Info about Sailing Era:

Official game description:
The story takes place during the era of great geographical discovery in the 15th to 17th century. The world is linked by nautical routes, leading to an upsurge in ocean exploration.  
Every young navigator of this era dreams of their own ship to sail freely through the ocean. Some seek to change their destiny, others hope to make history.  
A real-world scale map, and highly detailed recreation of the ocean, land, monsoon currents, and weather changes form a huge maritime world. Face sudden changes in weather, unpredictable winds, sunken treasure, pirate attacks, and luring danger. And experience a novel and thrilling voyage through the ocean.  
Almost 200 unique ports full of exotic local culture to experience. You can resupply, trade, accept commissions, recruit sailors, invest, and engage in many other activities in the ports. You can even form a land expedition team to explore inland!  
Prices fluctuate with the situation at the ports, ultimately translating to higher profits. Promote port development through trade and commissions to increase the variety of goods, items, and premium ships available.  
You will assume the lives of four captains with unique backgrounds. Over 30 outstanding individuals like British scholars, legendary pirates, Jewish merchants, and Japanese ronins are waiting to be recruited. Use them wisely to bring out the best in them.  
Even heroes need trustworthy companions! Help them grow, unlock new traits, and improve basic skills for a greater variety of available strategies to handle all challenges with ease.  
More than ten renowned ships from history have been faithfully recreated. Collect famous ships such as the Caravel and Galleon or customize a unique ship of your own.  
In a naval battle, use the wind to create distance and switch the position of your cannons, then launch a rain of fire upon your enemies; or do the opposite and enjoy the thrill of sword fighting.  
Historical ruins, sunken ships, pirate treasure... The high seas are full of secrets. Explore the unknown, unearth mysterious treasures, uncover ancient civilizations, and freely explore every corner of the world!

Release date: 11 Jan, 2023

Categories: Open-World Exploration, Trading Simulation, Naval Combat, Character Progression, Single-player Story, Resource Management, Ship Customization, Treasure Hunting


- 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:
- Highly Engaging and Addictive Gameplay (weight 1): Players consistently praise the game for its captivating, fun, and addictive nature, highlighting its depth, rich content, and well-thought-out mechanics. Many found themselves engrossed for hours, appreciating the blend of simulation, management, RPG, and story elements.
- True Spiritual Successor to Uncharted Waters (weight 0.75): A significant number of players, especially fans of the Uncharted Waters series, consider this game a worthy spiritual successor. They note its successful integration of classic elements from various Uncharted Waters titles (II, III, IV, Online) while offering modernized graphics and improved systems, fulfilling a long-standing desire for a new game in the genre.
- Excellent Art and Visuals (weight 0.27): The game receives high marks for its beautiful and exquisite art style, particularly its 2D character illustrations and cutscene images. Players appreciate the detailed and attractive visuals, noting that the graphics are modern and appealing without being monotonous.
- Competent Sailing and Naval Combat (weight 0.17): The sailing mechanics are generally well-implemented, with good controls and an immersive experience. While naval battles are often described as having low difficulty, they are still considered good and manageable, especially with controller support.
- Deep and Rewarding Trading System (weight 0.13): The trading system is frequently highlighted as excellent, neat, and satisfying. Players enjoy establishing merchant guilds, discovering high-profit routes, and the strategic depth involved in buying low and managing resources, which provides a strong sense of accomplishment.
- Robust Exploration and Discovery (weight 0.1): Players enjoy the extensive exploration system, which includes discovering real and fictional wonders, cultural relics, and new places. The game's focus on collection, treasure hunting, and learning geographical, historical, and cultural knowledge is a major draw, providing a satisfying sense of adventure.
- Strong Narrative and Character Development (weight 0.09): The game's story is generally well-received, with engaging plots, humor, and well-written side quests. Individual crew member storylines are particularly praised for adding emotional depth and providing powerful skills, making character interactions a significant part of the experience.
- Relaxed and Player-Friendly Experience (weight 0.09): Many players appreciate the game's casual approach, allowing them to play at their own pace without time pressure or linear progression. The absence of frustrating mechanics, pay-to-win elements, or death by age contributes to a stress-free and enjoyable experience.
- Acceptable Localization Quality (weight 0.06): Despite some minor inconsistencies or oddities, the game's translations, particularly the Japanese localization, are generally considered acceptable and readable. Players found that any issues did not significantly detract from their overall enjoyment.
- Responsive and Dedicated Developers (weight 0.06): Players acknowledge the developers' active engagement, frequent updates, and responsiveness to feedback. This commitment to continuous improvement and optimization has positively impacted the game's quality and player satisfaction.
- Effective Character Recruitment System (weight 0.06): The game features a good system for recruiting companions, with many unique characters joining the fleet through events. Players enjoy leveling up and equipping heroes, and the ability to recruit cleared protagonists in subsequent playthroughs adds to replayability.

