Winds Of Trade
- February 13, 2017
- Rhombico Games
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"Winds of Trade" is a historical trading simulation game set in the age of sail. Navigate the seas, establish trade routes, and grow your commercial empire while competing with other players and AI-controlled nations. Engage in diplomacy, warfare, and espionage to outmaneuver your opponents and secure your place in the world market.
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game has a solid market system with interesting features and a variety of commodities to trade.
- Turn-based combat is enjoyable and allows for strategic upgrades to ships.
- The game offers a unique economic simulation experience, with the potential for engaging gameplay through trading and smuggling.
- The game feels abandoned, with no updates since 2018, leading to a lack of new features and improvements.
- User interface issues and cumbersome mechanics make gameplay frustrating, particularly in managing trade routes and combat.
- The game has a limited scope with small maps and repetitive gameplay, making it feel less engaging compared to similar titles.
- gameplay52 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of potential and frustration, with some players appreciating the depth offered by trading and political mechanics, while others criticize the repetitive nature and poor implementation of core systems. Many find the interface cumbersome and the trade mechanics lacking, leading to a sense of unfulfilled promise. Despite these issues, some users note that the gameplay can be engaging once the mechanics are understood, though technical problems and balancing issues detract from the overall experience.
“There does certainly seem to be more depth to the game, like a stock market, automated fleets that you can set up based on knowledge of supply and demand lines, and some combat mechanics.”
“An interesting (and I think good) piece of game mechanic is that in order to trade in a city, first you need to build a trade office there, the price of which goes up as you have ever more offices.”
“The game mechanics seem to be well balanced, and there is much to explore in terms of gameplay.”
“I haven't really gotten to any of that yet and probably won't because I find the basic gameplay so frustrating.”
“This game has the promise of a rich trading game but unfortunately falls short with frustrating mechanics and noticeably lacking elements.”
“Maps are extremely small, and the trade mechanics don't work well.”
- graphics44 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many users describing them as below average and reminiscent of older titles, such as "Mount and Blade: Warband." While some appreciate the aesthetic and find it acceptable for gameplay, others criticize the lack of detail and polish, suggesting that enhancements are needed to meet modern standards. Overall, the graphics are seen as functional but lacking in visual appeal, with calls for improvement to elevate the game's presentation.
“A very well designed game with beautiful graphics and clear, crisp sounds.”
“The graphics are really nice, some details are missing but overall it's a good experience to watch.”
“Don't expect Winds of Trade to look amazing, but for what the graphics are, they get the job done.”
“The graphics of this game appear to be from 1980, definitely not 2017.”
“Graphically, this game is pretty bland and reminiscent of Mount and Blade: Warband, which shouldn't really be possible for a game that's nearly a decade its junior. Beyond the graphics itself, the map is just really boring to look at. The landscape is just barren beyond the city itself.”
“To be honest, this game is just aesthetically really ugly.”
- music18 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in "Winds of Trade" is highly praised for its atmospheric, baroque-like soundtrack that enhances the overall gaming experience. Reviewers note that the music blends seamlessly with the game's ambient sounds, setting an immersive tone that complements the realistic 18th-century trading environment. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant asset to the game's appeal.
“The atmosphere is immediately set thanks to the amazing music/soundtrack.”
“The music is really great and it adds a lot to the experience.”
“The soundtrack is great; it really adds to the atmosphere of the game.”
“The music is repetitive and lacks variety, making it feel monotonous after a while.”
“While the music fits the theme, it often feels too generic and fails to create a memorable atmosphere.”
“The soundtrack is forgettable and doesn't enhance the gameplay experience as much as it could.”
- story14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's story is shaped by a procedural map generation system that creates a mix of accessible and inaccessible quests and towns, leading to a variable gameplay experience. Players can influence their relationships with fictional countries through trade and quests, adding depth to the narrative. However, technical issues like crashes and mission failures can detract from the overall experience.
