Tortuga: A Pirate's Tale

59%
Game Brain Score Based on 71 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Tortuga: A Pirate's Tale Game Cover
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Tortuga – A Pirate’s Tale is a strategy role-playing game that transports players to the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy. Assemble a crew, build and upgrade your ship, and embark on a quest for treasure and fame. Engage in naval combat, trade, and diplomacy while navigating the political waters of the pirate world. Your decisions will shape the story and outcome of your pirate adventure.

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

59%
Audience ScoreBased on 71 reviews
story6 positive mentions
grinding5 negative mentions
  • The game features beautiful visuals and immersive environments, particularly the stunning Caribbean waters and realistic underwater scenes.
  • The turn-based combat system allows for strategic gameplay, with various tactics available to stack the odds in your favor during battles.
  • Despite some bugs and repetitive elements, many players find the game enjoyable for casual play, with a decent amount of missions and customization options.
  • The combat system is criticized for being tedious and reliant on RNG, leading to frustrating experiences where players can lose battles despite having superior numbers.
  • Many players report bugs and unfinished mechanics, such as issues with skill points not being applied correctly and frequent crashes.
  • The game can feel repetitive and lacks depth in its missions and interactions, leading to a sense of monotony over time.
  • story25 mentions

    The game's story is described as optional and somewhat disorganized, with players often finding more enjoyment in side missions and trading activities than in the main narrative. While there is a wealth of missions available, many reviewers noted that the story lacks depth and coherence, leading to a repetitive experience that feels more like a sandbox than a compelling narrative. Despite its beautiful graphics and potential for character and ship upgrades, the overall storytelling and mission structure leave much to be desired.

    • “The main story of the game and even the grind can still be pretty fun and enjoyed even alongside all of the bugs, missing calculations, and unfinished game mechanics.”
    • “You can still enjoy the game regardless of what missions you choose to complete or ignore.”
    • “The graphics are good and the Caribbean does look beautiful; there are numerous upgrades available to your character and ships, as well as many quests that can be taken to improve your status/experience and continue the storyline.”
    • “The story is boring, the tasks are repetitive, and most of the time you're just sailing from A to B.”
    • “It has little character, missions are presented in an unorganized and random 'slop', combat is repetitive and lacks any nuance whatsoever, which makes it utterly boring.”
    • “However, I still don't really know what that storyline is other than - raid the Spanish treasure ships.”
  • gameplay15 mentions

    The gameplay offers a mix of enjoyable mechanics and frustrating elements, with a fun loot-splitting feature and improved graphics, but suffers from a lackluster combat system and unclear mechanics. While the storylines are engaging, they feel disconnected from gameplay choices, and the turn-based battles can be tedious. Overall, the game presents a solid foundation for an early access title, with potential for future improvements.

    • “The gameplay is very similar but with more depth, and the map is extremely beautiful - just look down into those clear waters as you glide across the Caribbean!”
    • “The 'split your loot often to keep your crew happy, but they don’t quit on you, they just want to know what you’ll do next' mechanic is genuinely a lot of fun and inspired.”
    • “Your main pirate character, as well as additional captains you select, all gain experience which can be used to upgrade many different skills, allowing for very different advantages in combat and other mechanics of the game.”
    • “It takes about 12 hours of gameplay to realize how bad the combat system is.”
    • “If you are used to the pirate games, you will see improvements in graphics and gameplay, but the turn-based battles are appallingly tedious and take forever to complete.”
    • “Horrible game mechanic.”
  • graphics13 mentions

    The graphics of the game are generally praised for their beauty and detail, particularly in the Caribbean setting, with many users noting improvements over previous titles. However, some players have criticized inconsistencies between the graphics and gameplay, such as inaccurate ship movement and a lack of detail in naval combat. Overall, while the visuals are appealing, there are areas where further enhancement is needed.

