Sorry, but Sea Walker Saga is absolutely mental. It comes across as an epic tale that is comparable to Waterworld, both in scope and with some terrible deliveries. The acting is poor, the dialogue is off, and the UI is clunky, and the absurdity of how you travel about in this alternative 19th-century tale is just crazy. Yet, so bad it’s good? Sea Walker Saga isn’t that bad. Hear me out.
Your courageous inventor father has left your tiny island home to get some milk but hasn’t returned for 15 years. Your mother, overly dressed and a little dolled up to be plodding around the island (and quite frankly, suspicious), tells you that ol’ daddy-dear has left you a letter to be opened on this faithful day. A Tuesday, I think. Upon reading the letter, it’s clear Dad has selfishly gone on an adventure, and something has happened to him. Well, predicting this to happen and then a 15-year lull? Honestly, this guy’s parents are irresponsible.
Anyway, Dad has left his schematics so you can follow in his steps on a wonderful concept ship: the island you live on. Simply by building a lighthouse and an engine, you’re able to split the island and set forth on your aquacultured bit of floating rock of grass to become the King of the Pirates! At least Mum doesn’t have to worry about explaining why the milkman is now showing up on his own bit of land. I’m telling you, she’s up to something.
Steering an island in Sea Walker Saga isn’t as hard as it sounds; however, building the structures requires a couple of hoops first. To build anything in the game, you have to solve a puzzle. This means connecting points to form a shape without using the same node twice. These are simple puzzles; however, they aren’t optional, and when you simply want to play the fundamental part of the game, it’s a steep hurdle if you just want to explore and shoot stuff. Nevertheless, it’s not hard, and soon you’re sailing.
An almost immediate encounter with an old chap, who coincidentally recognises your island as possibly being connected to your father, also reveals your first dip into combat. The lighthouse is the main hub for your craft, and after that, you need to build a facility that generates resources to build other structures and to also repair them. After building an engine to propel your ship (that’s how you got to the old man), you can create an automated turret.
The turrets in Sea Walker Saga will periodically shoot at the incredibly slow-moving aircraft that attack your island, and between respawns, attack the other island. These pirates you are fighting also have the same structures, aside from a hangar (which you’re about to get and be able to fly yourself), so targeting these strategically pays off. Shoot the turrets, then the hangar, maybe the engine to route them and then the lighthouse. Alternatively, you can blast directly at the island until it blows up!
This, of course, applies to you as well, and structures will send off a smoke signal that they’re on their last legs, so you can switch between automated turrets and manually taking them over and vice versa while juggling repairs. There’s also a cap on how much you can build, so expect to go through a lot of steps to be able to upgrade the efficiency and expansion of your island.
Besides the sailing and combat, Sea Walker Saga is also about meeting new people and exchanging your social media names. This is what lets the game down a bit, as the dialogue is quite cliché and frankly awful in some areas, and the voice acting is the same. Jumping is floaty, and there’s a Children of the Corn vibe where all the kids look and dress the same. It’s quite freaky. Despite all this, it has a lot of charm, and I enjoyed my time with it. Interestingly, when copying the link to the store page, I noted that the gumpf for it refers to Waterworld. Well done, Antelus Games; you’ve made the link; however, I’d much rather get wet with Sea Walker Saga than watch another minute of Kevin Costner and his lack of understanding of ‘running time’.