Common complaints:
- Poor Naval Combat System (weight 0.5): The naval combat system is widely criticized for being terrible, clunky, frustrating, and uninteresting. Players highlight issues with controls, unintelligent AI, unbalanced difficulty, and a lack of depth, making it a major deterrent to enjoyment.
- Weak & Unclear Quest Design (weight 0.43): The main quests are described as thin, short, and unengaging, often feeling like filler. Players struggle with poor guidance, unclear hints, and confusing quest logic, frequently requiring external resources to progress, which detracts from the adventure.
- Persistent Bugs & Unfinished State (weight 0.42): Players consistently report numerous bugs, including game-breaking quest progression issues, frequent crashes, and save file corruption. Many feel the game is an unfinished product, with optimization problems and a lack of updates over two years, suggesting abandonment by developers.
- Repetitive & Shallow Gameplay (weight 0.32): The game becomes boring and repetitive after the early stages, lacking depth, innovation, and engaging content. Players report a significant drop in interest once initial progression is made, with the mid-to-late game feeling empty and unchallenging.
- Lack of Freedom & Core Features (weight 0.31): The game is criticized for its restrictive nature, lacking player freedom, dynamic faction interactions, and essential features like sub-fleets or character creation. Many feel it poorly imitates its predecessors and suffers from a 'mobile game' feel.
- Frustrating Shipbuilding & Economy (weight 0.29): The shipbuilding system is criticized for its 'gacha-like' randomness, illogical material requirements, and tedious grind. The trade system is also seen as too simple, unprofitable, and lacking an engaging end-game, making both core mechanics frustrating.
- Inferior to Uncharted Waters Series (weight 0.23): Many players, especially fans of the genre, find the game to be a clumsy and inferior imitation of the Uncharted Waters series. It fails to capture the depth, immersion, and quality of its predecessors, with many aspects feeling less developed.
- Poor Performance & Ship Handling (weight 0.14): The game suffers from significant lag, crashes, and freezes, especially during sailing and port transitions. Ship handling is described as terrible, with slow turning, unrealistic speeds, and ships getting stuck on land, hindering the sailing experience.
- Subpar Localization Quality (weight 0.12): The game's translation, particularly in Japanese and English, is frequently criticized for being poor, inconsistent, and nonsensical. This significantly detracts from the story, character immersion, and overall understanding of the game's content.
- Clunky & Tedious UI/UX (weight 0.11): The user interface is widely regarded as confusing, clunky, and poorly designed, with too many sub-menus and a lack of hotkeys. This makes basic operations cumbersome, slows down gameplay, and breaks immersion, requiring players to take external notes.
- Ineffective Guild System (weight 0.1): The merchant guild system is seen as tedious, expensive, and largely unrewarding. It requires constant manual intervention, offers limited profit, and lacks automation, making it a cumbersome feature that doesn't significantly enhance gameplay.

