Rogue Waters seemed like a dark horse even from the moment of its announcement at gamescom 2024. It was also difficult to understand from the gameplay videos and descriptions what the game was about, which is why topics appeared in discussions in which users asked to explain certain mechanics. However, even the developers’ explanations did not show the whole picture, so I, being a big fan of both genres, decided to evaluate the new product personally. As a result, the game exceeded all my expectations, and you will find out why in this review.
Rogue Waters is set in a fantasy world inspired by the golden age of piracy. The story begins when the team finds an ancient artifact, which immediately ends up under the eye patch of our protagonist Cutter. The captain orders the item to be given to him, which he could not do even if he wanted, which is why he is thrown into the abyss. However, 16 years later he is reborn and assembles his own team. It turns out that the artifact gives him and his crew immortality and allows them to communicate with sea monsters. Now, traveling through enchanted waters, he seeks revenge on his former captain, the famous and ruthless Blackbone, as well as to find out the secret of his curse and restore his own position in the pirate world.
The gameplay in the spirit of Roguelike lore is explained precisely by the presence of an artifact that gives the hero immortality. If you are defeated, you will return to base unharmed, but keep the materials you received. There you will have the opportunity to hire fighters and upgrade their perks, as well as upgrade your ship. After all the preparations are completed, you can go on another raid and try again.
In general, the implementation of the progression system in Rogue Waters, in my opinion, is one of the best in the genre, if not the best. It usually happens: at the beginning you are weak and can hardly pass several stages, but as you level up, it becomes easier for you to do this. This approach also has its place, and here this rule also works to some extent, but the developers decided to go even further. The fact is that the game has a large number of difficulty levels, which open gradually, much like in the Diablo series. This way, you can complete regular raids on a certain difficulty, and then, when you are confident in your abilities, go into story raids and unlock a new one. Opponents will become stronger, new mechanics will appear, and the battle will be harder and more interesting. The reward you receive for completing it will also increase, so you will change the difficulty not only out of “sporting interest,” but also in order to receive more resources. This really keeps things interesting throughout the game, constantly providing an incentive to increase the difficulty.
The map in Rogue Waters is reminiscent of Slay the Spire and allows you to choose where you want to go. You can start a battle with a regular or elite boss, looking in advance at the reward that you will receive if you win, or you can take part in various events where you need to make one choice or another. Recreation areas and shops for purchasing guns and modules are also available.
Before the main battle begins, you will have to go through a preparatory phase to board the enemy ship. Using the available guns, you need to inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy ship and gain an advantage. However, this is not as easy to do as it seems at first glance. You need to be smart about what to attack first: enemy guns, ship modules that give bonuses, or the units themselves. Making the wrong decision can sometimes put you at a huge disadvantage. However, this also works in the opposite direction – if you do everything correctly, you can significantly weaken the enemy, and in rare cases, even avoid battle by destroying all units.
Although at first glance the battles resemble classic tactical strategies, in reality they differ from them in many ways. First of all, health here is divided into whole units, and characters usually have about 5-10 of them. The attack deals a small amount of damage, which can be increased by passive enhancements or external circumstances. If you inflict damage on an enemy, then at the same time you seem to push him back and take his place (if he does not have a passive prohibiting him from doing this). When a unit collides with an obstacle, it receives an additional unit of damage, and when it collides with another character, both receive damage. You can also push the enemy into a debuff area such as fire, poison, plague. It would seem like a banal mechanic, but it opens up a huge number of tactical possibilities.
If your character is defeated in battle, he does not disappear from the game until the end of the raid, but only receives a wound that reduces his health by one. In addition, in the place of a retired fighter, you can put anyone else from the reserve until it is all exhausted. At first glance it sounds casual and you don’t have to worry about someone dying. But in reality this is far from the case. In the future, such wastefulness can play a cruel joke on you, when most of your crew ends up wounded and with a negligible amount of health.
Another important part of the combat system is the skills of sea monsters. These are powerful abilities that require Void Ether to use, a very rare resource that can only be restored if you’re lucky enough to stumble across an event that allows you to do so (but then you’ll likely have to forgo other bonuses, such as healing allies). Therefore, they should be used only as a last resort, not forgetting to save some ether for the final battle. It is also worth noting an interesting mechanic that allows you to complete the battle before you kill all the enemies. By inflicting damage in excess of the enemy’s remaining health, a special scale is filled. When completely filled, the opposing team simply surrenders, and at the same time you win.
By participating in raids, your units will level up and receive skill points for this. This way you can improve their characteristics and receive various buffs. The only drawback is that characters of the same class have the same models and portraits. This is quite common for strategy games, as it helps to easily distinguish between unit classes. But when each of them has their own unique name and a different leveling tree, there is a slight dissonance when seeing a crowd of twins. It would be possible to keep the same models, for that matter, but at least make different portraits, and designate the classes with some kind of icon. In fact, this is the only negative of the game that I can highlight, and it’s not that significant.
In addition to units, it is also possible to upgrade a ship, but this will require special materials. You can increase limits (per squad, weapons, modules), unlock starting modules, and improve the skills of sea monsters. However, this will require special resources obtained during your swims.
Rogue Waters has good cartoon graphics that don’t pretend to be high-tech. The character art and those shown during loading are also pleasing to the eye. The good news is that all the dialogues are fully voiced by professional actors, which is a rarity for this type of game. Separately, it is worth noting the musical accompaniment, which, on the one hand, is made in the classic “pirate” style, and on the other hand, does not sound banal.
Rogue Waters offers a unique take on the pirate theme, combining elements of tactical combat, roguelike mechanics and a deep progression system. The game attracts attention with a variety of tactics, unusual naval battles and an interesting setting. The combination of strategic depth and fast-paced gameplay makes Rogue Waters a great choice for fans of tactical games and fans of pirate adventures.