I hear a bang in the distance. I turn to see what it is and see a missile coming straight at me. It crashes into the water only a few feet away from my boat and causes a huge splash. The guns on my ship turn and return fire. The enemy ship starts to sink but before I can reload my guns a fleet of enemy ships emerge from behind an island.
There are multiple different xp systems within the game and I liked each of them. You have ship xp which is split into two categories. The first is normal xp. When you max this one out you unlock access to buy the next ship. After you max out the normal xp you then get elite xp for each ship.
Each ship has a rank. The rank determines the base stats and amount of upgrades. You are only matched with players who use a ship 1 rank higher or lower. I like this because it allowed me to learn the game with a lower rank ship and build myself up higher. All without feeling like there will be a player with a significant advantage.
You also have a Service Record level which is raised through the amount of battles rather than your effectiveness. I liked this because it unlocked features within the game such as PvP matchmaking, loot crates feature and more. I really liked this because it was much clearer what I needed to do to level up.
One of my favourite things in this game is the ship’s description. Each ship has a description that tells you what year the ship started it’s service and background information. I like this feature in any game that takes inspiration from real life events and things. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the descriptions especially on my favourite ships and all the U.K. ships.
There are PvP and PvAI battles that are 9v9. The battles feel really fast paced and can be incredibly daunting when facing multiple enemies in the open water. I found this so much fun and kept me wanting to rush back into the next battle.
The spectator mode kicks in once you die so you can see what your allies are doing after you die. I really liked spectator mode because I was able to watch how my allies used their boats and strategy. This allowed me to learn and become better myself.
The game is free to play so there is micro-transactions within the game. However, I can not complain with these ones. You have certain ships only available through the paid currency but for the majority of ships you can buy them with earned in game money. You also get loot crates that give you the paid currency so you can slowly build up your money over time.
When I saw the trailer for this game I was really excited to try it out and it is by the developers of World of Tanks. I was not disappointed. It is an incredibly fun experience and I kept wanting to get straight into the next battle. The visuals were a huge selling point for the realism and immersive feel. I loved that when a missile hit the water it caused a huge realistic looking splash.
This is a game preview title at the time of this review so there might be changes to the game.
GameCritUK 