Gameplay feedback:
- Rich Exploration & Discovery (weight 0.49): Exploration is a core aspect, involving sailing the overworld and engaging in land expeditions on hex-grid maps. Players discover ruins, treasures, rare creatures, and cultural buildings, often guided by library records and tavern rumors. This system is a major selling point, offering a vast world to uncover.
- Naval Combat System (weight 0.4): The game features real-time naval combat with cannons, ramming, and boarding. Players manage a fleet, expand it with new ship types and abilities, and customize weapons. While some find it boring or uninteresting in early stages, it becomes more enjoyable with increased strength. However, the system is criticized for lacking large-scale battles, having poor ship balance, and automatic close combat.
- Protagonist & Crew System (weight 0.33): Players choose from four protagonists, each with a unique storyline, and can recruit over 20 crew members, each with their own events and mini-stories. Completing a protagonist's story allows them to be recruited in subsequent playthroughs, encouraging multiple runs to experience all content and gather companions.
- Merchant Guild & Trade System (weight 0.29): The game features a detailed trade system where players can invest in ports, establish merchant guilds, and automate trade routes. This allows for passive income and port development, which in turn unlocks better ships and goods. While powerful for building a trade empire, the merchant guild system is sometimes described as cumbersome or boring.
- Uncharted Waters Legacy (weight 0.26): The game is widely considered a spiritual successor to the Uncharted Waters series, borrowing heavily from its gameplay, controls, and overall feel, particularly Uncharted Waters 2, 3, 4, and Online. It blends elements of exploration, trade, combat, and shipbuilding reminiscent of the classic titles.
- Accessibility & Replayability (weight 0.22): The game is generally easy to play and not high-stakes, offering a fair learning curve despite a long tutorial. It boasts high replayability, especially through multiple protagonist storylines and the ability to recruit cleared characters in new playthroughs. However, some find the gameplay repetitive over time.
- Shipbuilding & Maintenance (weight 0.13): Shipbuilding involves collecting blueprints and high-grade parts, often requiring significant investment in ports. While powerful ships can be crafted, the process is described as troublesome and peculiar. Ships also age and deteriorate, requiring maintenance and repairs, though this becomes more manageable with larger vessels.
- Skill & Character Development (weight 0.12): Characters have pre-assigned skills and attributes, with over 20 skills levelable to 10. Skill points are gained through leveling and reading books, but there are limitations. Crew members also boost stats and provide bonuses, contributing to overall character and fleet development.

Performance notes:
- Mixed optimization feedback (weight 0.05): While some players praise the game's smooth performance on Steam Deck, others report poor optimization, leading to high PC temperatures and general instability. This suggests inconsistent performance across different hardware configurations.
- Minor technical issues (weight 0.04): Some players experience minor bugs and occasional screen issues, though one review states no technical issues. This indicates a presence of small, non-critical glitches.
- Frequent game crashes (weight 0.04): Players report frequent crashes, especially when entering or exiting ports and during sailing acceleration. This significantly disrupts gameplay and indicates instability.
- Decent controller support (weight 0.02): Handheld controller support is generally good, offering intuitive ship control during naval battles. However, there are occasional reports of dropped button inputs.
- NPC disappearance bug fixed (weight 0.01): A significant bug that caused overworld NPCs to disappear when players drifted into different cultural spheres has been addressed and fixed, improving game stability and immersion.
- Beautiful graphics (weight 0.01): Players generally appreciate the game's overall visual quality, noting its beautiful graphics.

Recommendations:
- Generally Recommended, Especially on Sale (weight 0.31): Despite various criticisms, a significant portion of players recommend the game, often highlighting its value, especially when purchased at a discount. Many find it an enjoyable experience, a good time-passer, or a solid entry in a rare genre, with some even expressing anticipation for a sequel.
- Future Updates and Content Needed (weight 0.3): Many players express a desire for continued developer support, including bug fixes, optimization, new content (DLCs), and a potential sequel. Some reviewers state they will only recommend the game or change their negative review if significant improvements are made. This indicates a strong dependency on future development for long-term player satisfaction.
- Strong Appeal to Uncharted Waters Fans (weight 0.22): The game frequently draws comparisons to the Uncharted Waters series, with many players recommending it to fans of that franchise. However, there's a split sentiment: some find it a worthy successor, while others are disappointed if they expect an exact replica of Uncharted Waters 4, suggesting it meets a specific niche but might not satisfy all nostalgic expectations.
- Niche Appeal for Simulation & Exploration (weight 0.15): The game is highly recommended for players who enjoy specific genres such as sea trading, ship building, open-world sailing, JRPGs, and complex simulation management games. It caters to those who appreciate slow-burn progression and historical themes, suggesting it's not for everyone but deeply satisfying for its target audience.
- Minor Suggestions and Tips (weight 0.08): Players offer various minor suggestions, such as adding a 'skip days' function, improving sea combat controls, and specific advice for achievement hunting or playthrough order. These are quality-of-life improvements or strategic tips rather than critical issues.
- Try Before You Buy Recommended (weight 0.04): Several players advise potential buyers to watch gameplay videos or try the demo first. This suggests that the game's style or mechanics might not appeal to everyone, and a preview can help manage expectations and prevent disappointment.
- Appreciation for Developers (weight 0.02): A small cluster of feedback expresses gratitude towards the developers and hopes the game receives more recognition. This indicates a positive sentiment from a subset of the player base, acknowledging the effort put into the game.

