Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean Reviews

I've always been happy to play games of this genre. I find the level of tactical planning and strategizing in these types of games to be a fun challenge. Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean was intended to be the same. It was in the same genre and by a small development company. So I was interested in what they were delivering. I am not going to lie, I got a little apprehensive when I saw the reviews for the game, but I still wanted to try it. So let's start with the good things about the game. It is a tactical strategy game (obviously) and the setting is different compared to other games like it. Excluding Shadow Gambit (because I haven't played it yet) I don't know of any other game in a pirate setting. And that's it. The only redeeming quality of this game is the use of its setting. And even then, it's just skimming the line. After playing so many tactical strategy games, you start to expect certain features in these games. Now, I did take into consideration that this was a smaller company and that they may have wanted to try their own thing. But there is a limit to how much can be omitted. For instance, the game grants you the ability to kill enemies with environmental items. I have grown accustomed to these "accidental" deaths where enemies don't raise an alarm if someone happens to get caught in these. However, in Frigato enemies react just the same as if you killed them directly. No problem. Not a big deal. Then there was a beach area where you would think it's a prime location to have your characters leave footprints behind. But nope, no footprints to be seen. It's a shame, but I've played games without them before. Ah, the game has a noise ring - so enemies can hear certain attacks if in range, but... you can run up or past an enemy and you make no sound at all. Well, that's disappointing. Can I save a plan for later and execute it at the press of a button so that my squad can move simultaneously to take out a bothersome patrol? Nope. Feature not implemented. Right... I'll manage. But two things were missing, and I really could not wrap my head around them. The first is that you cannot select your whole squad at once. There is no button press or the ability to drag a selection box over them. The other thing is that you cannot mark the ground or person to see how many people may be looking that way. I still however committed to playing the game, but it wasn't easy (and this in no way refers to game difficulty). The hero characters weren't that interesting. They are hardly introduced into the story and you cannot see why they are invested in the overall mission. Speaking of that, your overall objective isn't clear at all. I think I got through four mission maps before it was suddenly revealed that I was looking for pieces of an artifact. When the mission starts, it doesn't even explain what you are supposed to be doing. I just end up scrolling around the map until I find the big X to mark where I have to go (because there is no map in the game). Also, with regards to the characters, I have often found, I don't need the different heroes. More often than not, I have managed to beat the missions using the same one character - the starting lead character - for most situations. And if there happens to be a shadow - or as it looks like, a swirling smoke cloud - you can wipe out an entire section with ease, because the enemies cannot see you in there, even if they walk through it and bump you. To make matters worse, the game is still riddled with bugs. I cannot count the number of times the game just suddenly closed on me - at random times too: sometimes half an hour; sometimes five minutes. On occasion, the frame rate would drop because the behavior of an enemy soldier would for whatever reason drain a lot of memory. Then once he was killed, it all returned to normal. Pathfinding was also an issue. There would be areas where you should be able to pass through, but for whatever reason, your character can't. Maybe they cannot climb up those particular stairs, or that passageway through the swamp has an invisible wall. On top of this, a lot of environmental objects had massive hitboxes which interfered with their surroundings (which I think was the primary cause of the poor pathfinding). Sometimes rotating the screen would give you a better angle to target the location or the enemy you needed to get at. But there were few instances, where for instance an enemy was untouchable because either I could not target him, or I could not reach him even though there was a visible path. Lastly, some features outright did not work. My mission log was often blank (hence why scrolling around for the big X) and the map in the lower right was also non-functioning. I may have seen red dots during ONE mission, but because I had to make do for so long I paid it no attention. And then the final nail in the coffin. When I saw this my jaw dropped. I finished the level I was on, collecting the final artifact. Then supposedly the lead character sees his father lurking in the trees and - cut to a splash page. The sheer audacity of it! The devs have basically delivered an unfinished game and tried to justify it by adding a "To Be Continued" page. No way. Had I known about this, I wouldn't have bothered with the game. I feel cheated out of my money from this. It's a shame because the game had a lot of potential. It had a good theme and an excellent premise if used right, but it simply does not deliver. In its current state, I would not recommend this game to anyone. Full Blog Post: https://www.thealphabeticalgamer.com/post/f-is-for-frigato-shadows-of-the-caribbean

