Ship of Fools
Ship of Fools is a cooperative rogue-lite action video game from Fika Productions that puts you and a buddy at the helm of a ship sailing headlong into a mysterious storm swallowing whatever is in its course. You play as adorable sea creatures that wash up on the coasts of a temple island and are right away met by an old mystic who cautions you about the risk of a storm ruining the island chain. She lends you her ship, Stormbreaker, in order to reach its eye and bring the storm to an end.
The story is very little beyond that, and the NPCs have good animations however aren't enthralling or especially witty to speak to. The player characters are charmingly dimwitted but likewise do not have personality except for when detailing their capabilities.
And though you can play solo, your slow-firing autocannon makes it clear that playing with somebody else is the best way to play. Each character has a mountable cannon they can reattach and attach at any of the four positionings on the ship, as well as a melee combination and charged attack utilized to ward off projectiles.
The problem of moving weapon placements and reloading ammunition makes handling the logistics of combat a skilled video game within itself that rewards team effort but can penalize incompetence in amusing ways. There were numerous times I acquired powerful ammo, which could damage numerous opponents only to watch it drift away along with the ship because I unintentionally tossed it overboard while trying to reload mid-battle.
You'll chart a path through zones on a hexagonal map cluttered with icons that signify what awaits. Enemies will swarm from the surrounding waters assaulting close up or from range, and some even board your ship. Figuring out what dangers to focus on and carrying out the very best methods to handle them is essential to beating most levels.
If you manage to finish an encounter, you might be rewarded cargo items that provide brand-new ammunition choices or passive abilities to your ship, trinkets that approve upgrades to your characters, or chances to gather products like planks to repair damage or cash to spend in shops. A host of randomized opportunities to power up will present themselves as you press further into a zone, with the difficulty of encounters increasing all the while. Soon you'll be weighing if trying to snag a few additional items is less risky than taking on a boss at half health as your options decrease the longer you stay in a zone.
There are just a few boss encounters, but each one is special and does a good job of making you use your full set of abilities. If you die, you're returned to start from the first zone, however, there's a relentless currency you can use to open permanent upgrades to your cannon's power or ship's health that make sure to aid future runs.
The video game's top-quality animation helps to maintain a clean appearance even when all hell breaks loose in a fight, and the accompanying sea chanty melodies are great.
Ship of Fools makes every bit of its gameplay work in favor of pressing you to keep trying. Even the worst part of picking up and positioning items on your ship feels deliberate and in service of the type of unforgettable moments that make these types of games highly enjoyable. With that my final rating is...
