Seablip Review (PC)

Armed with a bottle of rum, a fishing rod, and an undying desire to sweep the shores clean of all their natural wonders and treasures, I soon found my calling as a privateer of the vast ocean archipelago. It wasn’t long after I discovered that burning desire to become the greatest pirate to roam the open tides that I also found myself hungering for another opportunity—a venture that would reward me with even greater riches, loot, and tokens to bolster my reputation as a fledgling captain. This was, of course, the natural progression that any nomad pirate would have to take in order to reap the bragging rights and eternal glories of their labor, and something that I, too, couldn’t help but lure myself into just as soon as Jardar Solli’s Seablip came to the table and harkened me to embark on its nautical expedition.

Like the vast majority of other pirate-centric RPGs on the market, Seablip casts out a wide-open net for players to explore, experiment, and ultimately capitalize upon. It isn’t quite as mechanically complex as, say, Sea of Thieves, but where it lacks in depth, it most certainly makes up for in idyllic landscapes, character building, thematic set pieces, and lore. But, I’m jumping the gun on this one, so allow me to nudge the clock back to its original place—to the dawning of the day that I made the solemn promise to part ways with the anchor and set sail for the sacred fruits of an alternate world. Care to join us as we embark on this latest voyage? Then let’s go ahead and hoist the anchor, mateys!

A Pirate’s Life For Me

To put you in the picture, Seablip is a luxuriously hand-drawn 2D role-playing and farming simulation game, and one that centers its narrative around—you guessed it—privateers, as well as a vast collection of communal highlands and towns, all of which house their own inhabitants, opportunities, and frivolous activities to explore. It’s a bit like Stardew Valley, in ways, particularly when it comes to its chosen art style—an elegantly painted style that prioritizes harmonic music and cozy cosmetics over bombastic effects and exaggerated tomfoolery. Granted, it does include its fair share of naval combat and the odd bit of violence, but for the most part, Seablip is, more or less, a slightly less aggressive pirate-themed sim. In other words, if you had high hopes of pillaging a few towns and abolishing a local law or two — don’t, basically.

The goal of the game is written in a font that’s almost too easy to decipher: create a pirate, and explore the open seas whilst simultaneously creating brand-new opportunities both on land, and out on the ocean, be it an agricultural exploit, or something a little more, shall we say, piratey. There’s a tremendous amount to see and do here, and thrice as many characters to befriend, upgrades to fashion, and of course, incentives to pursue for the sake of boosting your overall presence on the food chain. As the game is, however, only in its early access phase, a lot of these features aren’t quite as accessible — yet. Having said that, the foundations have clearly been set, and so, if you did have your doubts about there not being enough — then honestly, you needn’t worry; there’s plenty to dip your toes into, and a bottomless pool on the horizon.

Embracing the Shoreline

Whilst a solid portion of the game does indeed take place out on the ocean, it also takes a great deal of inland exploration into account, too—a feature that ultimately grants itself permission to sideline a lot of the generic tidbits of privateering and focus on other aspects of the lifestyle. Aside from being able to go fishing and explore one of several islands, the game also allows you to plant your own seeds and cultivate numerous areas of the communal ecosystem, as well as embark on quests to aid the local population, too. Add the fact that there are countless avenues to explore and upgrades to sift through, and you’ve certainly got enough to see you through sunrise — and then some.

On one hand, Seablip can be a very, very soothing game, as a lot of its general gameplay aspects mostly revolve around collecting rarities, toying with upgrades, and securing new ways to create healthy relationships with the local folk and your crew. However, this isn’t to say that the game doesn’t come with its own selection of difficulty spikes; for example, the naval combat can be a bit tricky to wrap your head around, as I quickly came to realize shortly after treading into dangerous waters that just so happened to accommodate some rather sinister vessels. It’s during moments like these, when you’re aboard your ship and left to fend for yourself, that you’ll come to adopt the ‘do or die’ mindset; if you fail to allocate the correct jobs to your crew, then you’ll find that the only fate you’ll capitalize on is your own failure.

When the Ship Goes Down

Unfortunately, when you’re out at sea, things can go wrong; for example, certain crew members may struggle to offload water, or even put out a fire. In addition to these rather tedious happenings occurring every once in a while, you also need to keep a lid on other items on the docket—the crew’s well-being, morale, agendas, and primary functions, for example. Like a lot of RPGs with character-building elements, you begin your journey with only the basics, after which your primary objective is to locate the tools and resources needed to boost your capital and upgrade several of your existing components. It’s a rags-to-riches adventure, and so, naturally, you begin with little more than the clothes on your back and a pocketful of coin. It’s your job, as the fledgling captain, to flesh out those pockets of yours and elevate your presence in order to reap the benefits.

Aside from there being one or two technical curveballs to overcome here, there really isn’t a whole lot to fret about; on the contrary, a lot of the game is made to feel as harmless as remotely possible, in the case that, there are no time limits to adhere to, or even any tasks to complete that don’t benefit your personal development in some capacity. Sure enough, it does encapsulate a somewhat simple yet elegant premise that grants you access to a litter of tools and quests without having you endure any drawn-out tutorials or preliminary examinations beforehand. Can’t complain there, to be fair.

Verdict

As Seablip is still only just beginning to wet its feet and pass out of its early access phase, there are really only so many things that we can touch base on before being able to make the necessary adjustments. With that said, from the several hours that I was able to pour into its introductory passage, I was pleasantly surprised with just how there was to do, and not to mention the sheer volume of fantastic settings and upgrades to get ahold of, too. Needless to say that, as far as early doors go, this nautical wonder is certainly off to a great start, and I for one cannot wait to see a little more of it as it gradually begins to find its footing over the coming months.

Say, if you are one for drizzling a handful of hours into titles like Stardew Valley, or perhaps even pirate-centric sandbox sims that follow a similar path as, say, Sea of Thieves or, dare we say, Skull & Bones, then you ought to consider giving this independent jewel a good seeing to. Granted, it isn’t the most combat-heavy pirate sim on the market, but if you’re more than happy to substitute a bit of naval power for a shovel and some seeds every once in a blue moon, then you might just have what it takes to gel with the general practices that Seablip takes into its own hands.

As I mentioned earlier, we’re still only just beginning to scratch the surface on this one, and so, if you’re still feeling a little cautious about giving it a shot, then you’d be far better off giving it a few more months — at least until the devs have fastened a few more screws and peppered the foundations with a few more tidbits.