Developer Lemonbomb Entertainment has shared a new trailer for Stranded Sails, a single-player “open world farming game” for PC and Switch that looks something like Stardew Valley but pirates. Which is to say, I’m totally onboard.
Stranded Sails begins as you and your crew mates become shipwrecked on a tropical island paradise in a mysterious archipelago. Playing as either the son or daughter of the ship’s captain, your ultimate goal is to construct a ship to get everyone safely back to civilisation.
Until then, however, you’ll want to set up camp, using any resources you find to establish a small farm, grow crops, cook, and keep your crew happy and well-nourished. Do that, and they’ll be more than willing to tend to your farm while you head out to explore.
Once away from camp, you can make use of your trusty rowboat, travelling between the archipelago’s distinct islands in search of new tools, new treasures, and handy resources such as new plant seeds. You’ll just need to keep an eye on your energy reserves as you do.
Alongside Stranded Sail’s more relaxed open-world meandering, Lemonbomb says you’ll be able to take on story-driven quests, fight supernatural dangers, and solve the secrets of the cursed islands that form your unexpected new home. Whether all that eventually coalesces into an experience worth playing, I have no idea, but it’s a winning concept, and Stranded Sail’s vibrant, tilt-shifted, low-poly art style is utterly adorable.
We’ll know more when Stranded Sails – Explorers of the Cursed Islands (to give the game its full name) arrives on Steam in “Q2” this year, with a Switch version to follow.