Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Jul 14, 2020

  This game looks and plays like a pirate skinned Slay the Spire, and well, that is pretty accurate and not a bad thing either. It does mold and craft its own unique image in both the style and gameplay. Some of the game design choices would actually make me think it is more of an Anti-Slay-the-Spire at times as it makes deliberate design decisions to stray from the path of its inspiration. While you can craft some pretty OP builds still, it can be a lot harder to achieve some of the broken builds of stacking poison to 999 or such - largely because the status system in this pirate game is quite different. Only one status is allowed to be active at a time. So if your enemy is poisoned, they can wipe their poison stacks clean by buffing their self with an attack increase. Because buffs can erase debuffs and vice versa. However, this goes for the player too. There is even a boss battle that will absolutely wipe the floor with you if you don't have some kind of way to buff yourself. He will keep raising your injury (this game's version of poison) stacks on you and they will just get higher and higher unless you wipe it with a buff. Not much different than how Slay the Spire bosses can hard counter some of your decks. But at the same time it is just different and feels unique. I wasn't so sure about the status system at first but it grown on me quite a bit. Which I think brings me to the next major difference. In Pirates Outlaws, you cannot skip a reward, without some workarounds. In Slay the Spire, a lean deck full of good cards usually works best and you will want to skip cards that do not add anything to your deck. The same kind of deck building philosophy still applies to Pirates Outlaws but with the added challenge of there not being a skip button to just skip card rewards. It is really frustrating at times when you don't like any of the card options. But there are some workarounds. You can spend some of the game currency to reroll the rewards. Also the rewards will include both relics and cards so preferable to just pick a relic when you don't want a card. Unwanted relics are still useful as you can actually skip those when full - or if you have a free slot can just sell it later. Recommend to reroll only once or so and not go too crazy as it gets expensive, Selling a relic will cover the cost of those rerolls generally making it worth it in the end. But even when you are forced to take a card due to bad rolls there are still some ways to keep your deck lean. There are cards that remove themselves when played - like exhaust. Those generally aren't too impactful to take since the second time through your deck will be faster with them out of play. Then there are consumable cards - they do not just exhaust from the battle, but will be gone from your deck completely until you find another one. Such consumable cards are great picks when you are happy with your cards already since you can just play them then never see again. In some cases, it may be a great strategy to keep them and use duplicating cards to copy them and spam their effects over and over. A great way to have healing sustain with a healing consumable for example. But sometimes even all that fails and it can get frustrating to take cards you really don't want. But I actually kind of like the challenge of having to be forced to pick rewards. It's a bit less stressful to me than picking whether or not to skip cards. Plus, there are way more options to remove cards in Pirates Outlaws than in Slay the Spire. It stays at a cost of 50 gold per visit to a tavern - and you can remove multiple times at one tavern trip although in that case it will increase in price per extra remove. Now -- what really surprised me is I think I may actually like this game more than Slay the Spire. It is just so full of content and reasons to replay. Maybe I am weird, but I never really liked climbing the ascensions in Slay