Stranded Sails - Explorers of the Cursed Islands
- October 17, 2019
- Alchemist Interactive
- 17h median play time
Get on Steam"Stranded Sails - Explorers of the Cursed Islands" is an open-world, farming-and-sailing adventure game. After a shipwreck, you must explore nearby islands, grow crops, and manage resources to keep your crew alive. Solve puzzles and uncover secrets as you work towards repairing your ship and finding a way back home.
Reviews
- Beautiful visuals and charming art style that enhances the overall experience.
- Relaxing gameplay with no time constraints, allowing players to explore at their own pace.
- Engaging crafting and farming mechanics that provide a sense of progression.
- Repetitive gameplay with a lack of meaningful exploration and depth.
- Energy management can be frustrating, especially with running consuming too much stamina.
- Combat mechanics are simplistic and not very engaging, leading to a lack of challenge.
- story190 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 85 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally described as simple and linear, focusing on a quest to escape an island, which some players find charming while others consider it lackluster and predictable. While the narrative provides a framework for gameplay, many reviewers note that it lacks depth and memorable characters, often feeling like a series of fetch quests. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop for exploration and crafting, but it may not satisfy those seeking a more engaging or complex narrative experience.
“It's a very delightful homage to the village sim genre, beautiful visuals and a lovely little story.”
“This actually has its own theme, style, memorable characters, interesting mechanics, and an intriguing story that encourages you to keep progressing.”
“If you're looking for a somewhat short, very story-driven game, this game delivers.”
“The story is linear, offering you a narrative laid out by the developers. It's also not all that unique, but in the sea of dead relatives leaving you an inheritance of a junk lot, it may prove refreshing to some.”
“The actual story itself is too short.”
“The story quests are basically, go there, pick up that, come back, repeat.”
- grinding156 mentions
- 1 % positive mentions
- 1 % neutral mentions
- 99 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the resource gathering and farming mechanics tedious and lacking depth. While some appreciate the exploration and crafting elements, others feel that the repetitive tasks detract from the overall enjoyment, making the gameplay feel more like a chore than a rewarding experience. Overall, the game is seen as a light farming sim with a focus on exploration, but it may not satisfy those seeking a more robust farming experience.
“There are more boxes of supplies everywhere, so it's not grindy. I don't mind grinding out materials, but this made it so much faster. I love it.”
“This game was a bit grindy; it was tedious to travel between islands, and the combat system was nothing to get excited over... but still, I enjoyed this game enough to unlock all the achievements.”
“The farming aspect is cute and fun but very time-consuming and quickly becomes obsolete - I've got over 100 of most of the crops that I'll never use.”
“Overall, it feels very tedious to do anything, and there is very little to find that's interesting on the islands.”
- gameplay87 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and lacking depth, particularly in farming and base-building mechanics. While some appreciate the relaxing exploration and crafting elements, others criticize the linearity and tediousness of tasks, suggesting that the game is more suited for casual play rather than extended sessions. Overall, the mechanics are seen as simple and polished, but they often fail to engage players meaningfully, leading to a predictable and formulaic experience.
“The actual gameplay behind the life sim aspects is fun instead of tedious.”
“Gameplay is totally at your own pace and consists of crafting, fishing, cooking, exploring, searching for collectibles, and fighting ghosts.”
“The fishing mechanic is probably the best I've seen.”
“The gameplay loop was very monotonous.”
“The gameplay is repetitive and adds only minor changes through the course of the game, and you visit the same 3 islands over and over.”
“Such linear gameplay is incredibly tedious and becomes quickly annoying, as you are not allowed to think, puzzle, adventure, find, or explore anything, but are always sent from A to B.”
- graphics52 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and cute art style, with many reviewers noting the beautiful visuals and relaxing aesthetic. While some describe the graphics as simple or lacking depth, the overall consensus is that they are appealing and well-executed, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere. However, a few users mention minor issues, such as stuttering animations, but these do not significantly detract from the overall enjoyment of the visuals.
“The graphics are really beautiful to look at and it's great to witness how your camp grows and prospers over the course of the game.”
“The graphics and art style are very whimsical and the music is lovely.”
“I love the quests, and the graphics are very well done!”
“Music, graphics, sound design, quest design, dialogue, story, all acceptable but nothing that stands out or is very memorable.”
“The game's aesthetics are charming, but playing this feels overall very tedious rather than fun.”
“I love the art style and the features it is supposed to have all sound like something I'd enjoy, but unfortunately I am disappointed.”
