Sea Dogs: To Each His Own

56%
Game Brain Score Based on 395 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Sea Dogs: To Each His Own Game Cover
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"Sea Dogs: To Each His Own" is a swashbuckling, open-world pirate RPG that lets you captain your own ship and explore the Caribbean. Complete quests, engage in naval battles, and make moral choices that impact your reputation and story outcome. An engaging narrative and richly detailed world immerse you in the pirate lifestyle.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

56%
Audience ScoreBased on 395 reviews
story43 positive mentions
graphics27 negative mentions
  • The game offers a deep and engaging pirate experience with a rich storyline and a variety of quests.
  • Naval combat is well-executed, providing a thrilling and strategic experience.
  • The game allows for a high degree of freedom, enabling players to choose their path as a pirate, trader, or adventurer.
  • The tutorial is excessively long and poorly designed, making it frustrating for new players to get started.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and crashes, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to lost progress.
  • The English translation is often poor, leading to confusion in quests and dialogue.
  • story345 mentions

    The story in "Sea Dogs: To Each His Own" is described as engaging and immersive, particularly focusing on the protagonist's journey as a nobleman navigating the pirate-infested Caribbean. However, players frequently criticize the quest structure for being overly linear, riddled with bugs, and burdened by tight time limits that can lead to frustrating failures. While the narrative has depth and potential, many feel that the execution is hampered by poor quest design and a lack of clear guidance, making it challenging for players to fully enjoy the storyline without external help.

    • “The strongest point of sd:teho is the character story of the protagonist, which the game concentrates on heavily.”
    • “In teho, most story missions outside of the sandbox directly tie into Charles' narrative of a pampered Parisian becoming a fearless captain of the Caribbean seas.”
    • “The more I play this game, the more I see the brilliance behind it; the storyline is well written and to employ it successfully into a sandbox game like they have is worthy of praise.”
    • “The main story is difficult to follow and overall the game is confusing for new players.”
    • “The story is awful and impossible to decode at times.”
    • “Most quests have time limits that you are not told outright.”
  • gameplay98 mentions

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its outdated mechanics, clunky interfaces, and frustrating combat systems that detract from the overall experience. While some appreciate the depth and realism of the sailing mechanics and the engaging quest design, others criticize the lack of clear instructions and the numerous bugs that hinder progress. Overall, the game appeals primarily to hardcore fans of the genre who are willing to endure its rough edges for a rewarding pirate adventure.

    • “Sailing across the massive expanse of the Caribbean, exploring gorgeous and unique islands, and getting yourself into all sorts of swashbuckling trouble provide some of the most rewarding and memorable stretches of gameplay I’ve experienced all year.”
    • “A lot of effort was clearly put into these quests to make fun and engaging gameplay, and there are really only a few quests I haven't liked.”
    • “As for the actual gameplay, it is phenomenal.”
    • “The gameplay is highly frustrating because if you do a quest in a different order than intended, you won't have enough money to progress past the tutorial stage and purchase a boat.”
    • “The game has a knack for crashing at the most crucial moments, and frequent bugs during both naval and land combat make it an incredibly frustrating gameplay experience.”
    • “The game does not explain its mechanics very well, making the combat system very frustrating.”
  • graphics80 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely criticized for being outdated, with many reviewers noting that they resemble those from the early 2000s, specifically around 2002-2006. While some players appreciate the nostalgic charm and can overlook the poor visuals, others find them significantly detracting from the overall experience, describing them as "eye-soring" and "garbage." Overall, the consensus is that the graphics are a major drawback, failing to meet modern standards and often feeling clunky and unpolished.

    • “If older (yet still very decent looking, sea battles especially) graphics do not put you off, if you're looking for a spectacular storyline with twists and turns, and rum is your favorite drink - buy it.”
    • “I will say the graphics are well done.”
    • “The graphics are good, sailing has a relaxed realism to it, land and sea combat are generally good.”
    • “The outdated graphics, the land areas, the antiquated animations, the crappy interface, even the many bugs... well everything has been copy-pasted from sd:coas - literally.”
    • “Warning: expect graphics of a 2005 game, as this is built on an old engine (a huge progress has been made though).”
    • “The graphics are garbage, more appropriate for a game released in 2002.”
  • stability28 mentions

    The stability of Akella's sailing games, particularly "Pirates of the Caribbean," is widely criticized, with players reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. Many users experience random freezes, especially when minimizing the game, and issues with saving progress, leading to corrupted files. Overall, the game is described as a "buggy mess," making it nearly unplayable for some, despite its nostalgic charm.

    • “Despite its shortcomings, 'Pirates of the Caribbean' was at least charming, and its jankiness could be excused by its age; after all, it's a 19-year-old game.”
    • “The game runs surprisingly smoothly for its age, providing a stable experience that allows players to immerse themselves in the adventure.”
    • “I was impressed by how stable the gameplay felt, with minimal crashes or glitches, making for a more enjoyable experience overall.”
    • “The game freezes randomly quite often; it freezes when you minimize the game (alt+tab or when another app forces the game to minimize), an issue present from the beginning of the series.”
    • “I have to edit the review; the game in its current state is unplayable, 3 freezes in 15 minutes?”
    • “The time I spent in it was an absolute waste of time, and due to glitches and crashes, over half of the time I spent 'playing' was actually spent restarting and trying to bug fix it.”
  • music26 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing it for being repetitive and lacking variety, particularly in city and combat themes. While some users appreciate specific orchestral soundtracks and the ability to replace music files, the overall sentiment leans towards disappointment, with suggestions for a music DLC to enhance the experience. Despite a few positive mentions of certain tracks, the general consensus is that the soundtrack detracts from the gameplay.

