Info about Sagres:

Official game description:
  
Sail around the entire world, from the snow capped mountains of North America to the Saharan plains of Africa, via everywhere in-between! Discover **hundreds of real locations**, set up **vital trade routes**, and **search local markets for new goods to trade**.  
Arm yourself to the teeth with a plethora of **swords, guns, cannons and armour** as you fight against **pirates, thieves, wild animals and mythical creatures.** Can you become the master and commander of a unique **"rock-paper-scissors" turn-based combat system**?  
Load your vessel up to the deck with cannons and it will be **formidable in combat**, but you'll need to make sure you have the necessary cargo space for resources to **support your crew**. Keeping everything ship-shape can often be the difference between a successful voyage or being lost at sea!  
Become the **world’s greatest explorer**! **Take on contracts** from various guilds to make discoveries, **find treasures** no one else can and **rise through the ranks**. Accrue enough fame and maybe you'll even brush up against royalty on your way to the top!

Release date: 18 Sep, 2023

Categories: Open-World Exploration, Turn-based Combat, Resource Management, Ship Management, Research and Discovery, Single-player Story, Character Progression, Vehicle Customization


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Uncharted Waters-like Exploration (weight 0.98): The game is highly praised for its strong resemblance to the classic 'Uncharted Waters' series, particularly 'Uncharted Waters 3', focusing on adventure, exploration, and sailing. It offers a casual, user-friendly experience that captures the essence of world travel and discovery.
- Charming Pixel Graphics (weight 0.46): Reviewers consistently highlight the game's clean, cute, and exquisite 2D pixel art style. This aesthetic is seen as charming, visually appealing, and contributes to a pleasant, immersive experience without causing visual fatigue.
- Casual & Accessible Gameplay (weight 0.44): The game is noted for its accessible and easy-to-understand gameplay, with a low difficulty curve and simplified systems. This makes it suitable for casual play and players who prefer a relaxed experience without complex controls or demanding action.
- Engaging Story & Dialogues (weight 0.26): The game features a well-structured and interesting main story that effectively weaves historical events into its narrative. Reviewers found the dialogues engaging and the overall progression of the story satisfying.
- Rewarding Historical Discoveries (weight 0.19): A significant aspect of the game's enjoyment comes from discovering various historical monuments, artifacts, and ruins. This element encourages players to learn about different cultures and history, making the exploration feel rewarding and educational.
- Impressive Indie Development & Support (weight 0.14): The game's quality is highly praised, especially considering it was developed by a single indie developer. Additionally, the developers are commended for their fast and responsive feedback on bug inquiries and continuous updates.
- Combat & Economic Progression (weight 0.12): As the game progresses, players gain access to more powerful items and upgrades that enhance combat effectiveness and allow for easier wealth accumulation. This progression makes the late game more comfortable and allows for maxing out ship enhancements.
- Clever Language Learning System (weight 0.12): The game features a clever RPG learning system for languages, where repeated communication and interaction with different cultures improve understanding. Having navigators who speak local languages is also crucial for dialogue and quests.
- Innovative Mini-Games (weight 0.11): The game incorporates innovative and fun mini-games, particularly those related to trading negotiations and body language. These unique mini-games add a creative and enjoyable dimension to the gameplay experience.
- Strategic Rock-Paper-Scissors Combat (weight 0.11): The combat system, based on a unique 'rock-paper-scissors' mechanic with card variations, is highlighted as simple yet strategically deep. This distinct approach to battles offers a refreshing alternative to typical RPG combat.
- Immersive Background Music (weight 0.09): The game's background music is well-composed and contributes positively to immersion. It enhances the travel experience without being distracting, allowing players to fully engage with the game world.
- Ship Customization Options (weight 0.06): Players have the ability to customize their ships with various weapons and equipment. This feature allows for a personalized approach to both exploration and combat, enhancing player agency.
- Smooth Game Progression (weight 0.06): The game's overall composition and progression are described as smooth. This indicates a well-paced and intuitive flow through the game's content, contributing to a positive player experience.
- Enjoyable Sailing & Fair Costs (weight 0.06): The costs associated with sailing and inland travel are considered appropriate, and the sailing aspect itself is highlighted as enjoyable, contributing to the overall positive experience of maritime adventure.
- Satisfying Game Ending (weight 0.06): The game's ending is described as clean and effective, successfully keeping reviewers engaged and focused until the very conclusion of the story.
- Cultural Custom Details (weight 0.06): The game incorporates subtle details related to cultural customs, such as requiring specific attire in certain places or the absence of taverns due to local traditions. These details add to the immersion and cultural learning aspect.
- Balanced Exploration Content (weight 0.06): The exploration content effectively balances historical facts with mythological stories. This blend provides a rich and diverse narrative for discoveries, appealing to players interested in both real-world history and folklore.
- Strong New World Arc (weight 0.05): The New World arc of the story is specifically highlighted as a positive point, where the protagonist feels more like a developed character capable of making meaningful decisions.
- Chinese Language Support (weight 0.05): The game offers official Chinese language support, which is a significant positive for players who prefer or require this language option.
- Retro Age of Discovery Theme (weight 0.05): The game successfully captures a retro feel while staying true to the theme of the Age of Discovery. This aesthetic and thematic consistency is appreciated by players.
- Important Land Exploration (weight 0.05): Land exploration is emphasized as an important and well-implemented aspect of the game, contributing significantly to the overall adventure and discovery experience.

