The allure of sailing the high seas has pulled in games from Assassin’s Creed Black Flag and Ubisoft’s spiritual follow-up Skull and Bones to more modern offerings such as World of Warships. But one soothing naval sandbox game, originally launched in 2015 to a positive reception and reminiscent of classic PC games like Sid Meier’s Pirates, is making a comeback. Set to launch on Steam in 2024, Windward Horizon looks to build on the half a million sales achieved by developer Tasharen Entertainment’s previous installment.
“As a standalone sequel, Windward Horizon improves upon Windward’s foundation while keeping its original charm,” Tasharen founder Michael Lyashenko says of the upcoming sequel. “With an engaging gameplay loop filled with intricate systems and detailed customization options, we’re creating a feeling of freedom many open-world sandbox games can’t match.”
As a young pirate setting out on your own with just a small ship to your name, you sail in search of adventure, riches, and companions. Exploring a procedurally generated world that makes every playthrough unique, you have the choice whether to pursue a peaceful life of fishing, diving for treasure, and taking on quests for local factions to earn some coin, or raising the Jolly Roger and embracing a life of piracy and miscreancy.
The earnings you bring in can be used to upgrade the ship you have, or buy all-new craft that best suit your needs. Perhaps you’ll favor a speedy Schooner to soar between islands and ports with ease, or maybe a vast Frigate is more your speed to pack in all the prizes you’re planning to claim as your own. Along with upgrading your own sailor’s three talent trees (defense, offense, and support), you’ll also be able to make use of the unique skills of the crew members you recruit along the way.
Of course, a good pirate is nothing without their crew, and so if you’d rather put your trust in real people than AI companions you’ll be pleased to learn that Windward Horizon also offers support for both LAN and online co-op play, meaning you can bring your friends along for plenty of booty-plundering adventures.
Windward Horizon is set to launch on Steam in 2024. If you’ve a hankering for the wind in your hair and the salty scent of the ocean in your nostrils, you can wishlist it now on Steam to keep track of when it becomes available.
Alternatively, cast your gaze across more of the best pirate games on PC, or live a comfy life with the coziest and most relaxing games you can play in 2024.
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