Yes, a pirate simulator. Pixel Piracy is a pirate simulator. Now, who wouldn’t want to try out a pirate simulator?

It may sound fun, but it is really, really hard. The game also has permadeath, which just adds to the fun, well, if you’re good at the game at least. You’ll need to start by building a ship and, optionally, hiring a someone to be on your crew. The crew system is a bit annoying, because oftentimes the crew will just ignore your orders because they lack loyalty. Loyalty can be gained by paying them in gold, the game’s currency.

The game’s shipbuilding is a bit weird. My first ship looked like a block, but it still worked. In fact, all of the early game enemies also had terrible-looking ships, just like mine. Later in the game, you’ll get to build cooler ships, assuming you don’t die along the way. I’ve yet to get far enough to build a really fancy ship, so I’ll just stick with my floating blocks of wood for now. Pixel Piracy also has an RPG element to go along with it. It’s rather complex, but adds a lot to the game and I really enjoy its addition.

Early-game, I had a lot of trouble with combat. I was terrible at it. The combat is really unpredictable, there is little to no indication of whether or not you will win a fight. With more crewmates, however, the chances of winning in combat rise immensely, especially when you’ve got six or so guys and they got three. The combat could be better, but the game is in early access, so changes could be made along the way.

Although the game is difficult, I find enjoyment in it anyways. I’ll get better at it as I play, for sure.