Pirates Outlaws Reviews

There are quite a few inherent issues with the rng of the game and poor design decision, for example:

1) Getting 3 reloads in one draw. This immediately screws you for a turn or two. Introducing a relic that could control for this would definitely help out that detrimental rng, or making it just an inherent mechanic that you couldn’t draw more than two a turn would make the game more enjoyable.

2) the explorer (left, middle, right) is atrociously designed. You can literally die with full hp at 80 or more... it should NOT bring you back to the very beginning, you should be brought the the last NON-dead end. This would save up to 30-50 hp from exploring in most situations. After dying during great runs strictly due to this poor design I will always pass on them from now on—which is the epitome of poor design because the risk is always greater than the reward 90% of the time.

3) I have not tested out all of the characters yet but I think additionally balancing may be warranted.

There are other issues, but these are the most glaring at the moment and I have high hopes for the games future. It is a great mobile game. I’m only being harsh in some aspects because I am a fan and look forward to improvements.

All-in-all there is a lot of potential, and for a dollar it is worth purchase, maybe even a micro transaction if reasonable.

This game looks good on the surface the art style is nice the music is so so the base for a real roguelike card game is there but when you get down to it your 100% dependent on rng to get past even the first boss because if you don’t get enough shield cards or damage your dead and since we’re on the cards topic let’s talk about healing cards spawn chances I have played 25 games in those 25 games I haves 1healing card 7 times and I have only had more then 1 in 3 runs this is ludicrous they are almost essential to not die after stage 1 I saw almost because I have barely made it to stage 2 boss with no healing cards and I do mean barley I had 11hp ok ranting done there are a few ways to easily fix this 1. Let players make there own deck from cards they have already discovered 2. Make more random encounters or just pump up the spawn rate on healing cards and 3. Make the markets have more card stock. If the card thing is fixed this game is an easy 4 star maybe even 5 but for now this is where it stands fake strategy simple as you get. Thanks to those that read this far my recommendation for PiratesOutlaws is fun for a bit but not to get super deep into.

Gameplay is pretty fun, and it’s a fine time waster with interesting card combos. However, it frequently feels somewhat rigged. The Tavern Brawl mode is most obvious about it, with round two being virtually unwinnable because the deck is always always always in an order that gives one no good choices. It doesn’t save stats beyond best winning time, but I have played that mode hundreds of times, and only made it to the boss 3 times and only won once. I’ve tried varied strategies, different deck choices, but always round two rolls around and the cards fall in such a way that nothing works out.

This is pretty standard for games that include microtransactions, but in the case of this game it doesn’t make sense because there is literally nothing in their shop that would help. They’ve just created an unbalanced frustrating game mode for no benefit.

Anyway, I’ve gotten my $1.99 worth out of my original purchase but am going to uninstall now since it’s gone from fun to feeling like I’m at a fixed casino game.

I’ll admit, I’m not very good at Slay the Spire, and so far I’m not very good at this game either. That never stopped me from loving Slay the Spire—which this game almost copies in mechanics, save for the nuanced differences—however Pirates Outlaws has some...glaring issues with deck building. More than just having in-app purchases for a mobile game you have to buy, I find the inability to skip looting cards almost as bad. I’m not great when it comes to building a good Slay the Spire deck, but if there’s one thing I learned it’s that deck size and card selection matters A HECK OF A LOT. Maybe I’ve yet to find this games alternative to paying for card removals, and if so I hope to find it one day. Otherwise, due to card RNG and other probabilities, it will be entirely impossible to build any deck of strength AND SIZE capable of consistently getting plenty of coins each run, let alone do well enough to beat this game. Unless you’re amazing at Slay the Spire, then there’s a stronger possibility...I guess.

I rarely rate games but this deserves some praise and a warning. First, this game could be great. Unfortunately because bosses, enemies and adventures are totally random you can’t plan accordingly. Especially given that the more cards that get unlocked the more random the game becomes. Secondly I would have been happier to pay a few more dollars and not have to grind quite as much. I played for days before barely getting half way to unlocking the second chapter. Then realized you can pay to double gold and relics which should be in the game already. That being said there should be choices each stage and cards restricted on the path to each boss. This would allow more strategy and planning. Choose at each stage the boss you want to fight. If something like this can’t be implemented then I just can’t give it the 5 stars it deserves. Also could maybe find a way to improve the return home instead of continuing to each stage. It doesn’t really seem to do anything helpful.

