play.
The core gameplay loop of building and sailing boats is engaging, allowing for creativity and experimentation with different designs.
The developer is responsive to community feedback and actively working on updates, showing potential for future improvements.

The game feels unfinished and has been in early access for a long time without significant updates, leading to concerns about its future development.
Building mechanics are clunky and frustrating, with issues in part alignment and snapping, making the ship construction process tedious.
Sailing physics are inconsistent, often resulting in boats sinking unexpectedly or not responding as intended to wind conditions.

gameplay
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
68%
11%
The gameplay of "Make Sail" features a unique blend of boat building and sailing mechanics, which many players find charming but also frustrating due to janky building controls and limited sailing capabilities. While the core loop of constructing boats and exploring islands is enjoyable, it can become repetitive and tedious, especially as players encounter issues with wind mechanics and the lack of a compelling narrative. Overall, the game shows promise with its art style and potential for improvement, but it currently requires refinement in its mechanics to enhance the overall experience.
- “The sail and wind mechanic is really nice.”
- “It's clear there's some cleanup required, but I enjoyed the core gameplay loop of building a boat to reach different islands (with unnatural wind conditions which are cool) and gain better items to make better boats.”
- “The gameplay involves building and sailing boats and collecting items to unlock more boat designs and parts.”
- “The gameplay gets boring quickly, especially because the distances only get larger, and the winds become more annoying.”
- “The building mechanics are very janky; getting pieces to snap together is difficult.”
- “The gameplay loop of build-ship, grab-parts, rebuild is quite good, but the buoyancy and sailing are so broken that most players won't have the patience to learn how to build a boat that floats, let alone one that moves.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
36%
14%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their beautiful art style and pleasing color palette, creating a visually striking experience. However, some users report issues such as graphical glitches, flickering, and performance problems, particularly on lower-end hardware. Overall, while the visuals are appealing and promise potential, there are notable areas for improvement as the game continues to develop in early access.
- “It's got lovely visuals and sound design.”
- “Visually it's quite striking, a nice art style and color palette very pleasing on the eye.”
- “The game has nice relaxing graphics which fit the atmosphere well.”
- “There's also graphical flickering from lights or reflections in the far distance, and the storm boundary itself looks disappointing.”
- “I assume they'll be improved in time, though, hopefully along with the weather graphics, which are a little disappointing.”
- “There are bugs aplenty, from little physics and graphics glitches and missing handbook pages to boats that randomly sink, and crashes to desktop and weird freezes where the game graphics go black, but the UI remains visible.”
music
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
33%
14%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beautiful and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience with a mix of relaxing and dramatic melodies that complement the gameplay. While many players appreciate the soundtrack's ability to set the mood without becoming repetitive, some note that certain tracks tend to loop frequently, which can detract from the immersion. Overall, the sound design and music contribute significantly to the game's enchanting art direction and sailing experience.
- “The music and sound design is wonderful, from peacefully sailing in a circle, slowly widening out to get to an island, to the dramatic music you get when getting too close to the storm wall.”
- “Ranging from minimalist tunes through to dramatic, uplifting melodies, it's wonderful background music that doesn't interfere with the gameplay or become boring or repetitive.”
- “The music is stellar and really gets you in the mood for either a casual sail to another island or trying to keep your poor boat intact as you try to brave the storm.”
- “There is no music on the way; you can only hear the sound of the ocean, even though you can buy a soundtrack.”
- “I've been told there's a large soundtrack for the game, but I normally hear the same few songs on a loop.”
- “I still tense up a bit when I sail into the storm, and that music starts.”
story
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
65%
18%
The game's story is described as charming but underdeveloped, with a compelling premise set in a vast ocean world that lacks depth and variety in its narrative. Players appreciate the initial storytelling elements and the atmosphere, but find the gameplay repetitive and the plot progression limited, leading to a sense of tedium. While the game is still in early access and has potential for improvement, many reviewers feel that a more engaging and intricate storyline is needed to enhance the overall experience.
- “The idea is great: allow the player to build their ships however they want and allow them to freely sail around an awesome world in order to unwrap a story.”
- “And on top of that, the story is compelling, if not fully developed yet.”
- “From the lovely title screen; through the opening introductory sequence that tells the story, the legend woven into the tattered sail of a boat; to the gentle background music when the protagonist first wakes, sometimes so soft behind the sounds of the sea winds that one can barely hear it, sometimes uplifting and dramatic.”
- “The game is fine, the physics can be a bit buggy at times and the content in story mode abruptly ends after around 6 hours of play.”
- “The surface level sailing is wonderful; however, without a primary driving plot device beyond 'get the bits, expand the map, repeat,' the gameplay becomes tedious before it becomes endearing.”
- “The story needs a heap of work; 'mysterious thing contains all hope in the world, mysterious thing breaks down for you to fix' is boring.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with users reporting numerous glitches, bugs, and performance issues, including physics problems and crashes. While some players find the gameplay enjoyable, the overall experience is marred by these technical shortcomings, leading to frustration. Despite occasional improvements over time, the game remains in an unfinished state, typical of early access titles.
- “It's a buggy and laggy mess with very little content, costing more than a good chunk of indie games, whilst still being in alpha...”
- “Bug ridden, unfinished, standard early access nonsense.”
- “There are bugs aplenty, from little physics and graphics glitches and missing handbook pages to boats that randomly sink, and crashes to desktop and weird freezes where the game graphics go black, but the UI remains visible.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its charm and relaxation, enhanced by simple physics and appealing graphics that complement the overall experience. Players appreciate the delightful ambiance and engaging gameplay loop, contributing to a soothing and enjoyable environment.
- “A charming game, with simple physics and a lovely atmosphere.”
- “Make Sail has a charming atmosphere and a fun gameplay loop.”
- “The game has nice relaxing graphics that fit the atmosphere well.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the enjoyable surface-level sailing and exploration, but many find the repetitive nature of the grinding—focused on collecting items and expanding the map—can lead to tedium, detracting from the overall experience. While the game captures the fun of sailing, it struggles to maintain engagement without a compelling narrative to drive the gameplay.
- “The surface level sailing is wonderful; however, without a primary driving plot device beyond 'get the bits, expand the map, repeat,' the gameplay becomes tedious before it becomes endearing.”
- “Wonderful exploration game that tries to lock down on what makes sailing fun without becoming a tedious simulator.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the game's replayability, noting that ongoing updates and prompt responses to gameplay issues enhance the overall experience, making it a recommended choice despite some rough edges.
- “Though this game is a bit rough around the edges, with its constant updates, replayability, and the quick response to gameplay issues, I would highly recommend it.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by a light-hearted and self-referential tone, with players often making jokes about the challenges they face, such as navigating dangerous waters. This playful approach adds a layer of enjoyment to the gameplay experience.
- “Traversing the water is dangerous and not a breeze... haha, I am hilarious.”