Ultimate Admiral: Dreadnoughts

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Design warships the way you want them, command fleets, win the naval arms race for your nation!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

68%

Audience ScoreBased on 3,394 reviews

gameplay77 positive mentions

stability147 negative mentions

Highly replayable with the ability to build and customize a wide variety of ships.
Unique naval combat experience that allows players to engage in battles with their custom designs.
Active development with regular updates and improvements based on community feedback.

Campaign mode is plagued by long loading times and lacks meaningful player control over diplomatic and military actions.
AI behavior is often frustrating, with ships failing to follow commands and making poor tactical decisions.
Multiplayer is locked behind a paid DLC, which many players feel is unjustified given the game's current state.

gameplay
387 mentions
20 % positive mentions
69 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Ultimate Admiral: Dreadnoughts" is characterized by a compelling shipbuilding mechanic and engaging naval combat, but it suffers from numerous bugs, poorly explained mechanics, and frustrating AI behavior. Players appreciate the depth of customization and the addictive gameplay loop, yet many express dissatisfaction with the campaign's lack of clarity and the overall execution of core mechanics, leading to a mixed experience that can feel tedious and unbalanced. While the game shows potential and receives regular updates, significant improvements are still needed to enhance the overall gameplay experience.
- “The gameplay loop is very rewarding; you select a nation at the start of your playthrough, develop ships of different classes, and prepare for war. This part can be a little tiring, as wars are created through random events that lower your relations with a nation, but it adds an interesting dynamic.”
- “The core gameplay is very solid, including the campaign. The shipbuilding mechanic is definitely a unique and fun aspect of the game, allowing for a lot of creativity and strategy.”
- “The gameplay is simply wonderful, and I can't think of any other naval game that had me so involved, feeling like I really do have control over every aspect of the war.”
- “The campaign is badly flawed and is literally missing mechanics it should have.”
- “After many frustrating hours of playing the campaign (it's frustrating because most of the game mechanics are inconsistent and illogical not because I'm losing) I would not recommend this game even if it is on sale, unless all you want is a shipbuilder and then use your designs in custom battles.”
- “The developers are all around incompetent and push out completely broken and incomplete patches... despite having beta tests for usually 1-2 months before every patch... they simply don't fix anything that is reported in the beta and they knowingly release game-breaking public updates that have half-implemented mechanics that break the rest of the game.”
story
227 mentions
10 % positive mentions
82 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The game lacks a cohesive narrative, with many players noting that the campaign feels more like a random mission generator than a structured story. While there are numerous tutorial and challenge missions that help players learn the mechanics, they often lack clear guidance and can be frustratingly difficult. Overall, the absence of a compelling storyline detracts from the experience, leaving players to create their own narratives within the gameplay.
- “His playthroughs of the game's campaign, in various nations, were all very entertaining, including the 'admiral's logs' he included, which really helped give a feel of an actual story being played out.”
- “Ultimately, you can play historical navies, or you can design your own, use your own doctrines, and play out the story of your navy.”
- “This game blows me away with its uncanny number of tutorial missions and what seems like a global operations campaign from 1890 to World War era (1940s I think), you can progress technology from the age of ironclad battleships to the world's first steel battleships.”
- “The campaign seems to have no point and is only really a poor random mission generator that generates missions that can be either pointless (the enemy runs away and can't be caught), weird (opponent ships teleport half-way round the world to be involved), unrealistic (one battleship without any escort to guard two transports), bizarre (one enemy light cruiser attacks a large task force repeatedly, runs away if you try to manually resolve or receives light damage if auto-resolve, and repeats for five months causing the task force to run out of fuel and ammo even though it's been instructed to move back to port).”
- “The lack of a story in the campaign isn't a detriment. Unlike a lot of other games, a lack of story won't hold you back, because it's your story.”
- “The 'campaign' is comprised of timed missions where you have to achieve goals the game lays out. When you fail the mission you get zero feedback on why.”
graphics
163 mentions
46 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the detailed ship designs and impressive visual effects during battles, while others criticize performance issues, bugs, and a lack of optimization. Some players find the visuals satisfactory, especially for a naval strategy game, but note that they can be demanding on hardware, leading to significant frame rate drops. Overall, while the graphics are considered a strong point by some, they are also seen as needing improvement and refinement in various aspects.
- “Great graphics, awesome campaign, and extremely detailed in ship building.”
- “The graphics are gorgeous.”
- “The detail is amazing, the graphics are excellent, the situations, scenarios and especially visual effects are flabbergasting.”
- “The graphics performance in the game is the one major problem I have encountered.”
- “The graphics look like they are 10 years old or more, and it's badly optimized; 6+ ships and when I close up view it gets bad fps.”
- “Overall, a frustrating game that is tactically weak and graphically disappointing.”
stability
150 mentions
2 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
98 % negative mentions
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous users reporting it as a "buggy mess" that hampers gameplay, particularly in campaign mode. Common issues include frequent crashes, graphical glitches, unresponsive AI, and significant lag, making the game nearly unplayable at times. While some players acknowledge potential and fun moments, the overwhelming consensus is that the game remains unpolished and riddled with bugs, detracting from the overall experience.
- “After sorting out a problem with it not rendering the water (needed to install some C++ related apps), it now runs great. I'm so excited to play this too much now!”
- “They need to stop adding new features and actually get everything they have already added bug-free first before continuing on.”
- “I won't ever buy multiplayer, but I will quietly return to playing single player even if it isn't completely bug-free.”
- “The game is a buggy mess, campaign is unplayable and it is filled with bugs and lag.”
- “This game is extremely buggy; the campaign mode is unplayable garbage.”
- “Game is a buggy, unplayable mess.”
optimization
146 mentions
11 % positive mentions
60 % neutral mentions