This is one of those games for people who think that grind is fun.

As an example of grind, you can’t seem to deckbuild between games, and then your ability within a “run” or whatever it’s called is incredibly limited. Which means to get all the good stuff you just have to grind and grind and grind until you’ve uncovered all the cards then try to maximize whatever you’ve found during a run. I suppose this prevents megadeck creation but also similar means if you just find crap, well, sorry but you lost through no fault of your own; I guess that’s where you take bad game design and say “no, roguelike!”

It’s a lot of fun when the RNG grants you the right amount of good cards so you can feel like you’re progressing but also having risk and you can make actual tactical decisions but I’ve also lost on map 1 a few islands in because well it just came up that way. Might as well just flip a coin; heads, I get a bowl of ice cream, tails I hit myself with a hammer. Roguelike!

Ive really, really, enjoyed this game and ive played with every hero, and for me, the explorer and the curse captain are a bit lackluster. The explorers starting skill card “Sketch” is worse than “Mirror Image”. It just feels like every other class has some unique playstyle with their cards, and playing with the explorer just lacks some uniqueness, but i still think all of his passives are fine and you can definitely still win with him. The curse captain, to me, is just really annoying. the 5 curse bonus is really annoying. It basically makes “Clipping” kind useless, because you draw about twice as many cards and end up just milling a bunch of your deck. The 7 curse bonus, is a bit iffy for me, i probably just need to use it better, but its kinda of hard to even get to, and when i do, dont even really think i should use it in some situations because other options would be better, and ive never gotten the 9 curse bonus. other than that for me, this game is absolutely fun and unique, and i just cant stop playing, ty for balancing the bosses too.

First off, the game experience overall is phenomenal. I love the art style, and the experience is relatively clutter free with a set of cards that allow for cool combos, overall strategies, etc. I

My biggest gripe is the grind for out of game gold to unlock heroes/level and the rate of advancement to unlock new cards. To the developer’s credit IAP won’t prevent you from enjoying single game sessions or playing much as you like. It is a bane if you are an unlock / completionist junkie though. You could play for several hours and maybe unlock a new hero and some cards. This is clearly a game that wants you to come back and play it over and over again for months ( or to drop a bunch of cash on the spot ). And to be honest, while the game is good it isn’t THAT good.

Second biggest gripe is no online backup of your in game progression. I have a tendency to overdo my gaming sometimes, and in response I often uninstall apps ( at least for a while ). While my App Store purchase of the Admiral was restorable all of my grinding unlocks were lost.

This is seriously one of the best card games on PiratesOutlaws Store. I love the artwork and the wide variety of cards, which allows for lots of different gameplay. However while playing this game I couldn’t help but feel like it was missing something crucial. If the developers are reading this I recommend some way to change up the gameplay from person to person. A way to make people develop specific strategies that they enjoy playing. There is a lot of potential I think, adding different factions to join for questing to make gold easier could also benefit the game and could open up the game to possible pvp battles. However with this review I vouch that this is one the best games I have played in a while on my phone and kept me occupied for ages. I seriously recommend this game as a casual game for everyone.

Solid mechanics; fast pace; easily navigable user interface; clean, modern, visually appealing graphics.

However, gameplay needs a little work. My biggest problem is that, even after hours and hours spent repeating Navigate dozens of times, overall progress is so slim it gets discouraging. Adding an extra card to the loot and market every now and then has minimal impact; you’ve gotta be lucky enough for them to show up, and if they’re available at the market there’s a good chance you simply don’t have enough gold. One way to improve this might be to upgrade your pirate’s perks or increase health after hitting certain milestones. I know there are potions in the shop, but they don’t really do much for all the effort required to save enough money for purchase. I get that the game is supposed to be grindy, but this is a bit much.

Another thing is the card descriptions. For some of the skill cards, it’s unclear whether the effect (e.g., damage, injury, etc.) applies to you or the enemy or if the card will be removed from the battle or the game.

Other than that, I agree with the commenter who suggested some more dramatic animations and cut scenes, and maybe some more music variety.

I rarely review games, and am only doing so because I like this one a lot and want to see it get even better!