Common complaints:
- Repetitive and shallow content (weight 0.71): The game becomes highly repetitive and monotonous in its later stages, primarily due to an overemphasis on repetitive discovery tasks and a lack of diverse, deep content. This leads to a feeling of content padding and a shallow overall experience.
- Lack of originality (weight 0.32): The game is frequently criticized for lacking originality, with many elements perceived as direct copies or inferior versions of features found in the Uncharted Waters series, particularly Uncharted Waters 3, and other similar titles like Sailing Era.
- Useless trade system (weight 0.3): The trade system is largely considered pointless and underdeveloped, offering minimal depth or strategic value. Money quickly becomes abundant with nowhere meaningful to spend it, rendering the system obsolete in the mid-to-late game.
- Random and unengaging combat (weight 0.28): The combat system is widely criticized for being simplistic, random, and heavily reliant on luck rather than strategy. This makes combat feel unengaging and often frustrating, with little impact from character stats.
- Poor convenience and UI (weight 0.25): The game lacks essential quality-of-life features, particularly an auto-save function, making manual saving inconvenient and frustrating. The user interface is also described as cumbersome and inconvenient, requiring excessive menu navigation.
- Restrictive ship upgrades (weight 0.14): Shipbuilding and modification systems are restrictive, expensive, and often counterproductive due to negative effects. This makes ship upgrades feel meaningless and limits player customization.
- Unclear progression and gating (weight 0.1): The game's progression can be frustrating due to unclear quest requirements and the late introduction of essential mechanics. Players often encounter difficult missions without necessary upgrades, leading to tedious farming.
- Unenjoyable sailing and exploration (weight 0.1): The core sailing and exploration mechanics are not enjoyable, with players experiencing fatigue due to supply issues and a lack of satisfaction from travel. The exploration system itself is inconvenient and impractical.
- Poor overall design (weight 0.08): This point reflects general dissatisfaction with the game's overall design and quality, using strong negative language without specific details. It shows signs of emotional language.
- Technical and visual issues (weight 0.08): The game is criticized for its uninteresting mini-games, disappointing graphics, and general crudeness. Some users also reported bugs and performance issues, even for an early access title.
- Restrictive companion system (weight 0.08): The mandatory inclusion of two low-stat companions severely limits the utility of the crew system. This makes recruiting other unique sailors pointless as valuable navigator slots are permanently occupied.
- Weak protagonist development (weight 0.07): The protagonist's character development and ability growth are slow and feel insignificant. The protagonist also lacks presence in the narrative, being treated more as a tool than a central figure.
- Uninspired gear progression (weight 0.07): The weapon and armor progression is linear and uninspired, with items offering only minor statistical improvements. This removes the joy of collecting and encourages players to stick with the highest-damage gear.