the Spire all that much for its replayability. What Pirates Outlaws does differently is instead have multiple "spires" to play through and 14 characters to choose from. There are six "spires" and they are basically each new themed lands with whole different sets of enemies. Each land consists of 3 stages with 3 possible bosses at the end of each stage so 9 bosses per land where you will see 3 of them each run. That's a lot of unique enemies to learn and fight against with new cards and relics per land as well; many of them specialized to deal with new enemy types such as the undead or beasts. (I have only played through the last few lands once or twice so far - so not sure if they continue the pattern of 3 bosses, but there's at least 2 variants per stage). The lands are kind of an ascension in a way in that the first land is categorized as "Normal" the next 2 as "Advanced" and the last 3 as "hard" and I would agree with those ratings based on the challenges they present. And if you still haven't had your fill, there is a sort of 7th land called the "Arena" which is really a different sort of gameplay option. There is no choosing your path through a map. Instead its a 100 battle gauntlet with options to claim rewards or spend gold to upgrade/heal after each battle etc. Every 10th stage is a boss unique to the arena and are some of the most difficult challenges I've encountered - especially floor 50 and beyond. I still have not yet reached the end. And if you still haven't had your fill, there is also a quest system where you can go to specified nodes on a map to fight unique battles or events. These quests have various rewards. Some unlock cards, some skins for your characters, and at least one quest actually unlocks a character. The hero quests are definitely worth doing for the skins and unique relics/cards that unlock for the characters, generally a sort of "ultimate" card/relic for the character. Now -- back to when I first started this game. I found myself continuously playing first to unlock and try out each character. Each run took about an hour or so since I tend to stop and think a lot. A run can probably be optimized to be closer to half an hour. Perhaps after ever two runs or so I would unlock a new character to try out! Some of the first few characters don't feel entirely too different with some shared starting deck cards, but they really do play quite differently. The initial character Gunner is a good introduction to the game and its ammo system in place of energy. Basically, melee cards do not cost ammo and can be played freely. They generally only target the closest enemy though as a drawback. Ranged cards require ammo which can be reloaded through ammo cards. There is no passive energy reload like in Slay the Spire unless its a hero's ability or card effect (Gunner for example will always reload 1 ammo end of turn). The next character, Sword Master is where the game really starts to get fun I think since she is the opposite and prefers melee rather than ranged. Her ammo is usually best spent buffing herself and then use cards to reposition enemies and melee them to death. Her only drawback is she cannot gain block/armor. Her damage mitigation instead comes in the form of her buff (dodge) and some abilities to lifesteal on attack. She is pretty fun and will probably be a lot of people's first victory since she seems much easier to play than Gunner. I will mention each of the other characters and my other thoughts in comments since my review got too long. I do think the game is worth a purchase at its current price, and especially on sale. If you want a cheaper alternative, then I would recommend the mobile version but the definitive Steam version is probably more my cup of tea. Or mug of rum rather, pirates and all. I also just absolutely love pirates so maybe I am biased. TLDR: Pirates cool, game good, play curse captain and laugh at enemies giving you curses and making you stronger.
• gamedeal user