    • “Visuals and pretty sceneries just make you want to stop and enjoy it all.”
    • “Beautiful graphics and the look is awesome.”
    • “The graphics are good and the Caribbean does look beautiful; there are numerous upgrades available to your character and ships, as well as many quests that can be taken to improve your status/experience and continue the storyline.”
    • “So, the graphics don't match up with the videos and screenshots; inaccurate ship movement, etc.”
    • “I'm running an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 and the graphics are atrocious.”
    • “Just a note - I think the game may default to a lower '3D resolution' in graphics settings.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Players initially enjoy the variety of side missions that make grinding engaging, but many find the combat system to be tedious and unexciting, particularly criticizing the turn-based mechanics for slowing down the experience. While there are improvements in graphics and gameplay, the repetitive nature of battles detracts from the overall enjoyment.

    • “But somehow they messed up combat so bad, as well as food consumption, that it's just bland and tedious.”
    • “The bad: battles are a bit tedious and get perfunctory.”
    • “If you are used to the pirate games, you will see improvements in graphics and gameplay, but the turn-based battles are appallingly tedious and take forever to complete.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews; while some users report excellent performance on their systems, others experience significant issues even on machines that meet or exceed the recommended requirements. Additionally, certain design elements may not function optimally, affecting the overall user experience.

    • “An optimized flag designer: it's a good base, but some of the background options don't work well with the symbols unless you go for a really colorful flag.”
    • “The good: decent performance, easy to understand gameplay, affordable game overall.”
    • “Performance is great on my computer.”
    • “Terrible performance on my machine, which far exceeds the recommended requirements.”
    • “The game frequently stutters and lags, making it nearly unplayable.”
    • “Despite having a high-end setup, I experience constant frame drops and crashes.”
  • stability3 mentions

    Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while it runs well on platforms like the Steam Deck and Linux PCs, many users report significant bugs, particularly with controls, leading to a frustrating experience.

    • “It runs great on Steam Deck and on a Linux PC.”
    • “But some of these are very buggy.”
    • “The controls are generally very buggy, but using a controller will make you want to beat a kitten to death with a puppy.”
  • replayability3 mentions

    Players feel that the inclusion of randomly generated captains alongside a limited selection of historic captains could enhance replayability, making each playthrough more unique and engaging. While some users express uncertainty about the overall replay value, they acknowledge that the game offers a few hours of enjoyable gameplay.

    • “Having fictional and randomly generated captains as a baseline and then meeting only a few randomly selected historic captains as special top-tier characters during each game would be more interesting, increasing replay value.”
    • “I understand that some of these suggestions are work and go beyond the current price - I wouldn't mind paying for them if they add more fun, gameplay, and replay value.”
    • “I am not sure about replay value, but it is worth a few hours of pirating fun.”
    • “I am not sure about the replay value, but it is worth a few hours of pirating fun.”
  • music1 mentions

    The music in the game is described as pleasant and contributes positively to the overall experience, complementing the beautiful environment and engaging gameplay elements.

    • “The music in this game creates an immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.”
    • “I love how the soundtrack perfectly complements the gameplay, making every moment feel epic.”
    • “The beautiful melodies and soundscapes really draw you into the world and make exploration a joy.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game is perceived as a cash grab, aiming to exploit players who are transitioning from Ubisoft's 'Skull and Bones' (2024).

    • “Unfortunately, I think that this game is an ill-fated cash grab to capitalize on players fresh from Ubisoft's 'Skull and Bones' (2024).”
  • character development1 mentions

    Character development is minimal, with users noting a lack of depth and growth in the characters throughout the game.

    • “Character development is barely present.”
    • “The characters feel one-dimensional and lack meaningful growth throughout the game.”
    • “I was disappointed by the lack of depth in the character arcs; they don't evolve in any significant way.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The game successfully creates an engaging atmosphere that encourages players to keep playing, evoking a compelling "just one more convoy" feeling. However, this is undermined by poor balance and frustrating turn-based combat mechanics.

    • “The game definitely has the atmosphere; the 'just one more convoy...' feeling gets to you.”
    • “The game definitely has the atmosphere (the 'just one more convoy...' feeling gets to you) but is poorly balanced, sometimes to the point of annoying, and the turn-based combat pulls it down for good.”
    • “While the atmosphere is immersive, the repetitive gameplay and lack of variety make it feel stale after a short time.”
    • “The dark and eerie atmosphere is well-crafted, but it often feels overshadowed by the lack of engaging content.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Buy Tortuga: A Pirate's Tale

Play time

11hMedian play time
11hAverage play time
9-12hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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