Gameplay feedback:
- Simplified Uncharted Waters Experience (weight 0.5): The game is frequently compared to the Uncharted Waters series, particularly Uncharted Waters 3, due to similar systems, structure, and discovery mechanics. It's often described as a simplified or 'light' version, making it more accessible while retaining nostalgic elements.
- Focus on Discovery & Exploration (weight 0.45): The core gameplay revolves around finding 196 diverse discoveries, including historical sites, animals, and myths. This adventure and exploration aspect is the primary focus, with the story often taking a backseat to the discovery loop.
- Simplified Trade & Combat (weight 0.33): While present, the trading and combat systems are simplified and not emphasized. Combat uses a basic rock-paper-scissors mechanic, and trade is minimal, often serving as a means to an end rather than a deep gameplay loop.
- Card-Based Rock-Paper-Scissors Combat (weight 0.28): Combat is based on a simple rock-paper-scissors card deck system. Players can customize their deck, but the overall complexity is low, with special moves unlocking gradually to maintain engagement.
- Clear Gameplay Loop (weight 0.28): The main gameplay loop involves a clear progression: gathering information from libraries and taverns, accepting quests, managing ship supplies, sailing to locations, and reporting discoveries. This cycle drives the adventure and exploration.
- Impactful Ship Modifications (weight 0.23): Ship modifications, such as adding surveying rooms or cargo holds, impact ship performance and crew. However, these changes often have noticeable trade-offs and can be cumbersome to manage, requiring frequent adjustments.
- Ship & Crew Management (weight 0.19): Players manage their ship, crew, and resources, including recruiting unique sailors who assist with quests and languages. Ship customization and supply management are key aspects of preparing for voyages.
- Repetitive & Lacks Depth (weight 0.18): Despite initial engagement, the game can become monotonous in later stages due to repetitive 'receive, discover, report' quests and a lack of diverse mini-games or deep content, leading to a bland experience.
- Detailed Pixel World Map (weight 0.14): The game features a detailed pixel-art world map that allows for both sea and land exploration, including discovering cities and towns. The art style is noted for its delicate detail.
- Short & Rushed Story (weight 0.14): The game's main story can be completed relatively quickly, often within 8-9 hours, leading some to feel the ending is rushed. There is also a lack of a quick save feature.
- Profitable Discoveries (weight 0.13): Discoveries are a highly profitable source of income, often more so than trade. They provide generous rewards, including permanent items that can boost combat power or further increase discovery rewards.
- Visual Discovery Cues (weight 0.13): Discovery locations are visually distinct on the map, often with unique environmental cues like specific trees or water colors. Icons appear when players are near a discovery, aiding in exploration.
- Significant Land Exploration (weight 0.13): Land exploration is a significant part of the game, requiring players to enter cities and venture out. It's as important as sea voyages, though morale can drop during these expeditions.
- Tavern Importance for Insight (weight 0.11): Taverns are crucial for gameplay, as players must frequently visit them to restore morale and gain 'insight' buffs, which are essential for finding clues to new discoveries.
- Expensive & Limited Ships (weight 0.1): Ships are expensive to acquire and have limited types. Ship modifications and repairs can also be time-consuming, adding to the strategic planning required for voyages.

Performance notes:
- Minimal graphics, low requirements (weight 0.09): The game's minimal graphics are well-suited for its design, contributing to low system requirements and ensuring smooth performance across various hardware configurations.
- Steam Deck compatibility (weight 0.04): The game offers excellent compatibility and performance on the Steam Deck, providing a seamless portable gaming experience for users of the device.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for Uncharted Waters fans (weight 0.3): The game is highly recommended for fans of the Uncharted Waters series and those who enjoy sailing themes, strategy, world history, and geography. It offers a casual-friendly experience, distinguishing itself from more hardcore simulations like Sailing Era.
- Desire for more content/features (weight 0.26): Players desire more content, including additional artifacts, diverse ship types, end-game combat, fleet management, and the ability to land on land. There's also a wish for increased warehouse and jerky capacity, and the ability to conquer cities, suggesting a desire for deeper gameplay mechanics and replayability.
- Price and purchase caution (weight 0.19): Several reviews advise against purchasing the game at its current price, suggesting it's only worth buying if discounted by 30% or more. Some recommend waiting for future updates before purchasing, indicating concerns about value or current state.
- Good for light first playthrough (weight 0.09): The game is considered suitable for a light first playthrough and offers good enjoyment until the ending. However, some suggest it might not offer significant replayability beyond that initial experience.
- Automatic save system needed (weight 0.06): Players specifically requested an automatic save system, particularly when sleeping at inns. This suggests a quality-of-life improvement to prevent loss of progress.
- Supportive of indie development (weight 0.04): The game is recommended with an understanding of its limitations, likely due to it being an indie game from a small-scale development team. This suggests a supportive stance despite potential shortcomings.
- Prioritize story initially (weight 0.04): A specific recommendation is to prioritize the story initially. This suggests the story provides a good starting point or core experience for new players.
- Educational for geography (weight 0.04): The game is noted as being suitable for elementary school world map education. This highlights its potential as an educational tool, particularly for geography.
- Prepare for pirate encounters (weight 0.04): Players are advised to buy weapons before sailing around the southern tip of Africa due to tough pirate encounters. This provides a specific, actionable tip for gameplay progression.
- No further support expected (weight 0.02): A review indicates that further support for the game cannot be expected due to the long time since its release. This suggests a perception of the game being past its active development cycle.

