Let me preface this review with a few caveats. First, this game is in the Alpha stage and has recently allowed players to test the game and its servers. I am no stranger to alpha releases, and the game, by extension, is in a state of flux. Because of that, I may need to return later once the game is fully released, to correct or expand on some of the items I’ll be pointing out here. Later on, I would like to point out some of its flaws, not to be critical of it, but in the hope that it’ll...
Let me preface this review with a few caveats. First, this game is in the Alpha stage and has recently allowed players to test the game and its servers. I am no stranger to alpha releases, and the game, by extension, is in a state of flux. Because of that, I may need to return later once the game is fully released, to correct or expand on some of the items I’ll be pointing out here. Later on, I would like to point out some of its flaws, not to be critical of it, but in the hope that it’ll improve. Again, this is an Alpha game, and I don’t KNOW what Crosswinds Crew has in store for fixes.
When I first saw Crosswind drop, my immediate thought was, “THIS is what I wanted.” A survival game, set in a pirate world, with ship-to-ship combat and boarding. Something Ubisoft apparently couldn’t handle. But I’ll elaborate more on that in a minute.
Crosswind starts you off on a nice island, with some very lovely birds that want to kill you on sight. Once you’ve gotten a weapon, they quickly realize you’re the apex predator and start to give you room. The story so far is actually really good. The building elements are there, and like most new building games, it comes with quirks you have to get used to. Crafting is on par with most other games of its genre, and there is a wide variety of things you can build. I’ve completed the first story mission and reached the Iron Age of Piracy, which unlocks new items and gear. I have to say, this game has its bright spots so far. Melding together AC: Black Flag, Velhiem, and Enshrouded games together into a spectacular Pirate survival game.
The ship-to-ship combat feels excellent, the boarding is serviceable, and overall, it's an Alpha state game. It is VERY well done. The vision is there. THIS game is what I’ve been waiting for. I can not stress that enough. And if you have too, then you need to add Crosswind to your Steam wish list right now. Alright, let’s get into the nitpicking. I’ll point you to the caveats at the beginning as a reminder.
The game starts off on a small-ish scale. You fix up a small skiff, and can pretty much start sailing around. This is my first nitpick. Is this how the game, when it is finished, will start? If so, then my concern is: This first boat felt way too easy to get. It didn’t feel rewarding. How can it be fixed? Make the island slightly bigger, which encourages exploration more. Break the ship up into quest pieces, but don’t tell the player that those parts are there, or where they are. Let the player stumble across the pieces as they explore. After all, you’re marooned on the island; getting off it should feel rewarding. This theme of rewarding needs to also carry through the rest of the game, and is, in my opinion, the biggest issue I see so far. When you find the next ship, on a different island, and it needs repairing for me, I will get it almost immediately after repairing the skiff, which leads me to the next issue I have. The cutter was pretty much the same; there was no reward in getting it built. On top of that, there’s no crew, so being able to use the cannons is really immersive, shattering.
My opinion is to make the cutter only repairable after getting the first crew, at the end of the Copper Islands. Think the sailor's name was Hands? Maybe there’s a capstan you need to find there, in order to repair the ship. Then, between Hands and the doctor who appears, you have a crew of three. The ships and sailing. Please remove the snapback while steering. When you turn left or right, the wheel snaps back into the neutral position. I’m sure this is done for the simplicity of programming. But it breaks the immersion, and also limits the vessel in its maneuverability. Also, speaking of the wheel… And this is funny because when I first saw the sailing, I commented on this very thing. Slow the wheel spin animation down. Its turning speed and the speed of the vessel turning don’t match very well. It shouldn’t match perfectly, but slowing the animation down, maybe by like, 5 frames?
When I first played Assassin's Creed 3, I remember thinking that the ship portion of the game would make an amazing Assassin's Creed. I was rewarded with Black Flag, which, in my opinion, was the best Assassin's Creed game. Then, I just begged for them to remove the assassin stuff and make a Black Flag game where I could roam the seas, be a pirate, raid, pillage, and fight other ships. But somehow, they ignored all that and made Skull and Bones. All they had to do was what Crosswinds Crew is doing, and they would have had a hit. So I’m glad Crosswind is coming down the line, I can’t wait to see what the dev team has in store.