  Jul 14, 2020

  Pirates Outlaws is a roguelite deckbuilder where the player is the captain of a pirate ship in search of fame and fortune, and must fight against Human pirates, skeletons, ghosts and monsters. The game mechanics will be very familiar to anyone who played other games in the genre such as Slay The Spire or Neoverse, although of course Pirates Outlaws has its own unique twists. [h1]Combat Mechanics[/h1] Combat is turn based, with the player’s actions being represented by the cards drawn into their hand, and you’ll see what action each enemy intends to take on their turn. Melee attacks can only target the enemy closest to the player (unless the card says it damages all enemies) but are usually free to play. Ranged attacks can target any enemy but they cost ammo to play. Other cards can give the player armour (which can be carried forward to the next turn), restore health, apply status effects to the player or enemies, change the position of an enemy, or have other special effects. Unlike other games in the genre, in Pirates Outlaws most characters don’t automatically gain ammo at the start of a turn, they need to play specific cards that have a reload effect, which makes ammo management crucial. I’ve had turns where I couldn’t play any cards at all. You can only have one status effect at a time, which means when the enemy applies a negative status to you such as bleed or weak, you can replace it with a positive status like dodge, and likewise you can use a negative status to remove an enemy’s positive status. If the same status is applied multiple times it will stack, making the effect last for several turns. [h1]Characters and Game Modes[/h1] There are 14 playable characters who have unique abilities and playing styles. For example the Swordmaster can’t gain armour but has more ways to regain health by leeching back from damage done to enemies, while the Bear Tamer fights alongside a big brown bear who can attack enemies or give armour to their master, and the bear’s abilities become more powerful the longer a fight goes on. New characters are unlocked by earning reputation points from each playthrough. The main game mode follows a familiar three act structure. The player spends action points to sail between islands, with each island being either a battle, random event, tavern or market, and each act ends with a boss fight. Occasionally you’ll find a maelstrom which will instantly transport you to another part of the map. You can heal, restore action points, and remove cards at the tavern, while the market lets you buy or upgrade cards, and buy or sell relics. Relics provide powerful passive bonuses, and being able to sell relics that don’t fit your character build, or that only have a one time use, and put the money towards something else is a nice option that other games don’t allow. There are 6 maps unlocked through reputation points, which increase in difficulty and feature different enemies and bosses. The layout of each map is randomised during each run. A single complete run takes around 40 minutes, but there are many hours of replayability from trying to win with every character. There’s also an arena mode where every stage is a fight, judging by the achievements there are at least 100 stages, and every 10th is a boss. [h1]My One Complaint[/h1] The only thing I don’t like about Pirates Outlaws is that the game is not good at giving useful information to the player. For example, many bosses have a special ability – one is immune to damage until you kill their minions (and they can infinitely summon more minions), one increases their damage every time you hit them, one inflicts a stackable bleed status effect every time you hit them – but you’re not given this information. Its like if you had to fight Slay the Spire’s Time Eater without knowing that every 12th card will end your turn and increase his strength. So the first time I encounter a new boss I feel like I’m pretty much guaranteed to die just because it takes a few turns to figure out what they’re doing, and in future encounters you have to work from memory (and you’ll have to remember the abilities of 9 bosses x 6 maps = 54 different bosses). Another example of where this lack of information is a problem is when you’re offered a card/relic that puts another card in your hand. Other games in the genre would allow you to hover the mouse pointer over the item and find out what that other card does, but not in Pirates Outlaws. It tells you the name of the card, but nothing else. So again, the first time you take that item you’ve no idea whether its actually worth it, and every time afterwards you have to remember what it does (or maybe find a website to look it up). Maybe this is part of the challenge that the developers want their game to have, but personally I don’t like having this information hidden from me. [h1]Recommendation[/h1] Despite that minor complaint, Pirates Outlaws is a good game that I’ve mostly enjoyed playing so far, the variety of playing styles offered by the different characters has kept the game interesting, and its worth picking up if you’re a fan of roguelite deckbuilders.
• gamedeal user

  Dec 21, 2019

  A great Slay the Spire-like game that, unlike its original mobile form, removes all of the IAP madness in this premium Steam version.
• gamedeal user

  Nov 17, 2020

  Its more than simply 'Slay the Spire with Pirates'. Its a great game on its own, they used a good system as a template and then went in an interesting direction. Pros: Art style is minimalist but characterful. Lots of different pirates to choose from, differing strategies and tactics. Multiple locales to visit. Large variety of enemies. Many different bosses. (at least nine per map) Large card selection, some adventure specific, so there are lots of new combos to discover. They have added new game types, basically arena with drafting. Every month or so they add something new. Cons: Not very much information on what some abilities and enemy intentions are. It has a more basic interface which requires some guessing or memorization. Winning and losing can be pretty random at first, once you unlock more it becomes more stable. So many cards to choose from it can be difficult to draft/plan for. Key differences with Slay the Spire Armor lasts until it is removed. You can only have a small number of trinkets. You don't have the option to refuse adding a card to the deck. Removal of cards is fairly priced thou. Only one condition can be on each fighter at a time, which is easier to keep track of but bonuses dont stack. Slay the spire, the modifiers you choose cause your deck to vary greatly but you see the same location and monsters each time: Pirates has less variation on deck, but the character and locale chosen makes things very different each time.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 30, 2020

