Sailing is a fun way to travel that isn’t featured in many games. These are the best games that let you sail around the open seas.
Both in real life and in video games, traveling by boat has always been more exciting than walking, driving, or riding a horse. Old sailors say that the sea is a fickle mistress, so you usually have to pay more attention to it. Thankfully, this idea has been put into video games where sailing is the main activity.
Most of the time, open worlds on the high seas are more exciting than open worlds on land, which mostly just let players be. So, a lot of games take place on the oceans, and the best ones help you learn more about sailing, which is the main thing you do in the game. Players should get used to being on the water because these games will make them feel good.
Sid Meier’s Pirates!
- Release year: 2004
- Platforms: iOS, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Xbox 360, Xbox, Windows Phone, SteamOS, Classic Mac OS, Wii
Sid Meier’s Pirates! has been out for almost 20 years, but it still has a lot of loyal fans. It was one of the most ambitious pirate RPGs of the 2000s, so you could even say it was ahead of its time. Players take on the role of a handsome young man whose family was sold into slavery, so he had to become a pirate to save them or just be a scum of the high seas if he didn’t want to.
The sailing is pretty simple, which is to be expected in a 2004 game, but it was a big part of how the players advanced and will be what they do most of the time. Players have to think about the direction of the wind and other things, because if they sail around aimlessly for too long, their character’s life will go by without much progress. Time is also a part of the game, since the main character will get older. Sad to say, not many games have that kind of unique feature anymore.
Sailwind
- Release year: 2021 (early access)
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows
Here’s a promising sailing game from 2021 that is still being worked on. Sailwind is a simulation game in which players take control of a small ship and sail it around a beautiful simulation of the ocean.
The game also has parts about survival. Players will need to catch fish to feed their characters and think about how to get things done. It’s not as exciting as pirate adventure games like Skull and Bones, which is coming out soon, but Sailwind and other games like it can be relaxing.
Maelstrom (2019)
- Release year: 2019
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows
Most naval battles are slow, tense, and based on luck, but Maelstrom says that’s not the case. It’s a fantasy warship action game, so it has plenty of reasons to break the rules of how ships usually move. Since sailing is more fast-paced and not just about who has the biggest guns and the toughest crew, it is a bigger part of the battle.
Customizing ships is also a big part of the experience here, and it will encourage players to keep going. Of course, we shouldn’t forget that the game has cute and colorful fantasy graphics. Players can choose warships from the Orc, Dwarf, Human, or Undead factions or themes.
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
- Release year: 2013
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Wii U, Google Stadia
It’s easy to see why Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is a fan favorite in the Ubisoft franchise, which has a lot of games. It looks like a game about assassins and creeds, but it’s really just a pirate game. Even though players sometimes forced to go back to assassinating and creeding, the majority of the map is water, and there is a strong focus on customizing ships.
It can also played by one person at a time, and players can sometimes skip the assassin questline and just focus on sailing and piracy. More importantly, Black Flag was a test to see if people would be interested in a bigger story like Skull and Bones. Unfortunately, it looks like that ship has already sailed.
Windward
- Release year: 2015
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac operating systems
Windward is a great sailing game for people who want a simpler view with a wider view. It’s a top-down naval simulator game where players control their ship and guide it through a procedurally-generated game world. Just because the game world is like this makes it possible to play it over and over again.
So that players would be more likely to go exploring, their ships made more modular so that they could upgraded and changed to better fight leviathans. Players can even change the shape of the land by bombarding different parts of it, and their reputation also has an effect on the world of the game.
Raft
- Release year: 2018
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Mac operating systems, Linux
Raft is first and foremost a survival game, but what makes it unique is that it takes place on the ocean and players take control of a rickety raft. Then, they have to collect materials from nearby islands and landmasses to turn their raft into a floating fortress.
Keeping the raft in good shape isn’t exactly a walk in the park or a swim in the pool. The sharks here are smart and hungry, and they will sometimes bite at the raft as if they have a grudge against it. Since it’s a survival game, players will also have more fun if they bring their friends to help with the work (or the suffering).
Sea of Thieves
- Release year: 2018
- Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Cloud Gaming
Sea of Thieves is the best sailing game right now. It’s a funny, light-hearted multiplayer experience about pirates and naval battles. Since most of the game takes place in the ocean (with a few breaks on islands), it known for having the best graphics of water.
Players can even just sit back and enjoy the turquoise treat and briny blue while their friends scatter on the deck from enemy gunfire, though that’s not the best way to play. Any way you look at it, Sea of Thieves will keep players busy as they run around looking for treasure and sing their own Caribbean songs. It’s a more immersive journey than other games.
Sunless Sea
- Release year: 2015
- Platforms: Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, iOS, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One
As long as we’re talking about immersion, here’s a sailing survival/RPG game with a lot of Lovecraftian horror. Sunless Sea is one of the most unique sailing games out there right now. 8 Ball Pool game lets players go into the unknown and explore, loot, and scrape by in a meaningless life while trying to stay sane among all the nightmares of the deep and the dark.
If things get bad, don’t worry; some crew members are willing to give up an arm or a leg to make sure everyone else stays fed. Probably. Most likely. Still, they signed up for it. It’s true that it’s not as relaxing as most sailing games, but the story and setting are sure to drive any Lovecraftian horror fan crazy, or just crazy in general.
