Man o' War: Corsair Preview

After playing Man o' War: Corsair, if you asked me how many of my timbers were shivered, I’d have to say “probably a fair few, but not that many”. There are a glut of Game Workshop games flowing out of development these days, as the studio seems desperate to fund its ailing miniature business by cashing in on its established universes. Playing Man o' War: Corsair you’re reminded at every corner of its connection to The Old World of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, for good and bad.

The game takes the piracy, ship combat and free-roaming from Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag and slaps it smack bang in the middle of the Warhammer universe. There are plenty of mechanics and features that seem to be lifted entirely from the Ubisoft title - controllable broadside-firing naval battles, free-roam player control on the ship’s decks and generic “yarr, pirate” dialogue to name but a few. The title also bases itself loosely on the tabletop game produced by Games Workshop in 1993.

Despite its similarity to the Assassin’s Creed title, though, Man o' War tries its best to ape another stalwart of the gaming high-seas: Sid Meier’s Pirates!. After a short tutorial in naval combat, in which you’re thrown against some Orc pirates and their decidedly steampunk-looking vessels, the game opens up and allows you to decide whatever captain you may want to be. From trader to admiral to pirate, the world around the game is unexpectedly huge and brimming with possibilities.

It’s also brimming with potential dangers, too, as at any moment pirates may strike at your crew or a monster from the deep rise up and attempt to swallow your ship whole. Navigating the world is fairly simple - just a matter of turning your boat into the prevailing wind and riding the ocean waves. If you're expecting something as dynamic and graphically impressive as Black Flag, though, you’ll be disappointed.

The seas are never really anything more than flat, with a few bumps here and there. Your plucky boat (I decided to call mine the S.S. Gottwood) never really feels like it’s in danger of capsizing or that it’s at the mercy of the oceans - a feeling often experienced during Black Flag’s worst storms - instead you’ll find yourself cursing the prevailing wind as your ship limps towards the nearest settlement or trading post. These settlements are never anything more than the shadowy outlines of buildings which you press one key to dock in. They’re then replaced with text-based menus similar to those found in the Mount and Blade series.

Ship-to-ship combat in Man o' War usually comprises lining your brig up with the enemy and letting them have it with your broadside cannons until one of you sinks. Sections of yours and enemies’ vessels can be damaged individually, meaning that a crafty player can knock out certain weapon systems before dragging their prey into a boarding action. Ships can also take on water in a variety of different ways, leaving them listing.

The ship models are also something the devs have to be praised for. Each has a distinct style and flavour, making it easy to pick an Empire galleon from an Orc hunting ship with just once glance. Even human factions’ ships have their intricate details, meaning that a canny captain will be able to tell an Empire galeon from a Bretonnian trader before they’re even in proper range.

Although you play as a captain in Man o' War, you can control other members of your crew, like snipers or gunners, to better damage your foes when needed. Different crew members can be hired from the settlement hubs, and replenished as they are whittled down by battle and monsters. Despite this, I never really lost that many crew, even in the most hectic of boarding actions.

What with it being in the early stages of development, there are some hiccups here and there to be considered. Sound wise the game doesn't really pack any punch, and the volume levels of certain voices are much louder than others, booming out from your ship despite being halfway across the deck. I also watched a megaladon (one of the monstrous creatures you fight) leap out of the water to attack my ship, miss and then fly through the air into space - presumably its home planet needed help.

To be fair to the developers the game will, upon release into Early Access, have four months of hard work put into it. In this preview a number of features are locked due to their incomplete stage of development, with more races, ship types, allies and areas still to be completed.

Man o' War: Corsair is a game that is tackling both a well-established (and huge) universe with both hands to the oars. Despite there being a few early hiccups it will be interesting to see what the developers can do with a lore that is waiting to be properly utilised. The title is definitely one to watch, especially once it hits full release.