- music25 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as relaxing and fitting well with the overall aesthetic, though some players find it repetitive and not particularly memorable. While many appreciate the beautiful soundtrack and its ability to enhance the gaming experience, others note a lack of standout tracks beyond the opening theme. Overall, the music is considered a strong aspect of the game, contributing positively to its charming atmosphere.
“The music is rewarding and beautiful.”
“This game has a beautiful style with a carefully selected music soundtrack.”
“While a little on the easy side and a little lacking in content, I can't help liking this charming little gem of a game; the graphics are chunky and bright with an almost cel-shaded look reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker/Minish Cap, and the music is cheerful and relaxing.”
“The music is repetitive, the art is bad, there is no voiceover, and my eyes end up strained pretty fast.”
“Music - outside of the opening screen theme, nothing was all too memorable.”
“I went and bought a second copy of this game for one reason only - in the hopes that the developer will take those profits and buy a beer on me for whoever was responsible for the musical score in this game.”
- stability8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Overall, the stability of the game has received mixed reviews. While some players report minor glitches and bugs that do not significantly impact gameplay, others have experienced more severe issues that detract from their enjoyment. The game is currently in open beta, and while developers are responsive to feedback, players should be prepared for some technical challenges.
“The game runs great, with no stuttering or hiccups on my system.”
“The game is relatively bug-free, with the exception of occasionally needing to stand in a specific spot to interact with something.”
“I bought the game when it first released. It was a good concept and I was excited to play, although I stopped about 2 hours in due to glitches and gameplay issues that just didn't make it enjoyable. I didn't give up on it though and left it for months to clean up and add extra ideas, and I was glad I did.”
“Also, it's a bit buggy; for example, one of the crew's dialogues didn't update when a quest was completed.”
“I wanted to love it, but it just isn't well balanced for gameplay or designed to reward you for exploring, and it's pretty buggy.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is viewed as low due to repetitive gameplay, though some players express uncertainty about its long-term value. However, the promise of upcoming content and updates may enhance replayability and provide additional enjoyment for players.
“It's much more playable, and I think you can get some decent enjoyment from it.”
“It doesn't have any replay value in my eyes because it repeats itself.”
“I like this game but am not sure about its replayability.”
“But they're going to release new content by the end of the year, so that and further updates might increase its replayability.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized as cute and wholesome, offering a pleasant experience without significant stakes or deep emotional connections to the characters. While it provides a sense of accomplishment through its mechanics, some players feel a lack of attachment to the characters diminishes the overall emotional impact.
“It's cute and wholesome, and while I don't plan on playing it again, I'm glad I experienced it once.”
“It is a wholesome title with no real deaths or major repercussions, and it can teach patience to someone who is clearly not me!”
“The unlocks, bonuses, cooking, and crafting are well thought out and made me feel like I was playing a finished game.”
- character development3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its engaging and addictive gameplay that encourages players to continue beyond initial objectives, such as paying off debts. The character design is also highlighted for its depth and detail, enhancing the overall experience despite the simplicity of the game's premise.
“The addictive gameplay loops and engaging character development keep you playing long after you've paid off the debt for grandpa's farm.”
“I love the character design and overall aesthetic of this game.”
“There's a wealth of background detail and character design that elevates the experience beyond what could be achieved with a simple stick and signboard.”
“So, there's a lot of background detail and character design that went into a position that could be accomplished just as well by a stick with an attached signboard.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as family-friendly and light-hearted, with minimal violence, making it suitable for all ages. Reviewers found it genuinely funny and highly recommend it for its comedic elements.
“Very family-friendly, with violence kept to a minimum and a good dose of humor.”
“The game was pretty funny; I really recommend it.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is praised for effective tool usage and inventory management that enhance gameplay. Additionally, performance is solid, with players reporting smooth operation even on high settings with powerful hardware.
“Tool usage and inventory management are optimized to fit the gameplay.”
“Performance is not an issue in this game; I'm running maxed out with an i7 6700k and a 1070 at 1440p.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its lack of DLC and microtransactions, making it a more appealing and straightforward purchase compared to other titles that often include such monetization strategies.
“As of the writing (and editing as of December 2020, thank goodness) of this review, there's still no DLC or microtransactions in sight, which makes it a far better and safer buy than other games.”
“The absence of any DLC or microtransactions enhances the overall experience, allowing players to fully enjoy the game without worrying about additional costs.”
“It's refreshing to see a game that prioritizes player experience over monetization, providing a complete package without the pressure of in-game purchases.”