Other player notes:
- Desire for More Content & Depth (weight 0.37): Players consistently request more content, including richer plots, diverse characters, expanded exploration, and dynamic events. There's a strong desire for increased replayability through features like randomly generated elements, more meaningful companion roles, and deeper faction interactions.
- Spiritual Successor to Uncharted Waters (weight 0.26): A significant portion of the player base views this game as a spiritual successor or a modern alternative to Koei's classic Uncharted Waters series, particularly Uncharted Waters 2 and 4. Many express disappointment with Koei's current direction for the series and hope this game fills that void.
- Strong Foundation, High Potential (weight 0.26): Players generally praise the game's core design, unique characters, and overall 'gentle' world, seeing it as a hidden gem with significant potential. Many believe it could become a great or long-lasting brand with further development, despite some initial slow pacing or confusion.
- Combat System Needs Improvement (weight 0.15): Naval combat, boarding mechanics, and AI strategies are frequently cited as areas needing significant improvement. Players suggest more dynamic battles, better control over fleets, and a rebalancing of difficulty to enhance the combat experience.
- Requests for Future Development & Modding (weight 0.14): Players express strong interest in future updates, DLCs, and a potential sequel. Many also suggest opening a creative workshop or adding modding support if official updates cease, indicating a desire to extend the game's life and contribute to its content.
- Localization & Accessibility Needs (weight 0.1): There's a clear demand for official Korean localization. Players currently resort to unofficial fan-made patches or automatic translation tools, indicating a barrier to entry for non-Chinese speaking audiences.
- Trading & Guild System Enhancements (weight 0.07): Players desire more detailed and engaging trading mechanics, including dynamic pricing and unique black market functions. The guild system is also noted as needing further development, with suggestions for simplification or remote investment options.
- Mixed Feelings on Visuals & Presentation (weight 0.06): While some appreciate the 'otome game' or 'anime' art style, others find the 3D open-world visuals simplified. There's a perception that the game might have been initially planned for mobile, leading to a disconnect in its PC presentation and limited voice acting.
- Chinese Developer & Publisher Context (weight 0.05): The game is recognized as a Chinese-developed and published title, primarily targeting Chinese players. This context is relevant for understanding certain design choices and the potential for regional voice acting or thematic elements.
- Educational & Geographic Value (weight 0.04): The game is appreciated for its educational aspects, particularly in teaching world geography, history, and humanities. Players enjoy cross-referencing in-game locations with real-world maps, highlighting its unique learning potential.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.25): Players are highly satisfied with the game's overall quality, rich content, and engaging systems, particularly trading, exploration, and character storylines. Many find deep enjoyment in its resemblance to the beloved 'Uncharted Waters' series, viewing it as a worthy spiritual successor that delivers a modern yet nostalgic experience with good graphics, music, and a lack of forced timers.
- Disappointment (weight 0.2): Disappointment stems from the game's perceived incompleteness, lack of depth in various gameplay aspects (especially combat and economic systems), and unresolved bugs. Players feel the game falls short of its potential, with issues like poor translation, repetitive late-game content, and a lack of meaningful updates contributing to a less engaging experience than expected, particularly when compared to classic titles.
- Frustration (weight 0.19): Frustration is primarily caused by poor naval combat mechanics, unclear quest guidance, and persistent game-breaking bugs that hinder progression or lead to data loss. Players also express annoyance with restrictive game mechanics, frequent pirate encounters, and optimization issues like crashes and lag, making the overall gameplay experience tedious and unfair.
- Excitement (weight 0.07): Players are excited by the game's addictive nature, engaging exploration, and deep management systems. Many consider it a 'hidden gem' and a true spiritual successor to classic naval simulation games, appreciating its rich content and the thrill of discovery that keeps them engrossed for long hours.
- Anger (weight 0.04): Anger arises from critical bugs that wipe save files, perceived unfair or 'trashy' game design choices, and frustrating combat mechanics, especially unfair pirate encounters. Players express strong disapproval of specific design decisions and a feeling of being swindled by the game's quality, particularly when issues like overheating PCs or poor land exploration are encountered.