  Had to request a refund when I noticed that this game is also on the Google Play Store of 99 cents, and is the same experience there. I normally don't mind games being on both mobile and PC, own a few on Steam, even. But 20 bucks for a .99 cent mobile game is a bit of an ask. Thank being said, that game is very enjoyable, and when I saw it on the play store, I bought it right away. The game is very fun, and I recommend you play it if you enjoy Slay the Spire type games. But save yourself some cash in the process.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 3, 2021

  Sail the Spire.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 26, 2021

  At first I really liked this game. It had an interesting art style. There appeared to be a lot of meta progression. The combat, while very similar to Slay the Spire, had some interesting differences related to enemy positioning. However, 20 hours in, I am starting to really not like this game. So far, every unlockable character is a joke and basically unplayable. There is WAY too much reliance on chance, to the point where your runs are essentially just flipping a coin over and over. Bosses (and enemies as well) tend to scale preposterously, though there seems to be no cards that scale for you. Some other things: - the ammo as energy system is cool, but ill conceived when you take into account that your deck continues to grow (you can't skip rewards), but you only have your starting ammo. (I've yet to see a way to get draft more ammo cards...maybe unlocked after 100 hours? lol) When your blocks takes up ammo too, it's just a matter of time until you hit a bad turn and die. - the money and AP system add no enjoyment to the game. Your boat sails around until you run out of AP, then it will sink. You can get more at Harbors, but you can only refill to 100% and it's always 100 gold. Imagine going to a gas station and it always cost a flat amount to refill. Well, you can wait to the last minute to get max value and run out of gas. Or go early and lose value. Yes, there is strategy there, but it doesn't feel good. Especially since that money your wasting is money that you NEED for upgrades, healing and card removal. Managing money is thus impossible, and you can't even see how much AP the total path is. You're always poor and it always feels bad. -Just too much RNG. You can grind through the progression and presumably unlock more powerful stuff, but it's all just total luck whether you win a run or not, and it's not enjoyable.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 15, 2020

  Really enjoyable card game, it's not frustratingly difficult like most others in the genre. I was very pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it alot for the first few hours. However, there are some rather silly design decisions that sour the experience. You can only have one buff/debuff at a time. That means that if you buff your character with Dodge, the first enemy can still hit you with a debuff that overwrites your Dodge, and that leaves the 2nd and 3rd enemy free to mollywhop you. I'm also having a hard time understanding the choice to make Dodge and Blind only 50%. Play as the Sword Master where dodging is your main defense, the fact that it only works half the time if you're lucky, makes for a rather aggravating experience. I'd rather strategize my way to winning, rather than praying RNG doesn't kick me in the nuts. Edit: Gave the game another try, and actually had quite a bit of fun - was considering changing my review despite the crap that is the Buff/Debuff mechanic... Untill I came upon the Sentinel boss-fight. What's the point of something that can only be won by building your deck a very specific way, and on top of that, only with certain champions.
• gamedeal user

  May 18, 2022

  My first impressions of this game were that it was too simple. There's no saving cards in your hand for the next turn, there's only one buff/debuff allowed at a time. I actually refunded it the first time, but then decided to give it another try because I did really like the art style and the pirate setting. My first impressions were very wrong. This game is complex, and you have to actively work at managing all resources (including your buffs/debuff and any "curse" cards), particularly for certain heroes you may play as. There is a fair RNG element to the game in which loot you get and which bosses you encounter, but I find that it gives it a challenge, and the game gives you ways to prune decks or items as you progress. I like the Slay the Spire format, and I love the pirate theme. Worth the money! PS, excellent on steam deck!
• gamedeal user

  Sep 6, 2019

  I mean, it's fine. It's super RNG heavy due to the Ammo mechanic and a lot of 50% tohit/tomiss mechanics which can cause some annoying run-enders, but the visuals are cute and there's a lot to unlock (though it's a deep slog) with enough variety. Worth playing, a bit overpriced for the value at full price ($19.99). Definitely feels like the iOS port that it is which also adds to a semi-clunky interface.