5 Best Pirates of the Caribbean Games, Ranked

‘Pirates of the Caribbean' is a Disney film franchise that originates from the theme park attraction that opened in 1967 at Disneyland. However, the name only gained popularity in the 2000s after the first movie's release. This was followed by the release of a number of video games, the earliest being Pirates of the Caribbean and The Curse of the Black Pearl, which are both spin-offs of the 2003 film, ‘The Curse of the Black Pearl.’

The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean' films are among the most successful movie series that Disney has ever created. However, we cannot say the same about the video game franchise. Most of the Pirates of the Caribbean games are either hard to access, canceled, or just not captivating to players. For instance, Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned is one of the game sequels whose publication was withdrawn before its release in 2010. Nonetheless, there are a handful of games from the series that are exceptional. Below are five of the best Pirates of the Caribbean games you may like.

5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is the spin-off of the movie of the same name. It was developed in 2006 for Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and PSP. In this case, players have the option to customize both Jack Sparrow and The Black Pearl pirate ship. The game features both land and sea gameplay. 

On land, players can trade at the town market, combat enemies and hunt for treasure and boat equipment, while at sea, they can explore from island to island in search of adventure. Similarly, they can engage in sea battles by steering the Black Pearl towards target opponent ships. Players can fire cannons at enemy ships to cause as much damage as possible. Once the ship succumbs to the attacks, they can skip aboard to loot food and treasure. 

4. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is perhaps the most accessible game in the franchise. Unlike most games in the series, it is available across multiple platforms. These include, PC, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. Aside from additional characters and missions, the game typically follows the same events as the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean' movies ‘Dead Man's Chest’ and ‘At World's End.’ Players visit several popular locations in their role as the protagonist, Jack Sparrow. The locations include a prison, the Black Pearl, Davy Jones' Locker, Tortuga, Shipwreck Cove, Port Royal and the Flying Dutchman.

Players meet up with some pirate lords, and Jack must pick between fighting the lords or joining them. Subsequently, players must defend the Black Pearl from Lord Cutler Beckett and the Endeavor towards the end of the game. The battle that ensues leads to the death of Beckett, and Will emerges victorious. Players fight as both Will and Jack Sparrow, where they switch between the two characters to face different enemies.

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow

From 7 Studios comes another humorous Pirate of the Caribbean sequel dubbed The Legend of Jack Sparrow. It is a multiplayer action-adventure game released in 2006 for PlayStation 2 and PC and features several levels of play, including puzzles and story missions. In this case, players assume the roles of either Captain Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner. These characters can upgrade and learn new skills as players progress through the game. Similarly, players can unlock new weapons as they prepare to face tougher enemies and bosses. In addition, the game has a number of puzzles to solve on each level which makes it one of the best Pirates of the Caribbean games.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow is both a sequel to the first ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film and a prequel to the other films. However, it retells the story from ‘Curse of the Black Pearl’ more profoundly. For instance, it goes deeper to accentuate the sequences and conversations that creators did not previously feature.

2. The Pirate: Caribbean Hunt 

The Pirate: Caribbean Hunt is another action-adventure game released in 2016 for PC. Players set course to the heart of the Caribbean seas with armed ships ready to explore. They engage in battles, treasure hunts, and the trade of equipment and ammo. The game features some pretty decent graphics and provides a  boatload of missions players can undertake. They also earn rewards after completing missions which they can use to buy bigger ships as well as upgrade them.

The mastery of the game controls requires a lot of practice and patience but once one gets the hang of it, what follows is just smooth sailing. Players explore the Caribbean waters among hundreds of ships. They battle through unique missions to capture and loot from opponent ships. The Pirate: Caribbean Hunt grants players access to a free cloud storage feature where they can open user accounts that allow them to access their game on multiple devices.

1. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean

Lego Pirates of the Caribbean tops our list of the best Pirates of the Caribbean games as it competently twirls the first four films within the gameplay. It incorporates the same kind of humor one would expect from any ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie. Everything you would anticipate is featured in this game, from the Fountain of Youth destruction to the glorious Black Pearl. Unlike other Lego games, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean has no voice acting; however, this does not make it any less exciting. Its similarity with other Lego games includes the signature mimed jokes that are often a feat in such games.

The game is accessible on PC and Mac OS X. Its gameplay features players moving through different game levels as they unlock different characters in order to advance. The characters all have different special abilities. In this case, Elizabeth Swan has the ability to double jump, enabling players to reach great inaccessible heights, whilst Davy Jones can walk underwater. The Lego Pirates of the Caribbean may not enhance the LEGO franchise as most of the games in the genre, but it offers another well-executed expression of the pirate life.

Which title from the list above do you think is the best Pirate of the Caribbean game? Share your pick with us in the comments below or over on our socials here!