29 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with users reporting severe performance issues, including stuttering, long loading times, and frame drops even on high-end systems. Many players express frustration over the lack of significant improvements despite ongoing updates, leading to a consensus that the game is poorly optimized and often unplayable, particularly in campaign mode. While some acknowledge minor performance enhancements, the overall sentiment is that substantial optimization work is still needed to make the game enjoyable.
- “The level of in-depth customization and optimization you can give your ships is awesome.”
- “The game is receiving updates and constant improvements both to the core gameplay loop and performance.”
- “That being said, the combat mechanics, AI, damage models, performance, and dev support are all amazing and I would still recommend this game, especially to people who are interested in historical naval warfare and politics.”
- “Horribly optimized in areas like the tabs players will typically be switching between in campaign.”
- “The first thing I noticed was performance (not a hardware issue), stutters and frame drops in the ship builder and combat, long loading times for everything, and 15-20 minute loading screen to start a new campaign.”
- “The game needs a proper optimization overhaul instead of the mini updates it gets every few days that barely buff performance while breaking things all the time.”
grinding
39 mentions
3 % positive mentions
5 % neutral mentions
92 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being excessively tedious and time-consuming, with players expressing frustration over micromanagement of large fleets and repetitive mechanics. Many reviews highlight the lack of engaging tactics and the overwhelming nature of managing numerous ships, which detracts from the overall enjoyment. While some players appreciate the strategic elements, the consensus is that the grinding experience can be overwhelming and unfun, often requiring significant time investment for minimal progress.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “And I just cannot recommend it for someone who lacks the capacity for a degree of obsession that can carry them through the grinding boredom that's a pretty common experience.”
- “When the game stops requiring a day's worth of playtime in grinding boredom to break through to actually making the battleship you want, I'll come back and change this, but until then... I just cannot in good conscience recommend buying it.”
- “Micro-managing is tedious and unrealistic.”
replayability
23 mentions
17 % positive mentions
70 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while many players appreciate the dynamic campaign and the variety of nations and ship designs that enhance replay value, others criticize it for feeling unfinished and limited in scope. The potential for more playable nations and improved mechanics could significantly boost replayability, but current issues like bugs and restrictive gameplay mechanics detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game shows promise for replayability, especially with future updates and expansions.
- “Replayability of the dynamic campaign is the strong point of this game.”
- “Great fun and very replayable, recommend it to any fan of naval history.”
- “There is truly a surprisingly great amount of replayability for something as simple as designing a warship thanks to the amount of content the developers decided to put in before launch.”
- “The replayability of the game is fairly low, especially once you realize the campaign is just a bug-riddled menace.”
- “Being forced to place main towers ahead of smoke funnels and secondary towers is really annoying and hampers creativity and replayability.”
- “More random technologies would increase replay value a lot; will you research some save weighting or triple turrets for high caliber guns?”
humor
21 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely derived from the absurdity of ship designs and the often comical failures of the AI, leading to amusing scenarios during gameplay. Players find joy in creating both realistic and bizarre ships, with many noting that the game's bugs and AI quirks add an unexpected layer of hilarity. However, some users express frustration with the game's mechanics, suggesting that while the humor is a highlight, it is often overshadowed by technical issues.
- “You build battleships, and it's fun to create funny ships that look weird. It's very enjoyable, bro! If you like battleships, you have to get this game.”
- “It's hilarious to see the auto ship designs the AI comes up with; they could best be described as hilarious, and you'll be spending most of the game clicking around empty sea tiles searching for enemies that have already sailed away.”
- “This is one of my favorite shipbuilding games; I highly recommend it, and it's funny too.”
music
19 mentions
58 % positive mentions
26 % neutral mentions
16 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received generally positive feedback, with many users praising its quality and integration with gameplay, often highlighting the effectiveness of classical music as a backdrop. While some reviews noted it as merely decent, others described it as phenomenal, contributing to an immersive experience alongside impressive sound design and effects. Overall, the soundtrack enhances the game's atmosphere, making it a notable aspect of the player experience.
- “Excellent sound - ship cannons, weather effects, water splashes, music, all fantastic.”
- “As an amateur composer myself, I can say that the music for this game is phenomenal.”
- “Satisfying damage, good music, constant love from the devs, I honestly nominated it best of the year.”
- “Showed a 'battles...' working at the bottom right, music was playing... and 45 minutes later was doing exactly the very same thing.”
- “Eh, it's got its ups and downs, ups: great shipbuilding, pretty fun battles, country selection, graphics, music, ship naming and style ability.”
- “Music ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ - 6/10”
monetization
12 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has been heavily criticized, with users labeling it a "cash grab" due to misleading advertising and a lack of promised features, particularly in multiplayer and ship customization. Many reviewers express frustration over persistent bugs and performance issues, suggesting that the developers are prioritizing profit over quality and player experience. Overall, the sentiment is that the game's monetization strategy detracts significantly from its value and enjoyment.
- “Formerly good devs turning an expected core feature into a cash grab.”
- “The reasoning for the non-recommendation is because they probably want to cash grab the multiplayer DLC and probably ditch the game without fixing the bugs and performance issues.”
- “This game is a cash grab, don't be fooled.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is noted as a challenging yet intriguing concept that requires a delicate balance of historical and engineering elements to create a truly engaging experience. While the mechanics, such as the effectiveness of torpedoes, add intensity, they also highlight the difficulty in achieving the desired emotional impact.
- “It's a great concept, but also a hard one to pull off with the necessary emotional, historical, and engineering finesse to arrive at something truly fun.”
atmosphere
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is negatively impacted by unprofessional behavior, leading to a toxic environment that may deter players from engaging with the game.
- “This kind of behavior is not only unprofessional, but it also creates a toxic atmosphere that can drive players away.”