Dread Nautical Reviews
All in all, Dread Nautical is a reasonably unremarkable game. It does well with the foundational ideas of the genres that it utilises and meets its objectives with a suitable story. However, it is more of a novelty than an advancement.
GOOD - Dread Nautical is a tactical turn-based RPG with some roguelike elements. Mixing these elements with a compelling story, interesting characters, and the classic risk and reward systems works well. Ultimately it reminded me of the board game Clue come to life mixed with a little bit of XCOM. The repetitive layout of the ship and enemies put a damper on what otherwise is a great concept for a game.
Dread Nautical has a Lovecraftian horror theme, though it’s subtle it’s there. There certainly wasn’t anything in the game that I found to be scary as such, maybe a little bit more horror added to it would help in this area. The core gameplay goes round in a loop, start the day, roam the decks, find resources, and try to survive. After a few runs I found this got boring pretty quickly, there isn’t much variety in the style of the decks on the ship and after a while they all feel much the same. The tactical combat is nothing unusual that hasn’t been seen before and I recommend looking else where if that is the genre you’re looking to play.
With its engaging story and enjoyable combat mechanics, Dread Nautical has the potential to make a splash on the Nintendo handheld. Even after making it through the demonic ship, there’s enough variety and a strong enough combat system to encourage multiple playthrough.
That said, if you don't have turn based games under your microscope, and like the look of Dread Nautical--this might be a good start for you. It's a good one to enjoy without the jaded lens that I seem to bear, and I even gave it to my ten year old to enjoy...which I'm happy to report they did (and learned it pretty quickly without any help). So, proceed with caution, get a few different viewpoints under your belt and best of luck to you sailor!
Dread Nautical is a roguelike game that wants to do a lot of things, but it can’t do that so well as we expected. The gameplay is confusing and it seems unpolished, but we loved the minimalist art style.
Review in Italian | Read full review
There will be games that make you feel like you don’t want to play them because they are so bad. Dread Nautical is that game for me. This game has many things that made me not like playing it, and I will be honest in that I have not beaten this game. I’ve had this game for a bit now, and whenever I start doing a session, I need to stop playing it 5-10 minutes at each time and at this point, I have grown tired. So why do I not like this game? Let’s find out.
Dread Nautical is an interesting title that is unique in its core concept. It doesn’t ham up its sense of foreboding, nor does it hammer you with difficulty in the lowest setting. Its user friendly approach wants you to enjoy everything it has to offer before you move on. Team and resource management are 2 key elements that keep you playing. Who do you save, and who fends for themselves? You have limited food, who eats, and who starves? It’s tough, but as the group leader you must decide! Do I recommend it? Absolutely! A copy can be purchased here! Search, gather, help, fight, and sound that horn. This is your life until you solve the mystery surrounding your presence on the good ship “The Hope”.
While there are a few solid survival games on the Switch they’re a pretty eclectic bunch, ranging from more action-oriented to more strategic and each with their own degree of challenge and some other unique qualities...