Port Royale 4
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Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Port Royale 4 Trailers
Port Royale 4 - Release Trailer (US)
Port Royale 4 - Featurette - A nautical deep dive (US)
Port Royale 4 - Beta Trailer (US)
Critic Reviews for Port Royale 4
Port Royale 4 will be an interesting distraction for fans of management sims, but none of its systems are complex enough to hook players for long. Both the trading and town building are surface deep, and after 15 or so hours of gameplay, everything is just repetition. There’s no big buildup to an endgame, so everything has that mid-game feeling of going through the paces.
Port Royale 4 starts off strong, but its solid trading and management gameplay just become repetitive over time, eventually turning into a waiting game as numbers slowly get bigger. Managing cities and trade routes also never really overcome the somewhat awkward controls on console, and combat never becomes interesting. Still, if you absolutely love trading and seeing your empire grow is all the reward you need, Port Royale 4 might be for you.
A good trading simulation... and little else, really. Port Royale 4's weak combat system and repetitive gameplay make for a somewhat boring, if functional and honest, strategy game.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Occasionally obtuse and sporting a few UX/UI barnacles, Port Royale 4 could use a little more dry dock time before setting out on the high seas. AI trading bugs and occasionally unfair combat sequences discourage combat, which takes the wind out of the sails of this pirate adventure. Developer Gaming Minds can patch the hull, but they need to do so before people find another ship on which to set sail.
Port Royale 4 might have quirks that are interesting at a glance such as automated trade routes and a vast map. Looking closer, you'll realize that its core mechanics are cumbersome and unintuitive, its naval battles are plainly uninteresting, and there's not a whole lot that would seem enticing. It lacks all the dynamism despite a time period known for swashbuckling excitement.
Port Royale 4's gameplay consists almost entirely of all of the bits in other strategy games that you'd normally set to "Automate" because they're fiddly and boring. It's a game set in the era of pirates with nary a hint of swashing nor buckling.
Port Royale 4 is a solid trading and building management sim. The improved visuals, as well as some improved mechanics, help set this apart, as does the tactical turn-based ship combat. It's very user-friendly and intuitive, particularly with the city building and trade-route creating aspects. However, it isn't without flaws. Side quests feel very repetitive and don't really give you enough to do and the campaign can be too rigid, not giving you the amount of time you'd need to do anything other than the bare minimum for the tasks set. If you like this sort of game, Port Royale 4 is likely just up your alley, but I can't see it converting anybody to the cause.
Overall, Port Royale 4 lends beautiful design to its historical ships and detailed buildings, and the turn-based strategy naval battles are a nice change of pace from the large, lulling overview map you will spend most of your time in.