- Hope (weight 0.04): Players express hope for future content, sequels, and significant improvements to address current flaws, especially in combat and exploration. There's a strong desire for continued developer support, mod integration, and the game's evolution into a long-lasting, classic IP with more detailed and varied content.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.03): Nostalgia is a significant emotion, driven by the game's strong resemblance to the 'Uncharted Waters' series, particularly titles like 'Uncharted Waters 2' and 'New Horizons'. Players appreciate how the game evokes childhood memories and successfully recaptures the feeling and gameplay experience of these beloved classic naval adventure games.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.03): Players enjoy the game's collecting elements (crew, discoveries), sailing, and overall chill experience. The unique art style, good background music, and engaging story, exploration, and trading mechanics contribute to a fun and immersive experience, often surpassing expectations for fans of the genre.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): Players appreciate the game's originality, its role as a 'love letter' to classic naval sims, and the developers' sincerity and efforts in historical realism and innovation. There is gratitude for the game's quality, quantity, and the developers' responsiveness to feedback, especially in a niche market.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Joy is expressed through the game's engaging elements, detailed design, and overall quality, leading to a 'great sailing experience'. Players find deep enjoyment in discovering the game and consider it a masterpiece, particularly appreciating its beautiful character art and its success as a spiritual successor.
- Confusion (weight 0.02): Confusion arises from illogical game mechanics, such as strange NPC dialogues or the ability to get drunk on tea, and inconsistent design choices. Players also express uncertainty about quest objectives, how to defeat pirates, and what to do after the main story, indicating a lack of clear guidance and sometimes buggy behavior.
- Desire (weight 0.01): Players desire improved AI, official Korean localization, and more substantial NPC stories and new DLC content. There's a strong wish for better item organization, filtering functions, and a creative workshop to enhance the game's longevity and player experience.
- Regret (weight 0.01): Regret is felt over the game's unfulfilled potential and the perception that a good domestic game's opportunities are being wasted. Players lament the unlikelihood of future updates and the game not reaching its full capabilities, leading to a sense of missed opportunity.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Boredom sets in during the mid-to-late stages of the game due to repetitive gameplay loops, monotonous trading, and a lack of emotional connection to characters. Players find the ocean environment empty and the single-line plot progression unengaging, leading to a loss of interest after the initial excitement.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Players anticipate future DLC releases and updates, hoping for continued improvements and new content. There's a sense of waiting to see if the game will live up to its full potential and provide more unknown discoveries, especially after the initial stages.
- Gratitude (weight 0.01): Gratitude is expressed towards the developers for creating a game that successfully fulfills the desire for a 'Daikoukai Jidai' or 'Uncharted Waters' style sequel. Players appreciate the positive impact the game has had on their personal lives and the overall experience it provides within a beloved genre.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Players are deeply engaged with the game's various systems, including trading, exploration, and construction, often playing for extensive sessions. Despite frustrations, their willingness to provide detailed suggestions and plan multiple playthroughs indicates a strong, albeit sometimes troubled, investment in the game's potential.
- Neutral (weight 0.01): This emotion reflects mixed feelings about the game, where players acknowledge both positive and negative aspects without strong emotional attachment. It often manifests as providing gameplay advice or simply stating an overall game experience without explicit praise or criticism.
- Surprise (weight 0): Players express surprise at the game's unexpected depth and quality, especially when discovered after a long time. This can also manifest as surprise at sudden, challenging events, such as instant defeat in a sea battle, indicating unexpected difficulty or game mechanics.
- Amusement (weight 0): Amusement is derived from the game's quirky or humorous elements, such as understandable but odd Japanese translations or direct homages to classic titles. Players also find humor in unexpected gameplay shifts, like the game turning into a 'merchant simulator,' or exaggerated reactions to localization errors.}