FTL Faster Than Light remains one of my favorite roguelike games of all time, so any time a new game appears in that mold I’m curious to try it out. Joining the likes of Breachway and Space Cats Tactics is new pirate strategy game Reclaim the Sea, which transports the satisfying ship management and combat of FTL into a steampunk fantasy world. Coming from French developer 1 Last Game Studio and available to try right now thanks to a free Steam demo, this is certainly one I’m keeping an eye on.
Reclaim the Sea will feel immediately familiar to FTL players, but if you haven’t touched the beloved indie roguelike game it’s a pretty easy one to describe. Taking charge of one of a selection of pirate vessels, it’s up to you to crew your ship across the deadly seas, staying one step ahead of the Freedom Defenders as you explore.
Each of the ships at your disposal comes with an initial loadout of weapons and facilities – some have an infirmary to heal your crew members when injured, while others can use steam power to overdrive other parts of the ship. Certain weapons use precision and can easily target enemy crew, while others specialize in blasting through barricades, demolishing your foe’s facilities, or breaching their hull directly.
Much like FTL, you’ll move across the seas through various regions of increasing danger, using your fuel to sail between encounter points on the map. Ships can lead to encounters that, depending on how you handle them, might afford you supplies or new crew members, or could escalate into full-scale battles.
Other points of interest can include repair and refueling stations, so it’s worth exploring as many as possible, though you’ll want to stay out of range of the Freedom Defender patrols if you don’t want to be dragged into any particularly tough encounters.
Reclaim the Sea is set to launch on Steam in 2024. While there’s no exact release date yet, you can try it right now thanks to a free demo available via the Steam store page, where you can also add it to your wishlist if you want to stay up to date with when the full game becomes available.
There’s plenty more of the best pirate games to satisfy your craving for the salty sea air, of course, along with all the best strategy games on PC in 2024.
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