Pirates! Gold

1993

simulator
strategy
adventure
action
single player

The story

As with the original, this is a blend of strategy, action and adventure. Pirates! Gold lets you play the role of a beginning buccaneer in the 17th century Spanish Main, in search of fame and fortune. Each town in this untamed raw region has different surprises and dangers. How you acquire stature is up to you; you can make your living through honest trade and the search for hidden treasure, or you can be a little more daring and attack and plunder ships. As you can choose a specific skill to stand out in, the game can vary each time. Sword fighting is played out in side-view action sequences.

What it’s like

Bright, chunky pixel art gives the Caribbean a sun-faded, storybook look: sepia-tinted charts, whitewashed harbour towns, and ships gliding over flat turquoise water. The sailing is seen from above, with wind and coastline unfolding slowly, while sword duels switch to side-on sequences with comic, bouncing animation. The score is a loping, brassy sea-shanty chiptune that loops easily in the background. Its vibe is cheerful adventure with a slow, rambling restlessness, suited to a long evening session, a relaxed weekend with a cup of tea, or idle play on a rainy afternoon. Days pass by the season, and the pace is unhurried: long voyages, mapping, haggling in port, and the occasional fight that is over quickly. Violence is mild and cartoonish, with no gore, and the tension stays light, more about getting rich and wrangling a rival captain than real danger. It suits people who want a charming, low-stress strategy game with a bit of swashbuckling, and who enjoy wandering wherever their own ambitions take them.

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