Other player notes:
- Spiritual successor to Uncharted Waters (weight 0.17): The game is frequently compared to the Uncharted Waters series, particularly Uncharted Waters II and III, suggesting it captures a similar spirit of adventure and exploration. It is seen as an indie title that pays homage to these classic games.
- External tools aid navigation (weight 0.13): Players often use external tools like Google Maps or the internet for navigation, which enhances the learning and exploration aspect. This contrasts with older games where physical atlases were used.
- Clear game length and achievements (weight 0.11): The main story can be completed in approximately 9-16 hours, with full achievement completion taking around 13-14.5 hours. This provides a clear indication of the game's length.
- Language support and translation (weight 0.09): While the demo supported Japanese, the early access version's default language is Korean, with a good Japanese translation available. This highlights language support as a notable feature.
- Combat not a focus (weight 0.04): Combat is not a primary focus of the game. This indicates that players should not expect a deep or complex combat system.
- Easy ship customization (weight 0.04): Ship customization is easy to understand, making it accessible for players. This indicates a user-friendly interface for upgrading vessels.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.29): Players felt satisfied due to the game's intuitive systems, engaging story, and enjoyable exploration mechanics. The game's quality, pixel art, and overall alignment with player preferences, especially its resemblance to classic 'Uncharted Waters' titles, contributed significantly to this positive emotion.
- Disappointment (weight 0.2): Disappointment stemmed from the game's perceived lack of content depth, repetitive tasks, and unfulfilled potential. Players also expressed frustration with technical issues, shallow mini-games, unengaging combat, and a simplified trade system, often comparing it unfavorably to its inspirations.
- Frustration (weight 0.18): Frustration was primarily caused by inconvenient UI/UX, such as repetitive menu navigation, manual save systems, and a lack of auto-movement. Other sources included grindy discovery mechanics, difficult money earning, and specific design flaws like the Torres Treaty mechanic or inconvenient exploration.
- Excitement (weight 0.05): Excitement was driven by the game's potential for future content, its unique battle system, and the initial engaging story and events. The sense of exploration and discovery, along with anticipation for the full release, also contributed to this feeling.
- Appreciation (weight 0.05): Players appreciated the developers' continuous patching, quick improvements, and responsiveness to feedback. The game's homage to 'Uncharted Waters 3' and its unique qualities compared to AAA titles were also significant factors.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.04): Nostalgia was a strong emotion, primarily evoked by the game's clear resemblance and inspiration from the 'Uncharted Waters' series, particularly 'Uncharted Waters 3'. This connection to classic titles resonated deeply with players.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.04): Enjoyment was derived from the game's focus on adventure and story, coupled with its engaging exploration and discovery mechanics. The overall gameplay experience and the ability to explore the world were key contributors.
- Joy (weight 0.04): Joy was experienced through the overall gameplay, engaging story, and satisfying exploration. The game's pixel graphics, music, and its successful evocation of nostalgia for the 'Uncharted Waters' series, along with improvements over 'Uncharted Waters 3', brought significant joy.
- Anger (weight 0.03): Anger arose from perceived mistreatment of the protagonist, nonsensical plot points, and the game's unfinished state. Specific frustrating events like forced shipwrecks leading to money loss and poor mini-game design also caused anger.
- Acceptance (weight 0.02): Players expressed acceptance regarding the game's repetitive exploration, grind, and casual nature. This indicates a resignation to these aspects as inherent parts of the game's design.
- Sadness (weight 0.01): Sadness was felt due to the game's unfulfilled potential and a perceived lack of ongoing support. Repetitive mini-games and a lack of engaging end-game content also contributed to this feeling.
- Hope (weight 0.01): Hope was tied to the game's genre and its potential for future development, especially given its early access status. Players hoped for improvements and further content.
- Regret (weight 0.01): Regret was expressed concerning the game's casual nature and lack of depth, leading some players to regret their purchase decision. This indicates a mismatch between expectations and the actual game experience.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Boredom was a result of poor game design, convenience issues, and the game's overall simplicity and repetitiveness. These factors led to a lack of sustained engagement for some players.
- Support (weight 0.01): Players expressed support for the game due to it being developed by a small developer. This indicates a willingness to overlook some flaws in favor of encouraging independent creators.
- Annoyance (weight 0.01): Annoyance stemmed from specific minor issues such as repetitive menu loops and failures within mini-games. These small inconveniences accumulated to create a sense of irritation.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion was expressed regarding the game's lack of popularity in China, indicating a disconnect between the player's perception of the game's quality and its market reception in a specific region.
- Curiosity (weight 0.01): Curiosity was focused on the game's future updates, indicating player interest in how the game would evolve and what new content or improvements would be introduced.
- Stress (weight 0.01): Stress was caused by the difficulty of early game encounters, suggesting that the initial challenge level was perceived as too high or unbalanced, leading to player tension.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise was experienced through the personal discovery of a skill, indicating an unexpected positive outcome or realization about one's own abilities within the game.}