Ships Simulator feels like a half-baked effort that fails to deliver an enjoyable or authentic simulation experience
As someone who enjoys simulation games from time to time, I was interested in giving Ships Simulator a try to experience what it's like to captain different vessels on the open seas. However, after struggling through a couple of hours with this game, I found it to be a frustrating and confusing experience rather than an enjoyable one.
The biggest problem with Ships Simulator is definitely the controls. They are overly complex and not at all intuitive, making even basic tasks incredibly difficult to accomplish. Changing cameras, maneuvering the ship, operating machinery - everything involves convoluted button combinations that are poorly explained in the brief tutorials. No matter how much I played, I never really felt fully in control and constantly found myself fighting the controls rather than focused on the actual simulation.
Compounding the issue is the lack of clear instructions or objectives during missions. While there are maps to point you in the right direction, once you reach your destination there is little guidance on what needs to be done. Figuring out cargo loading, ship repairs, and other activities often involves lots of experimenting and failed attempts. The tutorials fail to properly set you up for success during actual gameplay.
Visually, Ships Simulator is also rather disappointing. Graphics are outdated with low polygon models, drab environments, and minimal detail. Draw distances are very short, making navigation difficult. Performance suffers as well, with frequent frame rate drops. Presentation feels lazy and rushed rather than polished.
The actual simulation elements like weather effects, ship damage modeling, and cargo management also leave much to be desired. Actions lack impact and consequences, reducing any sense of challenge or realism. Variety is also limited with just a handful of repetitive mission types.
In the end, Ships Simulator feels like a half-baked effort that fails to deliver an enjoyable or authentic simulation experience. Frustrating controls, lack of direction, and uninspired graphics undermine any potential fun. Unless controls are significantly overhauled and missions better structured, I can't recommend this one to any one. Simple tasks feel like tedious work rather than entertaining gameplay. Thanks for reading!
The game was reviewed on a PS5 using a review copy provided by PR. Ships Simulator is out now on PlayStation, PC and Xbox.
