TransOcean: The Shipping Company

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TransOcean: The Shipping Company is a tycoon-style game that simulates the operations of a global shipping company. Build and manage your fleet, establish trade routes, and negotiate contracts to grow your business. The game features realistic ship models, dynamic weather, and a day-night cycle that adds depth and challenge to the experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 796 reviews

gameplay30 positive mentions

grinding48 negative mentions

Great game for killing time and relaxing.
Nice remake of Ports of Call with improved graphics and gameplay.
Addictive and fun, especially for fans of economic management games.

Repetitive gameplay that can become tedious after a short time.
Lacks depth and complexity, making it feel shallow.
Manual docking can be frustrating and time-consuming.

gameplay
118 mentions
25 % positive mentions
68 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally straightforward and addictive, with a mix of calm and hectic elements, but it tends to become repetitive and grind-heavy after a few hours. While the mechanics are solid and the graphics appealing, many players find the lack of depth and variety in gameplay, along with tedious management tasks, detracts from long-term enjoyment. Overall, it offers a competent experience for genre fans, but may not satisfy those seeking more complexity or innovation.
- “The gameplay itself is very straightforward and is something you get the hang of within an hour or two.”
- “Gameplay I have found to be highly addictive in the 'just one more turn' sense.”
- “Transocean is a great management game with surprisingly addictive gameplay, trying to manage each ship as it sails across the globe is fun and being able to dock manually both breaks up the monotony and serves as an interesting gameplay mechanic.”
- “The gameplay and replayability is really not much better than some free mobile games, besides there is no wait time and not pay to win.”
- “Tedious gameplay, very shallow realism, virtually non-existent long-term motivation, and full of inaccuracies. I find the amount of highly unrealistic and extremely repetitive micro-management very boring.”
- “Unfortunately it suffers from repetitive gameplay and the tedious management of your ships.”
graphics
102 mentions
35 % positive mentions
57 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the updated visuals and clean design, while others criticize the simplicity and lack of detail in ship models and environments. Some users noted that the graphics are decent but not groundbreaking, often feeling dated compared to modern standards. Overall, the visuals are generally considered sufficient for the gameplay experience, with particular praise for the aesthetic of the docking mini-game.
- “Even on my older system playing with some of the lower graphics settings (turning off post-processing completely really helps with game speed for me) the game environment looks absolutely gorgeous.”
- “The graphics are quite pretty, and it's neat that each port is 'unique', but you probably won't get to see most of them.”
- “Graphics wise the sim is pleasing to the eyes, beautiful colors, non-cluttered interface, lots to look at without getting bombarded with useless information.”
- “Ship models are oversimplified, graphics are mediocre.”
- “Graphics quality were lower than I expected, and I already expected low for a title like this.”
- “Game is a total disappointment and only a graphic change from the original Ports of Call.”
grinding
50 mentions
2 % positive mentions
2 % neutral mentions
96 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly due to the manual ship docking mechanic, which becomes increasingly burdensome as fleets grow. While the initial docking mini-game is enjoyable, it quickly loses its appeal, leading many to prefer auto-docking despite the associated costs. Overall, the lack of automation and the repetitive nature of resource management contribute to a sense of grind that detracts from the overall experience.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “While I love the idea, concept, and playability, I feel there's just not enough content or challenge, and it's just grinding for even more resources once you establish yourself.”
- “Unfortunately it suffers from repetitive gameplay and the tedious management of your ships.”
- “First, docking and undocking is tedious as hell and gets very old very quickly.”
story
42 mentions
14 % positive mentions
76 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The story in "Transocean" revolves around a player and their partner striving to reclaim their shipping company from an intrusive investor, providing a mix of engaging objectives and challenges. While some players appreciate the narrative's potential and the balance of gameplay, others find it lacking depth and express a desire for further development. Overall, the campaign enhances the experience, though it is often conveyed through text and images rather than cutscenes, leading to mixed feelings about its execution.
- “Unlike in 'Ports of Call', 'Transocean' has a story involving an investor meddling in the operation of the shipping company, and the player and their partner striving to improve the standing of their shipping company so they can buy themselves back from the annoying investor.”