As title suggests, this game stands out to me. I’m constantly multi tasking and this game is perfect to be able to pickup and put down at any moment without losing progress. Not easy by any means, but I have beat it around 5 or 6 times after grinding to get the sword master. I would be interested in other melee classes if they decide to make them as well. The relics are very cool and I appreciate the pace at which you level up and unlock cards, in a way it forces you to master what you’re given before getting something new.

The only problems I have with this game are that sometimes you take damage by attacking for no known reason. No status, no self harming cards, some enemies just hurt you when you attack which is frustrating not to know.

The other problem I have is that every time I was able to buy new maps and pirates with respute I had earned, but for whatever reason as soon as I got enough I was unable to use it. Idk what happened, I was really looking forward to the new map and character, but repute doesn’t register when tapped so far only gold

This game is just a great card game that tests your skills And luck. But the thing that makes me slightly disappointed is that quests are VERY difficult, I mean like VERY Hard. You need to be VERY lucky a lot of times and games. I really wanted to get vigilante so badly and it is hard. Can you please make the quest easier? Or can You add an option that you pay money to unlock? For example, I have 500 hundred reputation, and to be able to perches cursed captain you need to get too 1000 reputation to be able to perches him or pay for example, 5$ for a specific character, so you would ignore the the demands to unlock the character and be able to bye it with in game currency. I hope this will be added to the games so people that have a hard time doing the A reputed quest or are just to lazy to finish the quest. Overall like I said, it’s a Great GAME!!!!

This game is amazing. I’m not even into card games but I decided to take a chance on this one and I’m hooked. A lot of other reviews complain about inbalance and how you cant skip loot cards after each battle. I’ve yet to beat the stage 2 boss but it definitely seems possible and I’m actually enjoying the difficulty. Keeps me coming back and looking for ways to perfect my playstyle. In regards to not being able to skip loot cards, I think it’s an interesting element to the game and it adds to the difficulty. It forces you to have a unique experience each time you play. You can re-roll your loot cards for pretty cheap anyways.
If your on the fence about getting this game, then definitely go for it.
Edit: beat the level 3 boss a few times and finally bought the 2nd map. Still loving this game with 30+ hours

I have played many turn based games in my time and this is one of the most enjoyable I’ve encountered. I never review and I never consistently play mobile games but this game got me to do both. I am by no means a mobile gamer but I think this game is very deserving of 5 stars. Great fluid combat, interesting cards and mechanics, and interesting character choices make this game great. I will say this game is not for those who do not like to grind. It is also not for those who do not like IAP. I think this game deserves the cash I’ve spent and I will continue to support it as long as it is being supported by the developers. The only complaint I have is that the “AP” system seems kind of tacked on. The only real use I can see for it is limiting the amount of gold you have late game so that you don’t have a near limitless supply. Even then, it feels like a very unnecessary addition to the game. From a realism standpoint, even though this game isn’t very realistic, it makes no sense to me why your ship would take damage to the point that it sinks from doing what it was built to do, sail! Overall great game and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a grindy mobile game to sink some free time into

It combines elements of RPG’s, turn based strategies, and deck-building in a very fun and unique way. Because it is rogue-like it’s a very fast paced game that becomes more complex the more you play. There are countless characters to unlock and play, each with a unique starting deck and skill set that requires a different strategy. There are in-app purchases, most of which are cosmetic or in no way necessary to the game, which is a nice change of pace from the average mobile game, especially given that with the exception of a few minor upgrades that cost real money, everything is purchased with the gold you earn just by playing. I’ve put more time into this game than almost any mobile game I’ve ever played, and am still playing it daily. Cannot recommend enough!

I’ve read other reviews saying the the in app purchases are excessive but that couldn’t be further from the truth. This is not a simple you win card game. Being a rogue-like the game is built on strategizing and taking chances on every move you make. Sometimes you will go extremely far only to die from your ship crashing in a event. It’s not fair all the time but it’s not supposed to be. If you play enough you will unlock all of the extra content the game has to offer. People who are reviewing this game don’t seem to understand the game this obviously based after. Slay the Spire is what inspired this games creation and other people don’t seem to have even played it and yet constantly put it in their reviews. I have played both games and in reality this game for the most part is easier than Slay the Spire. This is a solid app and very much worth the price

Overall, this is a great "deck building" game, in the style of Dream Quest, Night of Full Moon, or Slay the Spire. The graphics are fine, if painterly, and the mechanics are complex and deep. Characters feel sufficiently varied and unique, and there's a lot of breadth of content.

