Sailing Era

Sailing Era is an anime-styled hybrid of an adventure game, eRPG and a sailing simulator. It was developed by the Chinese studio GY Game and published by the Shanghai-based bilibili, also responsible for publishing F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch. The game released on the PC, PS4 and Nintendo Switch. A free demo is available on Steam.

Plot

The game is set between the 15th and 17th century, in the time of great geographical discoveries. With the ocean no longer being an impassable boundary, every young navigator dreams of acquiring their own ship and sailing into the boundless waters. Some hope to change their destiny, others to make history through their discoveries and achievements.

The player gets to know four of such sailors: Abdullah, an Arabian pearl fisher, Yun Mu, a researcher from the Ming dynasty, Yoshitaka Shizuma, a Japanese boat builder, and Andrew, a Portuguese adventurer.

Mechanics

The game revolves around exploring coastlines and areas past the oceans. The in-game map is of 1:1 scale, faithfully reproducing oceans, lands and monsoon currents.

During their voyages, the player can visit over 200 exotic harbors, each with their own types of goods and unique quests. While in a harbor city we can replenish supplies, trade with local merchants, accept quests, make investments or recruit new crew members. We can also create our own research team to explore lesser-known areas. Our actions also affect the growth of the harbors, increasing the variety of available goods and the quality of available ships.

There are four playable captains in Sailing Era: Abdullah, Yun Mu, Andrew and Yoshitaka Shizuma. Choosing one of them means dedicating ourselves to their storyline. The chosen protagonist stats their journey at their birthplace, gradually discovering more unknown regions, recruiting more crew as well as upgrading and expanding their fleet.

There are over 30 available characters, each with unique skills that can prove helpful at different stages of the journey. The main protagonist also has a number of traits and special abilities which can be unlocked and upgraded as the game progresses.

There are 10 historical ships featured in the game. The player can sail on caravels, galleons or even create their own unique vessels.

Exploring the ocean and trading in diverse harbors aren't the only things Sailing Era has to offer. During our travels we'll often encounter adverse weather, find abandoned wreckages and hidden treasures, as well as face pirates ready to plunder and sink us. During naval battles, we can fire our ship's cannons and board the enemy vessel, sending our men into melee combat.

Technical aspects

The visuals of Sailing Era are two-dimensional and make use of an anime artstyle. The game's atmospheric soundtrack adds to its charm.