Overview – developed and published by Skaldery Games, Fluffy Sailors is a nautical action roguelite game, where the player takes the role of a little mouse on a quest from the mouse queen. Engage in challenging sea battles, with an interesting mechanic to battle, by using the fluffy crew on the ship as cannon balls. This title is available exclusively for the Steam platform, with a link to the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank the rep who provided the copy of Fluffy Sailors that was used for this piece, via the Keymailer Service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. I will be focusing on the core mechanic of the game when talking gameplay, as there a many variables that can affect the game as a roguelite.
Story – in a world ruled by fluffy animals, the Mouse Queen delivers the distressing news that her royal chef has been captured. The culprits of this fluffnapping are the Alligators, who captured the cook while they were trying to collect yummy ingredients. In order to get the royal cook back, her highness has given you the map to the alligator territory, along with a ship to set sail. Can you make it across the treacherous waters and complete your quest.
Gameplay – Fluffy Sailors is a naval combat roguelite, where the player is tasked with rescuing the Royal Cook for the Mouse Queen. To achieve this goal, the player must sail through various areas, combating the enemy ships that hold those territories. When starting a run in this game, the player always starts at the mouse kingdom island, where the tutorial battle occurs. Here the player will learn how to handle the ship.
During ship to ship combat, the player can fire from cannons on the left and right of the ship. This is where the unique gimmick for the game comes in, as the ammo for the cannons is the fluffy crew of the ship. Each time a cannon is fired, crew members will be fired at the enemy, dealing damage when a successful hit is made. But this comes with a caveat, if the ship runs out of crew, they will be defenceless, leaving them open to getting sunk.
Thankfully, the crew can be replenished, which can be done in two ways. The first and main way is restocking at islands. This will be free at the mouse kingdom, but every upgrade after will cost seashells, which are earned by destroying enemy ships and collecting salvage. However, there will also be rafts that can be found floating in the seas, which will add some crew members to the ship. This gives the combat system an element of tactics.
The game is split into stages, with the foes that you face varying from run to run. These enemy vessels have themes based on their species, including Rat Pirates (Pirats) in black sail ships, Hamsters with wheels on their boats and more. When all enemy ships have been sunk, the player will clear the stage and be given Seashells as a reward. There is also the chance for skill points (discussed further below), or if the player is lucky they can capture an enemy ship.
When an enemy ship is captured, they will be able to use that ship as part of their fleet from the next stage. All of the different ships have their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Some will deal big damage at the cost of ammo supply, whereas others can do low damage with a lot of ammo and fire rate. If a ship is destroyed, they will be removed from the fleet, but don’t fret as damaged ships can be repaired at islands for seashells.
The further the player gets into the game, the more things that will appear on the islands. There is the chance for item shops to spawn, providing temporary boosts for the player. These items can have both positive and negative effects, like increased damage dealt at the cost of reduced defense. Each ship in a fleet (if the player captures any), has one slot for an item which will be with them for the duration of the run.
After clearing a set number of smaller islands, the player will encounter milestone areas which act as bosses. In these areas, the player will battle a higher number of enemies, with areas of the stage that have gimmicks that are unique to them. These milestone stages are highly challenging, with the chance for defeat being pretty high. The further the player gets into a run, the more challenging and deadly the stages will become.
If the player gets all of their ships sunk, they will be sent back to the Mouse kingdom. When this happens, the player will be able to use all of their earned skill points to get new permanent upgrades. These upgrades are set into three tiers, with the first tier unlocked and the other two unlocked when milestones are cleared. These skills include the ability to ram enemy ships, reduce costs to restock/repair ships and even rescue ammo crew.
Due to the nature of the roguelite genre, there is a lot of luck that players will need to hope for in order to succeed. The random nature of this type of game can affect the way that runs play out, with the chance for very strong enemies to appear early on. This can lead to a quick defeat, which can be frustrating for players. If they are lucky, they will get lower level enemies, which will give the player a chance to build their supplies for the harder stages.
The last thing to discuss is the interactions between the Mouse Queen and the chosen Hero. Between each run, the player will return to the mouse kingdom, where they will speak to the queen, relaying information about the adventure. These can be both humorous and helpful, as the queen will react to the events that occur, occasionally giving advice to the player. This gives the game a unique charm that adds to the fun of the game.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – Fluffy Sailors has a twin input system, with the option for mouse/keyboard as well as the ability to use controllers. The player controls the ship and camera independently, with the skill functions and cannons on their own buttons. For ease of play, there are on screen inputs that players can use for quick reference. The controls work well, but there can be some janky camera movement with mouse, but adjusting the DPI can help.
Difficulty – since this is a roguelite, there is an odd difficulty curve that can be a little bit inconsistent. When playing through the game, it can be entirely dependant on luck if players will make it to the first milestone, let alone the end of the game. This is due to the high chance the game will spawn strong enemies early, reduce the amount of salvage that appears and even if ships can be captured. These systems can be frustrating, but also highly rewarding during play.
Presentation – there is a very pleasing style to the visuals of this game, with the animals having a cute look to them. This contrasts well with the look of the islands, the seas and the ships that appear on the seas, making the world feel lively and interesting. There is the odd hiccup with visual performance, but it doesn’t severely impact the game. The sound is pleasing, with cute squeaks for the mice and other animals, combined with an exciting soundtrack.
Final Thoughts – I am an enjoyer of the naval combat style of play, with the open movement and exciting cannon battles. So when Fluffy Sailors was made available, I decided to give it a chance. My first impression of the game was a little iffy, as I experienced some very bad luck which was a frustration. But as I spent more time playing, I got used to it and the experience was more enjoyable, being able to overcome some of the slightly wonky flaws.
The general gameplay experience can be a bit of a mixed bag, with the random nature of the roguelite genre, which can be frustrating for players. However, the gameplay loop is rewarding when getting to grips with it, becoming a little easier as the player gets used to it. There is even a special survival mode that can be unlocked. With all of that being said, I can recommend those looking for a challenging and rewarding game, all wrapped in a cutesy presentation.
In the end, I give Fluffy Sailors a final score of 3.75/5. This is a fun and enjoyable roguelite naval combat title, with a slightly awkward control system, but a rewarding and challenging gameplay loop that has an adorable style to it. if you want to check this release out for yourself, a link to the game will be below.
Link to Steam version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 