“The map is divided into fictional countries, and your actions influence your relationship with them – trade a lot with their cities and do random quests for them and it increases, but trade with their enemies and it will get worse.”
“That's when the missions became available and it added just another thing to consider when traveling between cities too far away.”
“I was able to do all of the missions to get all of the player-owned new cities manually.”
“Two crashes and an impossible mission as my first attempted contract are unacceptable even in barely 1 hour of gameplay.”
“The procedural creation of game maps based on seeds is neat, but some seeds make certain quests and towns inaccessible, which can be both good and bad.”
“The map is divided into fictional countries, and your actions influence your relationship with them – trading a lot with their cities and completing random quests increases your standing, but trading with their enemies worsens it.”
- replayability12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability due to its randomly generated maps and diverse gameplay options, allowing players to engage as traders, privateers, smugglers, or investors. While some users noted a lack of depth in single playthroughs, the variety of features and mechanics enhances the overall replay value compared to similar titles with fixed maps. Overall, it is praised for its engaging economy and atmospheric elements, contributing to a more dynamic gaming experience.
“The game features randomly generated maps that add to replay value.”
“There's been some criticism of the random generation maps, but I actually think they work quite well for this kind of game, and offer more replayability than other similar trading games.”
“Altogether, this is a great game, with a realistic economy; atmospheric music; authentic looking ships that react to the wind direction; lots of variety of goods, types of businesses, investment opportunities; the option to turn off combat, or enable unlockable features, being contracts, loans, stock exchange and settlements from the start of the game; the ability to play as a trader, privateer, smuggler or investor; and lots of replayability.”
“Fun for 1 round of play, but lacks depth and replayability.”
“I think this is much better than either Port Royale or Patrician, which had fixed maps, towns, and production and therefore less replayability.”
“There's been some criticism of the random generated maps, but I actually think they work quite well for this kind of game, and offer more replayability than other similar trading games.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive soundtrack, which significantly enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the realistic depiction of ships and a dynamic economy, contributing to a rich and engaging environment. However, some feel that certain gameplay elements can disrupt this immersive atmosphere.
“The atmosphere is immediately set thanks to the amazing music and soundtrack.”
“The soundtrack is great; it really adds to the atmosphere of the game.”
“Altogether, this is a great game, with a realistic economy; atmospheric music; authentic looking ships that react to the wind direction; lots of variety of goods, types of businesses, investment opportunities; the option to turn off combat, or enable unlockable features, being contracts, loans, stock exchange and settlements from the start of the game; the ability to play as a trader, privateer, smuggler or investor; and lots of replayability.”
“That really breaks the atmosphere of the game for me.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed feedback; while some graphical elements, like trees, appear subpar unless settings are maximized, players report no significant performance issues during gameplay. This suggests that while certain visual aspects may suffer, the game runs smoothly on a technical level.
“- Stock market for non-player companies (think industries in Railroad Tycoon), that works based on actual performance.”
“I've also noticed the trees look pretty bad unless you zoom in all the way and max out the graphic settings; I assume this is because of engine optimization. However, at least I haven't experienced performance issues while playing.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features clever and amusing humor, exemplified by absurd scenarios such as countries declaring war out of boredom. Players appreciate this comedic touch, likening it to the humor found in "Patrician 3," and find it adds value to the overall experience.
“Some very nice humor, like a country declaring war on another one because they don’t have anything better to do.”
“Funny game, has a good taste of Patrician 3... worth the price.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with frequent freezes and crashes reported by users. Many players experienced glitches severe enough to prompt refunds, indicating a lack of reliability in gameplay.
“Constantly freezes and the game crashes.”
“Here is a list of glitches that forced me to refund the game.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, as it demands excessive micromanagement and offers limited guidance through its user interface, leading to a frustrating experience.
“However, the game immediately grew tedious as every action required micromanagement, and the UI provided very few clues on the right moves to make.”