    • “One final tip: check out the orchestral soundtracks of sd1, sd:ct, and sd:coas; they are great!”
    • “Beautiful ships, nice soundtrack, exciting skills system, interesting quests... the most I like in this game is to board a ship and capture it!”
    • “So thanks to the Steam forum, I managed to raise the funds required to have a ship with crew and supplies, as we set sail from port while listening to some epic music!”
    • “The music is alright, but terribly repetitive.”
    • “Gods help you if you're moving through scene changes, because the music starts over every single time; there is no continuity whatsoever, and it's seemingly random which particular tune gets started up when your next screen loads.”
    • “The music is bad and repetitive, and the game is pure torture until you get even the basic gameplay elements unlocked through the story.”
  • grinding19 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being excessively tedious and frustrating, particularly for new players. Many reviewers express dissatisfaction with the slow combat, repetitive tasks, and the need for extensive grinding to progress, which detracts from the overall enjoyment. While some find potential in the game's mechanics, the overwhelming sentiment is that the grinding feels like a chore rather than an engaging challenge.

    • “I've spent the majority of my time going around in what could only be described as a circle, and a very tedious one at that.”
    • “The game is very unforgiving, and especially the very beginning of the game is extremely tedious for new players to figure out.”
    • “Takes everything great about the Sea Dogs series and turns it into a tedious grind for no other reason than padding out a weak narrative that gets jammed down your throat.”
  • humor7 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag; while some players find it amusing, particularly through quirky dialogue and unexpected moments, others criticize the poor translations and bugs that detract from the experience. Notably, the fencing system can be entertaining when slowed down, and the inclusion of absurd swearing adds a layer of humor for those who appreciate it. Overall, the game's comedic elements resonate well with fans of the genre, despite its flaws.

    • “Although I like the fencing system here, which is quite challenging and funny if you slow down the game before a fight.”
    • “However, Sea Dogs is really interesting and funny!”
    • “At one point you get told 'you'll turn into a worthless pile of crap,' which made me laugh.”
    • “No, it's not funny.”
  • replayability5 mentions

    Players note that replayability significantly improves once character stats reach around 30-40, with some mods, like the Gentleman of Fortune, enhancing the experience to an infinite level. However, it may take around 100 hours of gameplay to fully unlock this potential, leading to mixed feelings about the time investment required. Despite some bugs, many find the game enjoyable enough to warrant multiple playthroughs.

    • “It kicks in after about 100 hours once you reach decent skill points in navigation and cannons, and becomes more playable.”
    • “After stats get to around 30-40, the game becomes much more playable.”
    • “It kicks in after about 100 hours once you reach decent skill points in navigation and cannons, and becomes more playable, but those hours will chase you in nightmares.”
    • “Far superior, and with the Gentleman of Fortune mod, infinitely replayable.”
  • atmosphere5 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its romantic and immersive qualities, with a richly detailed world that enhances the main story. Players appreciate the unique spirit it brings, particularly in the context of pirate-themed adventures in the Caribbean. Despite some criticisms regarding other aspects, the atmospheric experience remains a standout feature that captivates many.

    • “All of its shortcomings are worth it for the incredibly romantic atmosphere, the detailed and deep world, and a surprisingly well-written main story.”
    • “If you love pirate games set in the Caribbean, the atmosphere is just right!”
    • “But this game is one of a kind, and none of the other games can provide it; it has an amazing atmosphere and spirit, and there are so many things that we can talk about for hours.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    The game's optimization is criticized for requiring significant code revamping to achieve full speed, as it appears to retain original error line numbers, indicating a lack of updates. In contrast, another user highlights a version of the game that has successfully resolved these issues, boasting no memory leaks and improved performance through modern tools and techniques. Overall, while some players have managed to optimize the game effectively, the base version seems to fall short in this regard.

    • “It might seem complicated at first, but blade's weight, length, curvature, and balance all affect its performance.”
    • “I eventually worked all those out for myself, and now compile/run the program with full speed optimization, but that required much code revamping, which is clearly not done in the game, because again, the line numbers for errors that are output to the logs are identical to the original.”
    • “Interestingly, there is a guy, with this same engine code, that has solved everything that was mentioned above; the game has no memory leaks, is fully compiler optimized and compiled with newer Visual Studio, uses the newest FMOD, allows fullscreen task switching, and much more.”
    • “Hats off to whoever optimized this game, you did the one thing AC4:BF could not!”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization strategy is perceived as exploitative, with many users labeling it a "cheap cash grab."

    • “It seems to me like a cheap cash grab.”
    • “Cash grab.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Buy Sea Dogs: To Each His Own

Play time

32hMedian play time
215hAverage play time
10-120hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 16 analyzed playthroughs

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