Ship of fools playstation12/17/2023 ![]() ![]() If you are playing solo like I was, the game gives you a second cannon that fires on its own, which is better than nothing, but is hardly a substitute for another real player. ![]() ![]() You need to manually load your cannon with ammo in order to use it. Players need to physically pick up and place their cannon onto opposite sides of the ship on the fly in order to address any threats that pop up. Each player gets to bring a cannon on board of which there are a couple different types including a standard single-shot cannon, a spread shot, a twin barrel and others, all of which can be upgraded over the course of the game. At the beginning of the game, the ship has a small amount of health, two “cargo” holding pads, and four spots to place a cannon. The titular “ship” in Ship of Fools is where the bulk of the gameplay in a run takes place and what most of the mechanics revolve around. While picking a character is an important part of starting any run, unlike more traditional roguelites, your character isn’t the thing you are trying to upgrade and safeguard. For example: the character I used the most had increased projectile speed and damage when using cannons. In addition, each character also has a unique trinket that will enhance their abilities in some way. Controlling your character is simple, you move around, you have a roll used for dodging incoming attacks, and you have a melee weapon. You begin by choosing a playable character. The gameplay loop in Ship of Fools brings some unique twists to the rogue-lite table. I will expand more on this throughout the review, but this game is likely best enjoyed with another player if you have the option. So, unfortunately, I was without a partner. The game features online play, but only with friends that also have a copy of the game, there is no online matchmaking at the time of writing this review. While solo play is an option, the game seemingly does not balance this change very well. The game’s marketing also emphasizes co-op play. This is reflected in the game in a number of ways, from having two selectable characters on the main menu before loading in, to the number of enemies and tasks you will have to work around during a given run. Ship of Fools is designed first and foremost with co-op as the intended experience. I should preface this portion of the review by stating that I played Ship of Fools by myself without a co-op partner, which is an important distinction to make when talking about the gameplay. What does leave more of an impact is the gameplay. Battle screens are similarly minimal in detail so while they look nice, it just doesn’t stick in the mind much after playing. Upon reflection, I remember the gameplay implications and abilities of the characters more than I do their name or any outfit design they may have had. Take the playable characters for example. While the game’s visuals are unique, similar to the story lacking much of an impact, the visuals aren’t exactly memorable. Despite there not being much kinetic movement on the screen, everything looks and feels great. The enemies all have unique designs and variations that make them stand apart from each other, especially helpful during hectic combat encounters. Going along with its sea-faring theme, the game uses a range of colors but primarily plays with shades of blue and green throughout which lend themselves well to establishing a distinct feel for each main area in the game. Ship of Fools has hand-drawn visuals and a fluid animation style that ends up looking great in motion. Because the story is so minimal, what’s there unfortunately doesn’t leave much of an impact outside of a few light-hearted jokes. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, playing co-op games has a tendency to prevent players from paying close attention to cutscenes or story-specific dialogue. There is a little bit of backstory that fleshes out some of the items and characters you will be interacting with frequently, but there isn’t much of a story in Ship of Fools. ![]() Ship of Fools is a charming rogue-lite action game with a focus on cooperative play that offers a couple of twists on the genre as well as a few disappointments.ĭeveloped by Fika Productions and published by Team 17, Ship of Fools sees a group of dimwitted fish people attempt to fight back against nightmares of the deep in order to quell an evil storm that has been brewing off the coast of the island they call home. These games are typically built around replaying levels multiple times with a number of randomized aspects such as enemy types, equipment, abilities, and so forth in order to keep each “run” feeling fresh (think games like Hades or Rogue Legacy). One of the most popular video game genres in the indie space these days is the “rogue-lite”. ![]()
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