Ship of Fools Review (Xbox One)

STAFF REVIEW of Ship of Fools (Xbox One)

Monday, December 12, 2022.
by Peggy Doyle

Roguelikes are a genre I’ve never truly been drawn to. I don’t like the idea of dying a lot and starting over from the beginning. I have no desire to replay the same section over and over again. I am a sucker for cute animations and anything involving the ocean however, so I decided to take a chance on Ship of Fools when I was offered the opportunity. Ship of Fools is a debut title for Canadian developers Fika Productions and publisher Team 17, well known for their excellent roguelikes as well as some truly fantastic (and chaotic) co-op games like Overcooked! and Moving Out. Since I have loved their co-op games in the past, and Ship of Fools seemed to blend the two styles, I thought it was a great way to get more involved in the roguelike genre. Would it change my mind and keep me engaged and afloat, or would it make me want to walk the plank? Let’s take this voyage together and see.

Ship of Fools starts out with you waking up on the shores of The Great Lighthouse (your hub). You get your bearings and are immediately called to action by Clarity. Clarity serves as your initial guide in game, and she is a wise squid like creature. She tells you a storm is encroaching, and you must fend it off. Thus begins your tutorial of the game. Making your way across the hexagonal map, solo or in co-op, you’ll fight against a variety of foes, using different types of cannons to blast them, or your oar to melee attack them should they get too close to your ship. Melee is also used to deflect projectiles back at your enemies and, when successful, it’s quite satisfying. Enemies rarely damage your ship directly but will often throw sluglike enemies or fire onboard for you to deal with.

If you have wooden planks retrieved from the ocean, or purchased, you can repair your damage while continuing to fight. Ship of Fools is heavy on the combat, light on the story, and like any roguelike, it’s not meant to be a walk in the park. You will die plenty of times before you start to see progress, and that was part of its addictive charm. Each run will net you some tokens which you will use to add permanent upgrades to yourself and your ship. Combat is simple by design but by no means is it easy. Lining up perfect shots, specifically with the harpoon trying to grab floating treasure was really a gamble. With harpoons being limited, you really couldn’t afford to miss any shots either.

Starting characters are Todd and Hink, and they are classed as fools (blank slates for you to create and customize). As you progress and complete challenges you will unlock more. Aside from their visual differences and clever and cute names and puns (hello Krillstoph the prawn and Lotte the axolotl), they each have a special trinket which they take with them on their runs. Trinkets are essentially their perks which range from bonus damage, defence, ammo, etc.

Playing solo, you’ll have access to two cannons but you only control one of them as the other will auto fire at your enemies. This is definitely needed as it’s easy to get overwhelmed when you are being attacked from both sides. You will still need to reload the auto-fire cannon though, so plan accordingly and keep reloading when there is even a small lull. You start with one cannon on each side, but you are able to move them from side to side should you choose. If playing co-op, you’ll still have the two cannons. You can both decide to be on them, or one can be assigned to melee and ammo duty. How you play is up to you. Ship of Fools is fun solo, but the co-op was where it really shines. I would recommend playing with a friend versus someone random as you need to communicate and work together to be successful. Huge shoutout to my friend, Kevin, for playing the co-op with me so I can cover and experience both parts.

No run is ever wasted. You’ll pick up something, even if it’s just the handful of upgrade tokens mentioned above that can be used to upgrade cannons, items, or increase your health, etc. Along with dying a lot before you’ll see any progress, you’ll also likely have a decent number of upgrades before you see yourself progressing much as well. Each level has you navigating through the map, deciding where you want to go, what you want to try to pick up, etc., and each level ends in a boss battle. None of the bosses take it easy on you but when my hard-earned success feels that sweet, I started to understand the real appeal of Ship of Fools, and maybe other roguelikes too.

Each run starts with three hubs on your ship. You can place statuettes on these that give you extra harpoons, ammo, money and more. Ammo choices can make a real difference in your runs. They vary between ammo that doesn’t need to be reloaded as often, or fires faster, some will freeze the enemies or even light them on fire. I was quite pleased with the variety in the game. As you progress through the levels you will unlock new characters, each bringing their own perks to help you out. Once unlocked, you can play them at any time. You’ll also meet a variety of NPCs who will each have their own skills to help you. Once you beat the first boss, for example, you’ll be able to meet the blacksmith who will help you upgrade your cannons or allow you to purchase new ones.

Every run felt like I got just a little further and it never felt stale, even if it was frustrating at first. Also lending to its ability to keep things feeling interesting, the maps you find yourself navigating are random. You’ll have different combos of enemies, rewards, random islands, loot or characters. Different types of events are shown on the map with unique symbols, and it’s up to you (or both of you) do decide the route you sail. After each boss battle, you move to a news section and you can see the entire map, allowing you to create a plan of attack. There are over 100 trinkets, upgrades, and ammo types that you can find and use in Ship of Fools, meaning your runs will give you something different each time. RNG is always a factor, and you have no control over this. There were many times I left treasure behind or didn’t have enough money when I really needed it. All par for the course in roguelikes.

I adored the 2D hand drawn art style of Ship of Fools. Characters, environments, and enemies were all delightful. The colour palette was often muted, and with the murkiness of the sea and surroundings, I think it was an excellent choice. Characters were unique and recognizable as their real-life aquatic counterparts, and still drawn in a silly style alluded to in the title. Moody music accompanied the muted tones of the game perfectly. The use of orchestral music was the perfect choice to swell with the seas and levels. Punchy guitar picks punctuating the attacks in battles.

If I had to pick one weakness for Ship of Fools, it would be level design. Although randomly generated, it all felt the same. I enjoyed the chaos, but it felt a bit repetitive, and I would have liked a bit more variety in scenery and enemies. Would have also liked to see some cosmetic customizations for the ship.

Ship of Fools is a game full of rough battles and tough decisions. I firmly believe it should be played with a friend, and I totally lost count of how many times we thought a run was ‘the one’. Ultimately how much fun you have with Ship of Fools comes down to if you have someone to play with. Solo was fine, but co-op was a blast. I can see myself grabbing my first mate and heading out again on our very own Ship of Fools.

**Ship of Fools was provided by the publisher and reviewed on an Xbox Series X**

Overall: 7.5 / 10
Gameplay: 7.0 / 10
Visuals: 7.5 / 10
Sound: 8.0 / 10

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STAFF REVIEW of Ship of Fools (Xbox One)

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