Tempest (PC) Review

Before getting started, it is imperative to run through a rather lengthy tutorial. There is a lot to manage and understand in Tempest, and this mode does a decent job setting it all up. It's clear even here that this is quite complex, and will require patience to understand, and tenacity to master. While at first the player is guided through steering a vessel and tackling combat, there is so much more to be managed. From the health and position of the crew, to the journal logs that record the voyage, this hands most of the journey to you to micromanage.

From the scrawling seas, to the small coastal towns you'll stop in for supplies and quests, this is absolutely beautiful. It's amazing because it doesn't seem to lag, as the screen is populated by multiple menacing ships, and well detailed towns. The water is the showstopper here, and though it doesn't look realistic, it's still a pleasantry to look at. Almost every detail seems to be accounted for, and even the world map has the absolute most care placed into its authenticity. This bleeds over into the music, which manages to make even moving your boat at times feel like an epic battle to the death. It's nice to feel like even the simplest of battles are legendary, even if the effect fades from time to time.

Tempest is an open-world title, though navigation is mainly handled in the world map. You can plot a course anywhere in the open ocean, and it's nice to see a game that offers fast travel as a standard. This isn't something so much meant to be beaten, though, as it is to get better over time. It may turn off some strategy-RPG enthusiasts that they can venture wherever they want, whenever they want, but this kind of freedom feels nice. Some enemies look like they can easily trump you in battle, but there's so much freedom you can just go off and do something else till your ship is up to par.

One thing to watch out for while playing the tutorial, is that the main game seems to function quicker. In the tutorial the ship moves like a bag of wet sand, but in the main mode handling your ship is incredibly quick. In fact, the controls are almost on point, though a few seem to not work correctly all the time. The worst is getting in a position where you need to turn around, only to find you have to slowly turn the front of the ship until you dislodge.

Navigating the world map has a minor hang up in its click-and-go style of movement. Sometimes, if needing to change course, this likes to reject that said course and set up a much simpler one. This is nice, but then the ship just stops when it reaches certain landmasses. It's like its 3D model is stuck on the 2D image of an island, which seems perplexing. It doesn't help that while moving across the map, this provides some pirate battles. These are set on a timer, so if they aren't engaged, they go away - except it seems they immediately pop back up shortly afterwards, removing the need to really react quickly.

One other issue that plagues this only really happens in the event of death. Since it doesn't restrict movement, you will inevitably meet up with a much better pirate… and die. The issue is mostly that the death animation is just too long. It's almost like a mini funeral for your ship every time you fail to overpower your opponent. It may seem trivial, but the second time you sit through that, easily 30-second, death animation, it's clearly annoying.