Most city-building games are ultimately about the pursuit of order. Flatten down the earth, dig tunnels, and build bridges. Lay out organized streets, ordered turn-offs, and slick junctions. Manage production lines and transport routes for maximum efficiency. Not so in Corsair Cove, because this is a city builder all about pirates, and that means embracing all the chaotic whimsy that comes with the territory. The result? One of the most stunning and satisfying games that I’ve had the pleasure of looking at all year.
The latest addition to strategy publisher Hooded Horse’s ever expanding catalog, Corsair Cove comes from Limbic Entertainment, the studio behind Tropico 6. Yet it bears relatively little resemblance to that series beyond the gorgeous, vibrant landscapes it drops you off in. As royal pirate hunters threaten an end to the Golden Age of Piracy, it’s up to you to build bustling hubs filled with scallywags and buccaneers, ensuring they have everything they need to go about their dastardly business.
Crucially, the islands that will become your home aren’t convenient building spots. Towering pillars of rock often outnumber any tiny strands of beach or flatland, and oftentimes they aren’t even directly connected to one another. Faced with such prospects, verticality is your best friend. Drape platforms and ladders down cliff faces, stretching rickety bridges, pulley systems, and ziplines between the numerous pieces of your town. It’s almost impossible to make anything other than a cluttered mess. It looks fantastic.
Don’t mistake that magnificent messiness for a lack of control, however. The interface smartly shows inputs and outputs for buildings as you select them, helping you ensure that production lines run where you need them to. It even offers contingency plans, affording you ample ways to get around an awkward supply shortage or inconvenient resource placement.
Beyond managing your settlement, Corsair Cove is still a pirate game at heart, and that means sending out ships to pillage and plunder. This side of things definitely takes a back seat to the town building, but it ensures you don’t miss the magic of life as a troublemaker on the high seas. You’ll want to make sure your town is well defended, too, so establish fortifications and cannons to keep yourself safe from rival factions or pirate hunters.
Ultimately, Limbic says it wants Corsair Cove to offer “the freedom of choice that every self-respecting pirate expects.” You can decide whether to build towards ‘notoriety,’ ’empire,’ ‘seafaring,’ or ‘wealth,’ with different tools to help you pursue your preferred path. Continue to grow and you’ll be able to attract more capable crewmen and workers – although they’ll naturally demand more (and better) supplies in return for their expertise.
It wouldn’t be a true pirate tale without some good old-fashioned myths, and Corsair Cove has got us covered there too. Giant whales, ghostly tales, and of course the mighty kraken await out in the deep blue. Those are for future you to worry about, however; for now it’s all about ensuring there’s enough stew, ale, and sabers to go around.
Corsair Cove is out now on Steam, with a 25% launch discount meaning you’ll pay just $29.99 / £26.24 for your copy until Friday August 14. Grab it here and start building your new home out among the crashing waves.
Following its release, Limbic says, “The entire team is incredibly happy to see how well Corsair cove has been received.” It adds that it’s listening closely to player responses while working on improvements and updates, with a first patch already live to fix a couple of small issues and prevent events from happening during the game’s tutorial. “We read all of that feedback closely,” the studio notes, “and it genuinely helps improve future patches and priorities.”