Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail
- April 7, 2021
- Game-Labs
- 23h median play time
Get on Steam"Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail" is a naval wargame that offers a unique experience with its advanced AI and tactical engine. In the game, you can play as historical commanders such as Horatio Nelson or John Paul Jones, and participate in epic battles of the British and American campaigns. The game features realistic sailing physics and detailed ship rigging, providing an immersive experience.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Engaging naval combat with a focus on wind mechanics and ship customization.
- Rich historical context and immersive gameplay that captures the essence of the Age of Sail.
- Challenging campaigns that require strategic thinking and resource management.
- Land battles are poorly designed and often frustrating, lacking the depth of previous Ultimate General titles.
- AI behavior can be inconsistent, leading to unrealistic outcomes in battles.
- The game suffers from bugs and balance issues, particularly in difficulty scaling and mission design.
- story300 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 84 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is characterized by a linear campaign structure that follows historical narratives, primarily focusing on naval battles with some land missions. While players appreciate the immersive setting and variety of missions, many express frustration over the difficulty balance, often feeling forced into unwinnable scenarios or repetitive gameplay. Overall, the narrative is engaging but marred by inconsistent mission design and a lack of meaningful choices, leading to a trial-and-error experience that can detract from enjoyment.
“The campaign missions are linear and scripted.”
“I enjoy the ships and ongoing storyline that makes it feel like the actions you take really have an impact on the world.”
“The missions are pretty creative and make the campaign very original and far from repetitive.”
“The campaign and storyline are lacking substance.”
“The missions are extremely hard or you're completely outgunned.”
“The linear storyline/path of the game is similar to the Ultimate General series.”
- gameplay167 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
Gameplay in this title is a mixed bag, featuring strong naval mechanics and engaging ship management, but marred by frustrating AI and clunky land battle mechanics. While the sailing and wind dynamics are praised for their realism, many players find the overall balance and tutorial support lacking, leading to a steep learning curve and moments of frustration. Despite its potential and captivating atmosphere, the game suffers from design oversights that detract from the overall enjoyment.
“The gameplay is engaging and exciting, the mechanics are smooth and intuitive, and the campaign episodes have a good variety.”
“The battles at sea are fabulous as well as the land battles...excellent graphics and gameplay...most missions make you think strategy instead of going in guns blazing....10/10 from me...an absolute fantastic game!!!”
“It takes the base mechanics of army and resource management as well as real-time land battles from those earlier games, but the addition of naval fleet management really adds an enormous new dimension to the gameplay.”
“One big thing that plagues the gameplay is the morale, which affects you twice as much as it affects your enemies.”
“Unfortunately, you are immediately confronted with the game's horrible lack of gameplay mechanical explanations, poorly done and insufficient tutorials, and just a general mess when it comes to understanding how to actually play the game.”
“All in all, a game with potential that is not realized due to obtuse game mechanics and bad/lazy exploitable game design, making it strategically uninteresting at best, frustrating at worst, and more arcadey than historically tactical.”
- graphics73 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received generally positive feedback, with many players praising the detailed visuals and historical accuracy, particularly in naval battles. While some noted that the graphics are not cutting-edge and could benefit from more detail in certain areas, such as crew activity and environmental effects, the overall aesthetic is considered immersive and enjoyable. However, there are reports of occasional bugs and performance issues that detract from the experience.
“The campaign's battles and visuals are phenomenal, the details and the historically accurate structures and ships allow you to visualize what it would have been like to fight during the age of sail.”
“The graphics are fantastic.”
“Great game, good graphics, good battles, loving it.”
“The graphics are basic and there's a lack of crew detail and crew activity.”
“My only real want is I wish the graphics and activity on the ship decks were a tiny bit better with more water splashing effects and a crew that looks a bit more like they're actually sailing a ship, not running around like ants.”
“The land component of the game could definitely use some work, along with quality of life mechanics, sound quality, and certain graphical elements.”
- stability27 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and unresponsive AI affecting gameplay. Players express frustration over constant freezes, poorly balanced mechanics, and a lack of developer support for reported issues. While some enjoy the potential and depth of the game, the overwhelming consensus is that it remains unpolished and frustratingly buggy, making it difficult to recommend in its current state.
“The game freezes constantly and requests for assistance from the developer (Gamelabs) and Steam get a 'not our problem' response, but they keep my money.”
“I'm a fan of their previous work, especially Ultimate General: Civil War; however, this is a buggy mess.”
“Still not playable, too buggy and unreliable.”
- replayability24 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
Overall, the reviews indicate a mixed perception of replayability. While some players appreciate the variety in difficulty levels and customization options that enhance replay value, others criticize the linear campaign structure and lack of dynamic content, leading to limited replayability after completing the main missions. Multiplayer modes and additional challenges are noted as factors that can improve replayability, but many still feel that the game falls short in this aspect.
“I would give this a solid 4/5 with replayability after so many years.”
