Corsair Cove, pirate city builder preview

Pirates are often depicted as stateless madmen who roam the seas and oceans, plundering villages and ships. However, even they need an operational base, a safe harbor to return to, and Corsair Cove allows us to manage one on the shores of a deserted tropical island. The city builder from Limbic Entertainment and Hooded Horse doesn't have a release date yet, but a demo will soon be available on Steam, which we had the chance to try in advance. Here are our first impressions.

In Corsair Cove, we will follow the adventures of a group of pirates fleeing the Spanish crown. Shipwrecked who knows where, they will use what remains of the beached wrecks to settle and found a small paradise for all sea wolves intending to join them. It will be our task to make it self-sufficient, expand it, and above all, prepare it to repel invaders and set out to conquer neighboring territories.

The terrain morphology is static, as are the fertile zones and sites for obtaining specific resources. This means we won't have much room for maneuver, nor can we apply many strategies, especially in the early stages. It might cause some headaches, but only in the case of repeated sessions (although learning the ropes can optimize things considerably). The map, however, is enormous, and it's possible to specialize in various ways depending on the unlocked abilities. The main campaign thus promises to be quite long, and doesn't exclude side modes.

The camp's economy involves the use of numerous raw materials, both in raw and refined form. A lot of specific structures are required, however, the game introduces them gradually, allowing players to assimilate all the knowledge without getting lost. As already mentioned, we can only place certain buildings in designated areas, limiting our options, but we can still manage their distribution. The logistical component is one of the most interesting aspects of Corsair Cove. It's not enough to just park a sawmill within the outpost's perimeter to accumulate timber; we also need to ensure it's connected to the rest of the base and, most importantly, to the areas that use it.

This is possible by building jetties, stairs, and walkways, and later elevators, pulleys, and masts, perhaps with the help of warehouses to have an intermediate hub and a place to store excesses. This creates a dense network of planks and ropes that is as effective in practice as it is interesting to observe, given that it will also develop vertically on the rocky cliffs, considering the lack of space on the ground. Keeping track of everything isn't easy, but the interface does an excellent job of displaying the necessary information, with shortcuts to various menus, eloquent icons, and clean infographics.

There don't seem to be strict objectives or deadlines to meet. The only detail to consider is the satisfaction level of the island's inhabitants, which will drop rapidly if they don't have lodging, food, or worse, alcohol. Once it reaches zero, we'll have little time to restore balance, after which we'll start losing “cohesion,” which will mark our end if the group rebels (they are pirates, after all). In reality, it's not too difficult to keep the balance positive, but we'll have to pay attention to random events and Spanish attacks, which risk irrevocably damaging the game, especially if we're in the middle of an expansion. The element that causes the most trouble, however, is the workforce.

Despite the confined spaces and the limited number of establishments for raw material production, you rarely run out. However, without hands to produce and dispense provisions and goods, you won't get anywhere, and there's no way to recruit new recruits. We can build as many tents as we want, but the only way to increase the ranks is to rescue castaways or assault prisoner convoys. The demo offers few opportunities of this kind; we won't have second chances, and the situation worsens if we suffer losses during sorties. Probably the full game will provide more options, but for now, it's best to hold onto every sailor. True, we can “turn off” individual buildings or double their output to maximize efficiency in an emergency, but it doesn't solve the root problem and is a level of micromanagement that quickly becomes annoying.

Juggling urban planning on land is exciting, but the point of Corsair Cove is to build a true nation. Fame, power, wealth, freedom – all the “pillars” of the crew are represented by corresponding skill trees. The demo doesn't delve much into the topic, but it allows us to explore nearby waters, whether to raid ports, plunder tombs, deal with smugglers, and other activities in line with the setting. In addition to loot, we'll earn points to upgrade or unlock new structures, hire captains for the fleet, and gain access to more powerful ships. The turn-based dice combat system is a bit weak, but at least it doesn't take up much time. Completing the proposed content takes about 3-4 hours, there's room for a more “thought-out” second run, and if desired, you can continue tinkering without interruption. I'll gladly try the full package when it comes out.

The menus are mostly easy to understand, and the on-screen information is clearly and legibly arranged. It takes a bit of practice to assimilate everything, but I never doubted the usability of the title. Corsair Cove also holds its own technically. The presentation of characters and locations is quite unique (for obvious reasons), while it's the design of the “city” that is surprising. Dwellings, constructions, and equipment boast a very convincing “hodgepodge” look, which doesn't skimp on details and dynamically adapts to their arrangement, adding beams and supports as needed.

There's a lot of visual clutter on screen, with shantytowns climbing walls and tangled ropes connecting valleys and ravines in the least secure way imaginable, but it works. Sometimes there's some clipping between bridges and staircases, but I don't blame it, considering the sheer number of variables to manage. The camera, however, has a habit of getting stuck when exploring inlets; removing collisions or having a reset button would be useful. Performance is good, with a stable frame rate that doesn't seem to suffer from our building abuses (although I haven't had a chance to colonize the entire island to stress it), and a decent range of options to adapt it to your machine. No bugs to report. The soundtrack is appropriate, but without any particular flourishes. The same goes for the English voice acting.

The demo will be available in a few days, starting May 28th. If you like the genre and the setting, we recommend checking out Limbic Entertainment's work. The premises are excellent, and we've only scratched the tip of the iceberg. There are still unknowns, but these first few hours have been a lot of fun, and we eagerly await future news.