It’s been a great week for any indie game fans on Nintendo Switch. A full week of daily announcements, surprise releases, and more. One of said games being the already covered The Punchuin, but in the same show we also saw The Captain. The Captain is a point-and-click adventure game surrounding a space ship captain meant to stop a villain from destroying the sun. The interesting thing about this game though, is it starts to feel less like a standard point-and-click adventure the more you get into it.
Hehe, he said “cock”pit.
The Captain is all done in pixel art, but it looks surprisingly good. There are definitely some metroidvania style games that it’s reminiscent when looking at the landscape of even the first world you visit- the desert planet. One that comes to mind is some of the more barren and orange areas in Blasphemous. The key thing is that this isn’t just another point-and-click game, where you simply explore the landscape and solve some puzzles. The main game almost has a Mass Effect type feel to it, where there are some main things to do, but there are also a lot of side missions available. The Captain has multiple endings, and while the main two are probably stop the sun from being blown up or let it blow up, there’s probably also several others, such as helping no one through the game or aim to do nothing but main missions.
Just gonna lay down for a catnap.
As you travel from planet to planet, you start to learn that there is more to this than simple “point-and-click adventure.” Soon you’ll end up in fights against other space ships. These battles are turn-based strategy level fights, where you need to manage your energy between attacking opponents, and shielding your ship. There’s a lot of strategy that goes into these fights, and making the wrong move can quickly prove to be fatal. This is by far one of the most unique additions to The Captain and really helped maintain my interest in the game. While the humour is on par with some other great point-and-click games, having that little bit extra helped The Captain stand out.
Thank you, very helpful.
Another spot where The Captain shines is its atmosphere. Yes, the game does look quite good, but it’s the music and effects of each area that really helps bring it home. In these kinds of games, one misstep could cause the entire game to feel off, but instead it draws you in to feel what the worlds you’re visiting actually feel like. Whether it’s the ambient semi-silence of being on your ship in space, or the beeping of an EKG while someone is frozen in a meat freezer, each area feels alive and feels like its own, instead of feeling copy and pasted with a different colour palette.
Pew pew, I’m definitely going to lose.
To be totally honest, I didn’t realise going into The Captain that it was a point-and-click adventure. I may have passed up on it had I known. Instead, I found what may arguably be one of the best and most unique games I have played in the genre. I do believe anyone who feels indifferent to this style of game should give it a shot, because it may be the one to change how you feel towards them. That, or if you just like tactical games, the battles can be a lot of fun, but there’s significantly less of those.
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The graphics are nice. Honestly, there’s nothing too crazy in how this game looks, but instead everything else around how it looks to make it feel so unique. |
In the start it feels like just another point and click adventure, which is fine because that’s the genre the game is going for. The addition of tactical space battles though to really break up any repetition and the ability to choose whether or not to do side missions really made the game what it is. |
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Sound is a big deal in these games, and The Captain absolutely nails it. The atmosphere in this game is pushed and enforced by the music, ambient sounds, and sound effects happening around you. Plus, each weapon and shield sounds unique in space battles, so that’s a good little detail. |
I enjoyed The Captain way more than initially expected. This is easily one of the best games in the genre and definitely should not be overlooked. Maybe an update for just doing a bunch of space battles just for the fun of it. |
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Final Verdict: 8.0 |
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The Captain is available now on Nintendo Switch and PC.
Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.
A copy of The Captain was provided by the publisher.
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