Set off for adventure, and a huge amount of bullets flying your way!

The end of 2022 is clearly a stacked year with many games that are going to take up hours of time to go through. What if I told you that there’s a sleeper hit that doesn’t have the same commitment requirements, is easy to pick up and play with friends, and is incredibly addictive and fun? Ship of Fools is a pirate roguelite that tasks you and a friend to survive the treacherous perils of the sea to collect loot, defeat waves of enemies, take on behemoths of the ocean, and overall survive. While this may sound like a daunting task, Ship of Fools makes it one that will have you embarking on this journey for hours.

Ship of Fools is a simple game to get into at its core. You and another player, online or in person, journey out to the sea to traverse as much of the grid as you can before the tiles darken indicating the boss battle. Along the way, you can collect upgrades, armor, new characters, and even allies that will set up shops on the home island. As you move through the tiles you’ll come across waves of enemies on each tile. Most of the time you’ll use your cannons to fire at enemies to keep them away from your ship to prevent any damage. If the enemies do end up boarding your ship, you’ll need to use your oar to knock them off before they start destroying your ship. As you progress through runs, you can buy upgrades that increase your health, new weapons, and abilities which will help surviving much easier; especially on later maps. Considering the roguelite concept, expect to die constantly on the first few runs; especially when you get toward the first boss. Considering how easy it is to get into a new run, and just how fun the runs are Ship of Fools is a joy to continue to play even if you keep dying for the first few hours.

When it comes to boss battles, each boss offers a unique challenge that varies from using a strategic approach to praying you survive the bullet hell that’s happening. Again, expect to die on your first encounters with the bosses, because they can be a challenge. While I would have liked to see random bosses each time you go through a run, each boss looks well crafted so it’s not as bad re-running a few of them.

Presentation-wise, Ship of Fools is a good-looking game that has its faults. The cartoony style of the title looks great and creates a vibrant world. Everyone you meet looks well-developed including the enemies, bosses, and inhabitants of the home island as well. The only problem that Ship of Fools has in terms of presentation is the lack of depth. As you progress through the maps there aren’t many variations with the maps and enemies that you’ll come across. While each of the biomes you enter has its own variations between them, that’s where the differences end. Seeing how the world is crafted already, it would have been nice to see more variations to add some depth.

Ship of Fools is a great roguelite that is incredibly easy to pick up and play whether you’re running solo or with a friend. The charm in how the game looks, and how it plays makes Ship of Fools a game that will constantly have you going for one more run. Whether you’re trying to upgrade your equipment, find new characters, or just trying to go just a little bit further, Ship of Fools is a game that should not be missed.

*Complementary copy of the game was provided by the developer for review purposes.