Buccaneers!

Sail the Caribbean and lead your fleet to treasures as no man has ever seen in the swashbuckling simulator, Buccaneers! Explore an ever-changing sea and amass a crew of the bravest pirates to aid in your raids — all with a distinctly retro flavor that’s easy to grasp and entertaining to master.

In a game where you control every single aspect of your ship and your crew, learning the ropes becomes as fun as setting sail and roaming the seas. As long as you don’t mind the minimalist visuals, there’s a lot of fun to be had in this unique simulator that lets you live out your privateering dreams.

A Pirate’s Life

In the same fashion as Sea of Thieves, Buccaneers puts you in the role of a seafaring buccaneer during the golden age of piracy. The difference here is that you’re not forced to become a sea dog if that’s not your style — you can also fight to eradicate every last pirate in the Caribbean once and for all.

This adds an extra layer of role-playing fun, as players can choose to play two entirely different routes depending on how adventurous they’re feeling. Of course, you can’t sail the seas alone, meaning you’ll need to join one of the game’s four factions if you wish to have any chances of survival in the game’s unforgiving waters.

The player is given the choice of joining the French, Spanish, or British empires if they wish to fight the pirates, or they could also join forces with the fearsome Buccaneers’ League if they dream of riches and plunder.

As you make progress through the game, your ship will become the ultimate symbol of status in the Caribbean. Customizing your ship is fun, and essential if you wish to stand a chance against tougher enemies. You can also trade your vessel for more powerful ones if you’re looking to turn your schooner into a Man O’ War.

Blurry Seas

Let’s face it: as good as Buccaneers! is, it certainly isn’t a match to Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag’s visuals. The game features some fairly simplistic character models, and both the ships and the seas look they were pulled straight out of a malfunctioning graphics card.

There’s a certain charm to the game’s low-quality visuals. The minimalist design also makes it so any rig is able to play the game without too much effort — which is truly an achievement in these days of graphically-demanding games.

The basic polygons also do a serviceable enough job when it comes to displaying every aspect of your vessel. There’s also an option for VR play, which should run fine on most setups due to the game’s basic visuals.

Overall, Buccaneers! is an interesting title that might appeal to a wide audience — after all, everyone loves pirates. However, don’t expect the game to blow you away visually, and don’t be surprised if you notice that the gameplay can get a bit too clunky from time to time. For what it is, this game does its job acceptably well.

Pros

• It’s fun to sail and discover new locations
• Tons of ships to customize and collect
• Great replayability
• Optional VR for virtual-reality enthusiasts

Cons

• Simplistic visuals might ruin the experience for some
• Clunky gunplay and slow-paced combat