Saltsea Chronicles throws you straight into the action without establishing why I should care about our missing captain. It’s a slow burn story-wise, where I wasn’t invested in the characters initially. I learned to love some of them though, and enjoyed how distinct and real each of them felt, flaws and all.
Its gameplay is sort of a visual novel, where choices don't drastically change the ending of the game, but have many branching effects on the characters' interpersonal relationships. Picking which island you go to has the biggest impact on your playthrough, since depending on your choice, you'll run into different characters with a few of them being recruitable for your sea voyage. They try to make it seem that bringing on more characters has drawbacks (not as much food to go around and cramped living spaces) but it only changes some of the dialogue scenarios. The other biggest choice is which characters you pick to go to shore. It only changes the dialogue, but it's a fun way to try out different characters. See which ones you like.
The writing is all great, but unfortunately there aren't enough moments of levity. It's all very serious and somber in tone. The main reason why I had a difficult time fully enjoying the story. There is a twist near the end that rocked me to my core lol. I won't be spoiling that here. The whole game just felt so safe with my crew. Reminded me of Spiritfarer, where you think it's a chill/somber tale, but then turns you into a sobbing wreck by the end.
Random comments:
Had a fantastic and novel art style. Rich colors and beautiful moody music as well. The intro cutscene that plays at the start of each chapter is slick! Gives you a little glimpse of each character and their personality. When they use words specific to this world, a helpful hint system pops up that gives context to the words that are used. It was a nice addition and helped me keep track of worldbuilding. The scrapbook that fills out over your journey is a fun way to reflect on what has happened. I wish you could walk around these environments instead of swiping between areas. It made me feel a bit disconnected from the world.
Its gameplay is sort of a visual novel, where choices don't drastically change the ending of the game, but have many branching effects on the characters' interpersonal relationships. Picking which island you go to has the biggest impact on your playthrough, since depending on your choice, you'll run into different characters with a few of them being recruitable for your sea voyage. They try to make it seem that bringing on more characters has drawbacks (not as much food to go around and cramped living spaces) but it only changes some of the dialogue scenarios. The other biggest choice is which characters you pick to go to shore. It only changes the dialogue, but it's a fun way to try out different characters. See which ones you like.
The writing is all great, but unfortunately there aren't enough moments of levity. It's all very serious and somber in tone. The main reason why I had a difficult time fully enjoying the story. There is a twist near the end that rocked me to my core lol. I won't be spoiling that here. The whole game just felt so safe with my crew. Reminded me of Spiritfarer, where you think it's a chill/somber tale, but then turns you into a sobbing wreck by the end.
Random comments:
Had a fantastic and novel art style. Rich colors and beautiful moody music as well. The intro cutscene that plays at the start of each chapter is slick! Gives you a little glimpse of each character and their personality. When they use words specific to this world, a helpful hint system pops up that gives context to the words that are used. It was a nice addition and helped me keep track of worldbuilding. The scrapbook that fills out over your journey is a fun way to reflect on what has happened. I wish you could walk around these environments instead of swiping between areas. It made me feel a bit disconnected from the world.