An Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag remake is reportedly in development with Ubisoft, but this bold, new pirate competitor is looking slightly more appealing.
Sea Of Remnants was announced last year during one of PlayStation’s State of Play showcases and while it didn’t make an enormous splash it at least caught a few eyes, including mine.
Described as a “visually rich ocean adventure RPG” by developer Joker Studio and publisher NetEase, it’s a Black Flag competitor you shouldn’t sleep on.
From what I’ve seen so far it’s given me serious Persona 5 Royal vibes, but with a nautical twist of course. Then again, what is a pirate if not a Phantom Thief at sea?
The comparison comes from the game’s combat, which combines real-time and turn-based gameplay as you hack, slash and blast your way through various threats. There’s also a bit of stealth involved too, but while Persona games would have you sneak up on an enemy to give yourself an advantage in the coming battle, stealth in Sea Of Remnants is seemingly a way of skipping a fight entirely.
You can catch some of the gameplay for yourself on the game’s Steam page and it looks pretty good, though a few hands-on previews I’ve seen reckon the turn-based combat can feel a bit slow if you’re not used to that genre of gameplay. Shouldn’t be a problem for Atlus West fans though.
Visually the game is stunning. The 300+ characters you’ll meet on your adventure are gorgeously stylish “puppetfolk” who’ll join you as you explore the open-world.
Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag’s open-world looks a little small nowadays compared to what we’ve gotten since, but with Sea Of Remnants being a new-gen game you can really push the boat out, literally.
Things obviously get more exciting with naval battles, which unlike Black Flag can be fought against sea creatures as well as other ships.
All in all Sea Of Remnants looks solid and while I don’t think it’ll give the rumoured Black Flag remake a run for its money it’s definitely to try out if you liked that game, and are excited to play it again.
I think it’ll definitely appeal to the Persona crowd though, as like Atlus West’s master-crafted RPGs Sea Of Remnants feels like it’s oozing with flair and personality, and I’m excited to give it a go when it launches later this year. At the time of writing an exact release date hasn’t been shared, but we’ll keep an eye out and let you know!
