When I think of roguelites, I typically gravitate toward action-oriented affairs. It’s been ages since I’ve given one in the realm of FTL: Faster Than Light a try, though. With an even tougher difficulty than usual for the genre and a serious urgency for multitasking, FTL stood out from the pack way before roguelites were the in-thing for gamers. In Ship of Fools, this formula is revisited as you traverse the sea in a dinghy and battle monsters that can rip you to shreds in seconds. How does this title fare in the end?

Ship of Fools tasks the player with taking a boat out to the open sea to fight corruption in the form of demonic sea monsters. Expect lots of tentacles, tasks to keep up with, and tantalizing stress to stay alive in this brutally-difficult roguelite. Traversing the sea is grid-based, as you chart your course strategically to pick up bonuses, battle enemies, and carve the best path to the other side of the map which is fully corrupted and almost guaranteed to cause a game over once you cross it.

When you inevitably end up failing in Ship of Fools, the best feature of roguelites comes into play. There is a wealth of things to unlock with coins you amass in your runs, from new Fools to play with unique abilities, to specific ship upgrades that are worth experimenting with. For example, having extra harpoons is great for when you need to pick up items in a pinch, whereas more cannonballs make for quicker dispatching of enemies. Playstyles are key to survival and it’s easy to find what works best for you in no time.

Playing Ship of Fools with a friend comes highly recommended. Delegating tasks for one player while the other focuses on combat makes for a winning combo, as the game throws a lot at you at once. Communication is key and because my multiplayer time was spent with strangers, there was some scattering about as we couldn’t immediately mutually agree on what needed to be done. These split-second mistakes are the difference between life and death when the runs get tougher and tougher.

On the contrary, running Ship of Fools by yourself feels like hard mode, due to a lack of balancing between each scenario. That’s not to say the game is anywhere near impossible solo, but between juggling shooting, maintaining ship health, fending off enemies with melee, and harpooning for supplies, you can’t help but feel that it’d be better with someone else to take the challenge on. Nevertheless, it can be enjoyed either way, it is just better in co-op.

Ship of Fools is a blast when the combat picks up and you know you’re near the end of a run. While it flourishes with friends, it’s still a solid affair on your own. The “one more run” mentality is sure to hit your brain. The sweet spot for roguelites with plenty of replayability has always felt like $14.99, and that’s what Ship of Fools goes for. At that price, I can recommend it even when it isn’t on sale if it piques your interest.

A  PS5 review copy of Ship of Fools was provided by Team17 for this review.

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Ship of Fools

14.99

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Adorable Presentation
• Great Adrenaline-rush Gameplay
• Ample Replayability

Cons

• Rough Playing Solo
• The Grind is Real