NavalArt
- June 20, 2018
- Rigidbody
- 18h median play time
Get on Steam"NavalArt is a strategy game that allows for both single-player and multiplayer modes, including PvP. The game is a sandbox experience that involves ship design, construction, physics, and combat. As a player, you will construct your own warships using various parts and tools provided, and guide your fleet through different eras."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Highly imaginative and enjoyable ship-building mechanics that allow for extensive creativity.
- Great potential for future updates, including the addition of aircraft and more modern weaponry.
- Active community support and modding scene that enhances gameplay and content availability.
- The user interface can be clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult for new players to navigate.
- Frequent bugs and glitches, particularly in the building mechanics and combat systems.
- Lack of substantial content and features, such as a campaign mode or detailed tutorials, limits long-term engagement.
- gameplay44 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by robust and intuitive building mechanics that allow players to create a wide variety of ships, including submarines, with a relatively flat learning curve. While the combat systems are engaging and reminiscent of titles like World of Warships, many players note that certain mechanics, such as aircraft operations and large-scale battles, are still lacking and could benefit from further development. Overall, the game offers a fun and creative experience, though some users express a desire for more polished mechanics and additional content.
“The gameplay is simple but engaging; the tutorial is useful, and once you understand the basic principles, you can create the fantasy fleet of your dreams!”
“Damn, this game is amazing! You can recreate historical ships as well as create your own very easily. The learning curve is very flat, and I managed to learn the mechanics of the game in just a few hours of fiddling with it.”
“You can get lost for hours creating the perfect warship with the game's superb building mechanics and custom pre-fab assets, taking it to battle on the high seas against AI or in 5v5 naval battles.”
“But I have to say some of the mechanics of building have to be improved as it's easy to misclick, misplace, or misalign parts, and the undo button only works with parts that you made from scratch and not duplicated parts, which is annoying.”
“My main complaint at this current time though is the lack of in-depth battle mechanics such as torpedo aim assist, target lock so your camera locks onto the target, and large-scale battles where you can control not only one ship but the whole fleet using the tactical map.”
“If you want a naval-themed voxel-based vehicle building sandbox game that's more in-depth, more detailed, and more rewarding to master, go buy Stormworks, From the Depths, or Ultimate Admiral, because those games have far more sophisticated mechanics.”
- graphics26 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the simplistic yet beautiful style, while others criticize the dated visuals and performance issues, particularly on lower-end PCs. Many users report high GPU usage and low frame rates, suggesting that the game may struggle to run smoothly even with reduced settings. Overall, while the graphics are considered decent by some, they may not meet the expectations of players looking for more modern visual fidelity.
“The only pro I can think about for this game is the graphics - a beautiful, but simplistic style.”
“Beautiful game, awesome graphics, what's there not to love about naval art?”
“Great graphics and a very decent price - thank you developers!!”
“I don't always want to deal with a UI and graphics from 1998.”
“Even with the graphics minimized and stuff like ocean simulation and other performance hogs turned off, I would be lucky to get 15 frames.”
“The game's graphics looked dated and ugly.”
- grinding12 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
Reviews on grinding in the game highlight a mixed experience; while some players appreciate the absence of extensive grinding, others find the process tedious, particularly when it comes to building ships and acquiring mods. The overall sentiment suggests that while grinding can be manageable, it may still require a significant time investment for those looking to fully enjoy the game.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“No grinding.”
“The builder is tedious and requires a lot of grinding to use effectively.”
“Creating a whole ship from scratch is a tedious process.”
“I wish it wasn't a grindy nightmare; it really detracts from the experience.”
- optimization9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant performance issues even on high-end hardware. While some improvements have been made in recent updates, users still report low frame rates and suggest that further optimization is necessary for a smoother experience. The active modding community may provide additional enhancements, but the game's current state leaves much to be desired in terms of performance.
“This game has a very realistic physics engine; the only thing this game needs is more optimization (currently being worked on), and an RTS campaign, making all other naval games obsolete.”