- “The campaign is challenging and fun, especially with a storyline that enhances the game so much more than just simply playing in freestyle mode without obstacles and consequences that affect your company name and rank for better or worse.”
- “A truly enjoyable game with a great soundtrack and a good storyline.”
- “No story or real campaigns.”
- “The 'story' in the campaign is 'told' by pictures and text - no cutscenes or voiceplay anywhere.”
- “Although most of the time is spent struggling to enter/exit ports, the game has a good balance of monotonous control vs. a progressive 'storyline' (not exactly a storyline but the main objective is to progress and buy back your shares and escape from investors' extortion...)”
music
20 mentions
30 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising the quality of the soundtrack and its calming, unobtrusive nature. However, some players note that it can become repetitive over time, particularly in the world view, and recommend turning off certain tracks like the elevator music. Overall, while the music enhances the experience, it may not be the most effective mood-setter for all players.
- “One of my favorite elements is the soundtrack: while there isn't that much material, what there is is really well done and somehow I never get bored of it.”
- “A truly enjoyable game with a great soundtrack and a good storyline.”
- “The game comes with a set of elevator music tracks which I recommend you switch off from the beginning; then it just plays relaxing seaside sounds.”
- “Music gets a little repetitive in the world view as you spend a lot of time there, but each port is individualized and, overall, it's a pretty calming, uninvasive soundtrack.”
- “I remember reading a comment somewhere saying that the music was repetitive and annoying.”
optimization
20 mentions
10 % positive mentions
70 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, with players reporting low frame rates, lag, and occasional freezes even on relatively powerful hardware. Many users express frustration over the lack of updates and support from the developers, suggesting that the game's performance is hindered by poor coding and inadequate hardware optimization. Overall, while the game has potential, its current state makes it challenging to enjoy.
- “- Performance issues, struggles whenever there's 3D involved.”
- “Hardware optimization is terrible; even with a quite powerful card, I get 15 fps when trying to look far and only 50% GPU usage at the same time!”
- “Performance issues make it unplayable later on in the game for me.”
- “These lead me to suspect the coding to handle shipping consignments is at best weak and poorly optimized.”
stability
18 mentions
17 % positive mentions
-6 % neutral mentions
89 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with some players experiencing significant bugs and glitches, particularly related to handling multiple ships and menu responsiveness. While a few users report a smooth experience without crashes, the overall consensus leans towards frustration due to frequent bugs and a lack of developer support. Many recommend avoiding the game until these issues are addressed.
- “They're clearly good at releasing a bug-free product.”
- “The game runs smoothly without any major issues, which is impressive.”
- “I appreciate the stability of the game; it rarely crashes or glitches.”
- “It is playable as it is but has 2-3 major bugs. If a port has more than one ship of yours in it, it becomes really complicated to handle as it is laggy and buggy. Many times, the forward daytime gets stuck, resulting in a disastrous moment where you have to pass 20-25 days.”
- “The penalties for not on-time delivery are running, and you see that you are losing hundreds of millions of your money due to issues that are not your mistake. Most of all, the in-game menu is very buggy; you have to push the buttons with the mouse 2-3 times to start the action you were supposed to do, which is kind of lame for a game that has no graphics needs.”
- “Don't buy it; it had potential but is now buggy and no longer supported by developers.”
replayability
14 mentions
21 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
29 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players finding it highly addictive and offering excellent replay value, while others criticize it for being low or even non-existent after a few playthroughs. Many reviews suggest that the gameplay does not significantly surpass that of free mobile games, indicating a need for improvement in this area. Overall, the consensus leans towards a lack of substantial replayability.
- “Very addictive game, excellent replay value.”
- “The gameplay and replayability is really not much better than some free mobile games, besides there is no wait time and no pay-to-win.”
- “It would have been a fun and killer game if they spent more time on graphics and replayability.”
- “Replayability is non-existent for me after 3 run-throughs.”
- “Replayability is very low.”
- “There is also little to no replayability.”
humor
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The humor in the game has been criticized, with multiple users expressing disappointment that it fails to deliver laughs, particularly towards the end. Overall, the comedic elements seem to fall flat for many players.
- “At the end, it just wasn't funny!”
- “At the end, it just wasn't funny!”