A 23 year-old cult classic pirate series has been revived as a free open-world RPG inspired by the best pirate game ever, and it's getting great Steam reviews
Feb. 15, 2024Caribbean Legend: Sandbox is a new Sea Dogs game in all but name
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So, there’s pretty much a new Sea Dogs game, but first I havea lotof context to share. If you’d rather not indulge in the long and confusing history of a cult classic pirate series, just scroll down until just after the picture of some pirates in front of a ship and that’ll take you straight to the point.
Then there was 2006’s Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales, developed by Akella and published by 1C Company and Playlogic, the first in the series to adopt the Age of Pirates title as Bethesda still owned the rights to Sea Dogs. This spawned yet another sequel, 2009’s Age of Pirates 2: City of Abandoned Ships, from Akella and Playlogic. So that explains why the series is referred to using three different names: Sea Dogs, Corsairs, and Age of Pirates.
Caribbean Legend: Sandboxis the free version of another game, just calledCaribbean Legend, launching Thursday. According to BlackMark, Sandbox is the same game but it’s missing a bunch of stuff, chiefly, “a story mode with unique events, pirate and officer careers, colony building, romance, and hundreds of hours of adventure.”
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What it does include is a big old 1654 AD Caribbean open world filled with bustling towns and ancient architecture, as well as hundreds of quests including freight jobs, bounty hunting, trading contracts, and more, each with multiple outcomes depending on your actions. There’s also naval and land combat, from small confrontations with thugs in jungles to full-scale sieges where you’re at the command of an armada of warships. Ultimately, BlackMark says you can expect about 10-20 hours of gameplay from the “freeplay” mode, while the full game should keep you busy for “almost 200 hours.”
Anyway, Sandbox’s ‘Very Positive’Steam reviewssuggest the long wait for a follow-up, not to mention the laborious effort that went into my retelling of the series’ complex history, was worth it. Although many reviewers note a steep learning curve and some clunky controls, it sounds like it’s everything fans have been waiting for - warts and all.
Ahoy, matey! Check out ourSkull and Bones review-in-progressto see what we think ofUbisoft’s new pirate game.
After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar’s west coast Staff Writer, I’m responsible for managing the site’s western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I’m too afraid to finish.
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