New CRPG mixes Slay The Spire with strategy icon Sid Meier’s Pirates

I think most of us can agree that Assassin’s Creed Black Flag is the best one – when videogames encourage exploration, self expression, and mischief, playing as a pirate is a natural formal fit. In between Civilization games and way back in the ’90s, Firaxis legend Sid Meier pioneered the seditionist sea-faring genre with the suitably named Pirates! Though Meier himself would remake the game in 2004, its combination of strategy, sword-based combat, plundering, politics, and romance has slipped partially into obscurity. But one budding studio wants to bring the classic pirate CRPG back. Led by a former Age of Empires and MechWarrior developer, and inspired by the deckbuilding combat of Slay The Spire, PCGamesN can exclusively reveal the new and upcoming Sea of ​​Legends.

You may not have heard the name Jordan Weisman, but you certainly know his work. From the MechWarrior series to the relaunches of Age of Empires, the turn-based strategy stalwart BattleTech to the XCOM-inspired Lamplighter’s League, Weisman has left an indelible mark on PC gaming over the last 25 years. His new project is inspired by his son – released in 2021, Sea of ​​Legends is originally a TTRPG co-designed by Zach Weisman. But now it’s being adapted into an ambitious new RPG played from the traditional isometric perspective. Sid Meier’s classic is of course a big influence, but this is much more than an homage.

“Sid Meier’s Pirates is a touchstone,” Weisman says. “We definitely wanted to capture that systems-driven open world, and let you have some role in the politics of the Caribbean. But in Sid’s game, when you got promoted it was a double-edged sword. You lost a huge amount of your stuff. We were looking for smoother character growth mechanics, without getting into an RPG stat-twiddling kind of thing. After experimenting with a lot of ideas, what intrigued us most was deck building. So it became ‘what if Sid Meier’s Pirates met Slay The Spire?’”

In the golden maritime age of the Caribbean, you play a pirate caught between various factions and world powers. Sailing around Sea of ​​Legends’ gorgeous hand-drawn world, there are characters to meet, quests to complete, and of course plenty of naval and sword battles to get into, along with treasure to steal.

All your decisions have consequences and there’s a compelling branching narrative – if you overthrow and command a British ship, chances are you’ll want to stay away from their ports for the time being, but the Spanish will be happy to see you. You can also recruit and manage your own crew.

This is where the deckbuilding is introduced. Whether it’s your ship, your crewmates, or even your romantic interests (remember wooing the governor’s daughter in Pirates? Sea of ​​Legends will let you do the same) everyone comes with their own cards. Your success in combat, whether it’s long range naval warfare or eyeball-to-eyeball with sword and scimitar, will depend on the strength of your collective deck.

You earn new cards through missions and exploration, and, being a pirate, you can be completely mercenary – if you meet a gunner who has slightly better stats than your current crewmember, throw the old sea dog overboard and get yourself someone fresh.

Sea of ​​Legends is also being built using a bespoke engine called Adventure Forge, which is specifically designed to track your decisions and adjust the mood of the world and the behavior of certain characters accordingly. If you like Baldur’s Gate 3, XCOM, and of course AC4, chances are Sea of ​​Legends is for you.

Sea of ​​Legends hasn’t been officially announced and unveiled yet, but a crowdfunding campaign and initial trailers are set to go live in the near future. In the meantime, we’ll be sure to bring you all the latest on this promising new adventure.

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