“One of the best games I've ever played, tons of replay value, great campaign, and overall a great mix of attention to detail, yet simple and easy to learn.”
“Wide array of missions and lengthy campaign with tons of replayability.”
“Not much replayability after you're done with the campaigns; pretty decent game nonetheless, quite realistic!”
“The campaign pretends to be a tiny bit choice-driven: in reality, not only is there practically no replay value because you will be confronted with the same battles every time, as there is no story branching or dynamically generated battles, making this claim in the game description.”
“The linear campaign likely means very little to no replay value.”
- grinding20 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly in naval combat where micromanaging multiple ships can become a chore. While land battles also have their moments of tedium, they are often overshadowed by the frustration of prolonged naval engagements, which many feel do not translate well into an enjoyable gaming experience. Despite some positive elements like customization and graphics, the overall sentiment leans towards the grinding being a significant drawback.
“The way ships are controlled makes it an immensely tedious chore to micromanage - something like 20 ships to maneuver into firing/positioning optimally, pausing every several seconds to issue new commands.”
“Essentially, even on medium, you're likely to be fighting 3-4 times your force in land battles and in sea battles the enemy will have ships a few steps up in quality on you making the battles (even if you win them) a long tedious grind.”
“I will never get to it though because I refuse to play any more long tedious terrible ship battles.”
- music19 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its quality, with some reviewers comparing it to the excellent soundtrack of Skyrim. However, there are complaints about the limited variety of tracks, leading to repetitiveness that can detract from the experience. While the battle sounds are appreciated, the overall sound design is seen as lacking depth, with minimal audio settings available.
“The soundtrack is truly excellent (like, Skyrim excellent, just nowhere near as lengthy).”
“10/10 main menu music makes me grab a cup of tea every time!”
“A smashing game with a perfect soundtrack.”
“My biggest gripe is probably sound design - the soundtrack is solid, but there aren't a ton of tracks so you get tired of the lack of variety after a while.”
“But the soundtrack sounds like it is on a loop and becomes annoying.”
“The only audio settings in game are 'music' and 'sfx' volume so I don't think much effort went into audio.”
- optimization12 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally good, with smooth performance during battles and campaigns. However, some players have noted a decline in performance as matches progress, which is unexpected given the reduced number of ships on screen. While there are minor issues, such as unit representation inconsistencies, the game runs without crashes and features well-designed mechanics.
“There are a few different unit types, and with the ability to change out weapons to change unit performance, there exists a reasonable amount of granularity to force building.”
“Runs smoothly with well-designed battles and robust campaigns.”
“No crashes ever for me and the game runs smoothly.”
“You'd expect fewer ships on screen to mean better performance, but that does not seem to be the case; some optimization would be welcome.”
“When I finish a land game, why do my land units show up as transport ships and not show the individual unit performance?”
“The campaigns desperately need branching paths based on player action and performance.”
- humor11 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is derived from various amusing gameplay moments, such as the absurdity of small troop sizes, comical unit interactions, and graphical glitches like a standing dead model. Players also find humor in the irony of a game focused on naval combat having its strongest elements in land warfare, as well as the amusing contradictions in player reviews. Overall, the game successfully tickles the funny bone with its quirky mechanics and unexpected scenarios.
“Well, after 30 hours (give or take) I have defeated the British as Admiral John Paul Jones (as one of my friends pointed out, the most American sounding name ever, which is made even more funny when he is not 'from' America).”
“It was kind of funny to see troops in one company get mixed up in a company passing through their ranks and run back to get in line where they belonged.”
“Hilariously and pathetically enough, in a game about sailing ship combat - the land-based action is this game's strong suit.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for effectively capturing the age of sail, providing an immersive experience during sea battles and occasional land encounters. However, some players feel that certain features, like status bars, detract from this atmosphere, and there are concerns about the game's lack of updates and tactical depth. Overall, it remains a compelling and atmospheric strategy game with a strong sense of its historical setting.
“Love the atmosphere and gameplay.”
“Excellent, fun game, properly capturing the atmosphere (and many of the tactics) of the age of sail.”
“It really captures the atmosphere of the era.”
“Sadly, this game has little tactical depth; some features, like the status bars above ships, really detract from the atmosphere of the game, and it hasn't been updated in a long time.”
“The game focuses on sea battles, but there are some land battles every now and then that change the atmosphere.”
“You'll get yourself a dose of Age of Sail vibe, a dead RTS atmosphere, naval combat, and tons of customization options.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be deeply impactful, particularly when experiencing the loss of beloved characters or ships, which evokes a sense of heartbreak. Additionally, overcoming challenging battles later on provides a satisfying sense of achievement, enhancing the overall emotional journey.
“And heartbreaking, when you see your favorite flagship blown up with all hands.”
“Instead of feeling overpowered later, capturing a solo at the Battle of Bunker Hill on hard later made me feel satisfied to not need it for years.”