In fact, it's a shame that the game relies on IAP, as it would easily be worth $5-10 for the base game, and more for the expansions or DLC characters. Some Quests are annoying (e.g. the recruiting quests) and at least one Achievement is needlessly tedious ("The Chosen One"), but mostly they just add replay value.

Instead, it's clear that the Developers want you to pay for progress via In-App Purchases (IAP), as without the bonus to your XP and Gold, unlocking the full content would take hundreds and hundreds of hours. It’s a shame, too, because the game itself is not too bad. If it cost $5 upfront and another $1 or $2 for the map expansions, it would likely be far more enjoyable, but instead they’ve opted to nickel and dime players.

**UPDATE**
I do appreciate the quick Developer response, and I think it’s great that they’re adding more and more content. The new gold and XP gains are more generous than before, so I’ve amended my review to reflect that. The added depth and breadth of the new content updates—not to mention bug fixes and re-balancing—make this game easy to recommend. Just be prepared to either grind for a long time or pay cash for the full game.

I'm someone who usually doesn't give feedback on games or apps, but this one deserves it. More people need to know how good it is!
If you're someone who wants their money to be spent wisely, I recommend this game (It's such a low price too! And as someone who is currently in school without a job, any money I have is taken seriously.) You may not be into card games, but this one is easy to learn, good to play on-the-go, and super fun. That was the case for myself. I was hesitant at first, but I can't pry myself away from the game now! The gameplay is also based on your options in events or battles. This is a function I absolutely love. The game really requires you to strategize your next moves.

If the gameplay alone can't sell you on this, the sound, graphics, and sheer quality of this game should. It's such a crisp game that runs incredibly smooth. If you're looking for something quick or a time killer, this is for you!
Overall, this game is entertaining, clean, and definitely worth your time and money.

This is so great! One of only 3 card games that I've kept on my device for more than a week after purchasing.
Every single aspect of the game is done so well (mechanics, graphics, sound/fx, rewards/IAP/unlocks ratios, EVERYTHING). Yes, it might be a little slow moving to get things unlocked for those of us who are either unwilling or unable to purchase currency through an IAP, but if you're looking for a game that you can keep on your device for 6 months or more and most likely still be unlocking new stuff after a year of playing:;: THIS is a game for you!
There's only 1 character (out of 10 or so) that is locked behind a $5 IAP, but the rest can be unlocked with currency earned in-game. And each character basically COMPLETELY changes the game (think Imbroglio), there's also an Arena (endless) Mode that you should be able to unlock the first month of playing (though, I do think it'd be better if the developers didn't have this locked behind a sort of experience wall), and 4 different areas (3 of which are also locked behind experience+currency walls) - and TONS of cards to find and unlock (also card packs to purchase with currency you win while playing).
And then once you have everything fully unlocked, this game is HUGE.

Fantastic job, devs!!! You've earned yourselves a new fan that's going to most likely buy everything you release in the future (I'll only skip out on puzzle and FPS games - anything else, though, I'm ON IT!!).

FULLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

This game had me playing it late into the night after I first installed it. The creative gameplay can’t be found in many other places and definitely not at this price. The IAP are overall very reasonable and that gives me a good feeling to go with the great gameplay. The visual style of the game is engaging but I do have a few minor problems.

1.) I feel like the game needs a little more content to keep the games unique. I have played the game into ground and some of the levels feel like a repeat of each other. But this doesn’t make me not want to play it. Each game is unique enough but I feel like I can usually find similar relics in the early game.

2.) Please add more types of events on the map because I feel like they could be more creative then just giving you a card or taking your health. The life of a pirate had many more aspects that could be added in as an event.

3.) I don’t know if it would be possible but I definitely would love to have someway to play with/against other people. And at the very least a scoreboard or something. I recommended this game to a family member and the first question he asked before purchasing was, “Can we play together?”

Other than that I love the game and would highly recommend buying it!!! I’m not a bot or anything and I hope you guys get to read this 👍