[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/38888018-United-Critics/] Please follow [b]United Critics[/b] for quality reviews[/url] [h2]Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean Review[/h2] [table] [th][h2]Factors[/h2][/th] [th][h2]Rating[/h2][/th] [th][h2]Description[/h2][/th] [tr] [td]🎮Gameplay[/td] [td]6[/td] [td]Ambitious mechanics, but plagued with clunky controls and frustrating bugs.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]📷Graphics[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]Pirate-era aesthetic, but marred by poor animations and visual inconsistencies.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]🎧Narration/Audio[/td] [td]8[/td] [td]Passable voice acting, but a very generic soundtrack. [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]😮Variety[/td] [td]5.5[/td] [td]Enemy types and environmental variety feel repetitive after the first few missions.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]🎰Re-playability[/td] [td]4[/td] [td]Limited replay value due to bugs, lack of polish, and unfinished content.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]💲Price[/td] [td]4.5[/td] [td]Not recommended at full price; perhaps worth a look in deep sale. [/td] [/tr] [/table] [i]I was excited to dive into the pirate-filled world Frigato promised, but ended up caught in a web of frustrating bugs, confusing gameplay decisions, and an overall sense that the game was not fully finished. [/i] [h1][b]📝Story/Plot without spoilers:[/b][/h1] [table][tr][td] 🔸 Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean is set during the golden age of piracy and follows Samuel, a young captain, as he sets out to uncover a mysterious family legacy and face legendary sea monsters. Alongside a loyal but questionably skilled crew, you embark on a treasure hunt through cursed islands and encounter mythical creatures that guard valuable artifacts. Although the story sets an adventurous tone, it lacks clarity and cohesion, with minimal character development and confusing objectives that seem to appear without context. The lack of a map and incomplete mission logs only add to the disorientation, making it a challenge to stay invested. [/td][/tr][/table] [h1][b]🎮Gameplay:[/b][/h1] [table][tr][td] 🔸 Frigato initially gives the impression of a real-time tactical stealth experience inspired by classics like Desperados and Commandos. However, this promising setup is compromised by clunky controls and an array of bugs that impact almost every element of gameplay. Basic actions like moving characters, selecting crew members, or interacting with the environment feel unpredictable. Characters often perform unintended actions, animations appear broken (think moonwalking pirates!), and pathfinding is so problematic that simple routes feel like an obstacle course. I had high hopes for the genre and the plot, but it's underachieved. The tutorial didn’t do the justice and kept me confused about the objectives. Even the mission log stayed empty the whole time; maybe it’s a bug. ------🔹Frigato also attempts to incorporate interactive stealth mechanics, but the implementation falls short. A noise ring suggests that enemies can detect sounds, yet you can run right past them without consequence. Features like coordinated moves are conspicuously absent, making tactical planning feel limited and unsatisfying. The game crashes were also a big trouble. Every 30 minutes, I faced at least 2 crashes. ------🔹The game’s AI and variety are similarly disappointing. Enemies show little behavioral difference, making stealth tactics feel monotonous. Occasionally, mythical elements like mermaids add spice, but they are infrequent and feel underused, leaving the game’s unique pirate theme underwhelming. In fact, with just one core character, I found it was possible to bypass most challenges, rendering crew variety redundant. Just by distracting with the parrot(Tai) and throwing the knife, I was able to clear the enemies, but the clunky controls were holding me back. [/td][/tr][/table] [h1][b]📷Graphics:[/b][/h1] [table][tr][td] 🔸 Although Frigato has occasional moments of charm in its Caribbean settings, poor animation quality and frequent clipping issues hurt the immersion. The art direction captures the period aesthetics but lacks polish. Visual inconsistencies, such as characters moonwalking, or doing clunky animations, hindered the immersive. The visuals and atmosphere feel promising, but the unfinished nature of the environment lets the experience down. [/td][/tr][/table] [h1][b]📝Main Pros and Cons:[/b][/h1] [b]🟩Pros-[/b] + Pirate-themed adventure with potential for engaging stealth tactics. + There is potential once its improved. + Missing a lot of gameplay features common in this genre. [b]🟥Cons-[/b] - Overwhelming number of bugs, from pathfinding errors to game crashes. - Frustrating controls that often misinterpret player commands. - Incomplete narrative and abrupt, unsatisfying ending - Multiple game crashes [h1][b]🏷️Tips for beginners:[/b][/h1] [table][tr][td] 🔸Stealth may not feel consistent, but plan carefully. If you get stuck, try rotating your camera angle, as character targeting can be tricky. As for the lack of map, scout the area by mouse scroll visually to find the target. And keep saving often—game crashes are frequent and may disrupt your progress. [/td][/tr][/table] [h1][b]😇Verdict:[/b][/h1] [table][tr][td] 🔸 While Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean may initially catch your eye with its pirate theme and tactical potential, it ultimately struggles under the weight of its bugs, poor polish, and lackluster story. If you’re a hardcore fan of the genre and have a high tolerance for rough edges, you might find something enjoyable here—but for most, Frigato feels more like an unfinished treasure map. Hopefully, future updates may polish its many rough patches, but until then, consider holding off on this journey. [/td][/tr][/table] Rating: 5/10 Looking for treasure... minus the bugs!