Burly Men at Sea is a delightful experience well worth the game’s low price point and short time investment. The game is a choose-your-own-adventure narrative that follows three burly brothers as the player guides them through a charming world evocative of fairy- and folktales. It isn’t really a game you “beat” and is better thought of as a collection of scenes you playthrough multiple times to see the different ways they can play out. As you progress through the story, the brothers are confronted with fantastical challenges, like being eaten by a whale, and the player chooses how they’ll deal with it from 2 or 3 options until finally leading the burly boys back home to start a new adventure. The whole experience is reminiscent of being read a picture book as a child, and I think the ideal way to play the game may be as a parent letting their little one guide the choices. That said, you don’t need to be, or have, a kid to appreciate the game’s whimsical tone that’s perfectly conveyed in its picture-book-illustration art style, jolly sense of humor and folksy sound design.
What I love about Burly Men at Sea
• The art style and animation of the game wonderfully simulate a picture book come to life. A standout aspect is a vignette effect that adds to the adventure by opening up at key story moments to convey scale or closing entirely to leave only text and your imagination.
• The game has a great sense of humor that it conveys through its text and visuals. The first comparison that comes to mind is The Muppets in how it uses a mix of slapstick, sarcasm, and snark without ever crossing the line into being mean or cynical.
• All of the sound effects and a good deal of the music are done acapella which adds to the game’s evocation of a story being told rather than played.
Why you might want to skip Burly Men at Sea
• There are a few instances where the controls acted a little wonky, but it never made it difficult to play the game.
• It takes about 20 minutes to complete a single story in Burly Men at Sea and all variations can be seen in less than three hours of play time. I don’t think a game’s length represents its quality, but I also understand some folks need to stretch their gaming budget.
• The game is essentially a point-and-click adventure game and does nothing new with the genre. It’s very simplistic and its merits as a game are in its art direction, sound design, and light-heartedness.
What I love about Burly Men at Sea
• The art style and animation of the game wonderfully simulate a picture book come to life. A standout aspect is a vignette effect that adds to the adventure by opening up at key story moments to convey scale or closing entirely to leave only text and your imagination.
• The game has a great sense of humor that it conveys through its text and visuals. The first comparison that comes to mind is The Muppets in how it uses a mix of slapstick, sarcasm, and snark without ever crossing the line into being mean or cynical.
• All of the sound effects and a good deal of the music are done acapella which adds to the game’s evocation of a story being told rather than played.
Why you might want to skip Burly Men at Sea
• There are a few instances where the controls acted a little wonky, but it never made it difficult to play the game.
• It takes about 20 minutes to complete a single story in Burly Men at Sea and all variations can be seen in less than three hours of play time. I don’t think a game’s length represents its quality, but I also understand some folks need to stretch their gaming budget.
• The game is essentially a point-and-click adventure game and does nothing new with the genre. It’s very simplistic and its merits as a game are in its art direction, sound design, and light-heartedness.