​Stranded Sails - Explorers of the Cursed Islands Review

By Joan Mitchell  |  Posted: November 4, 2019

You awaken on an unknown shore. The ship lies in pieces, the crew scattered throughout a mysterious archipelago, and your father, the captain, is nowhere in sight. This is the playful horror that awaits in Stranded Sails, though colorful visuals and lively music lighten the dire situation. Your task: build a working community, grow crops, and create delicious dishes for the crew.

Starting with bare necessities, you work to reunite crew members scattered across the islands' beaches. Each rescued member returns to your growing camp, expanding your capabilities. The game maintains extensive hand-holding as you develop your base, with guided tasks throughout. Your crop plot expands gradually, allowing you to plant, water, and harvest ingredients. Fishing adds variety to your cookbook through a rhythm-based mini-game where you time ripple overlaps to catch fish.

Every action in Stranded Sails consumes energy, from swinging axes to running. Only food and sleep restore strength. While seemingly straightforward, this system proves frustrating - especially at night when energy depletes rapidly. Sprinting accelerates energy loss further. The system feels reminiscent of mobile game stamina mechanics, though higher-quality food items eventually help manage this limitation.

Inventory management uses an elegant control scheme: the right stick switches between cooked food and tools, while the D-pad provides quick access to frequently used items like food and maps. Unfortunately, these shortcuts can't be customized.

Recipe discovery requires experimentation once you have necessary ingredients. The system proves restrictive - even correct ingredient combinations fail if selected under the wrong recipe or placed incorrectly. A more flexible system allowing recipe unlocks through correct ingredient combinations would improve the experience. Advanced recipes provide greater energy restoration, benefiting both you and the crew.

Island navigation proves tedious due to slow movement speed and inefficient quest design. You'll often trek to distant locations only to immediately return to camp for the next task. While the map allows instant camp returns, the journey out remains slow, particularly with undroppable ledges blocking shortcuts. Daily crew stews temporarily reduce action costs and boost energy while building crew happiness. Each member's favorite ingredients unlock rewards like tool upgrades and farm expansions.

Combat against skeletons employs basic mechanics with automatic sword equipping. Both attacking and taking damage consume energy, requiring food management. Hot food increases damage output while spicy dishes reduce damage-taken energy costs.

Simply Put

Stranded Sails - Explorers of the Cursed Islands offers a colorful, relaxing experience for casual players. Despite patch 1.03, quest log updates remain inconsistent, and an unusable gear icon persists on consoles. While the energy system initially frustrates, better food items eventually ease this burden. The charming character designs and location-based music enhance the experience, though reducing nighttime energy drain would improve gameplay flow.