“Navalart is currently in version 0.3, which has added new features, improvements, and optimizations since version 0.15.”
“If you have a lower-end computer, it will run better with all of the new optimizations and improvements done.”
“The optimization is horrible.”
“Even with the graphics minimized and stuff like ocean simulation and other performance hogs turned off, I would be lucky to get 15 frames.”
“However, it has its problems: terrible optimization (even my RTX 3060 Ti starts to chug) and the UI isn't great.”
- stability7 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous glitches and bugs reported by users, which detracts from the overall experience. While some improvements have been made, the game's potential is hampered by these ongoing technical problems, making it challenging for players to fully enjoy its creative aspects.
“The big problem honestly is it's rather buggy.”
“Overall this game has major potential; however, for a creative sandbox game, it is extremely lacking in content and its repeatability is only hindered by hardware limitations, bugs and glitches, an unfriendly community, and is lackluster in content.”
“It's essentially a ship build and test, which is cool for all of about an hour after you figure out how to actually build a ship, if you have the time and energy to figure out how the buggy blocks work.”
- story7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is criticized for its lack of depth and progression, with players expressing frustration over repetitive mechanics and the absence of a proper campaign or tutorial. While the ability to create custom missions is a positive feature, the overall narrative experience feels underdeveloped, especially for a game in early access. Future updates may address these shortcomings, but currently, the story lacks engagement.
“Unlike the original iOS version, you have unlimited funds and no progressive mission system.”
“39 minutes in: I was frustrated with the building mechanics, which were easily fixable, and just generally bored with the features of the game, having already possessed every item in the game and having no particular campaign or progressive missions to play through.”
“Although the missions are somewhat lackluster and a proper tutorial is sorely needed as of late 2021, these issues are understandable for a one-man dev team in early access.”
“39 minutes in: I was frustrated with the building mechanics through easily fixable, repetitive mechanics; and just generally bored with the features of the game having already possessed every item in the game, and having no particular campaign or progressive missions to play through.”
“---{story}---”
- monetization4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with no in-app purchases available. Additionally, misleading store page screenshots featuring non-existent content and user-created material violate advertising policies, further detracting from the game's credibility.
“There are no in-app purchases or anything like that.”
“The game is completely free to play without any hidden costs.”
“I appreciate that there are no paywalls or forced monetization tactics.”
“So this game appears to be just a cash grab by the developers.”
“Another point to add is that screenshots on the store page actually show content that isn't even in the game yet, and some even show user-created content through the workshop instead, which is against Steam's policy and generally any policy on advertisement.”
“I guess just something about it looked off - like an advertisement for a mobile game vs. the game itself.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its whimsical premise of creating absurdly fast and comically designed cursed torpedo destroyers, contributing to an overall fun and entertaining experience. Players find the combination of humor and gameplay engaging, making it a standout feature.
“Super fun boat game where you can make cursed torpedo destroyers that go 60 knots and look really funny.”
“Funny boat game.”
“Funny.”
- music2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, described as nice and enjoyable; however, players express frustration over the inability to disable the music entirely, as they can only adjust the volume. Additionally, there are concerns about language settings, as some menu texts remain in Chinese despite changing the game language to English.
“The game has a lot going for it, especially the music.”
“The game has a lot going for it, but the problems I have with it are that you can't disable the music, only adjust the volume, and even if you change the language to English, the in-game menu and other texts are still in Chinese.”
“The music is repetitive and becomes annoying after a short while, making it hard to enjoy the gameplay.”
“I wish there were more variety in the soundtrack; it feels like the same few tracks are played on a loop.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game highly replayable, expressing enthusiasm for future updates, particularly the addition of new aircraft, which enhances their desire to revisit the game.
“This game is incredibly replayable, and I can't wait to see new aircraft added!”
“The variety of gameplay options keeps me coming back for more.”
“Each playthrough feels fresh, making it hard to put down!”
