Pirate is amongst the best character concepts ever created: sailing the sea, attacking ships, raid bases… The theme has been used in quite a few video games and in this list, we would include some of the best pirate-themed video games ever made.
10 - The Curse Of Monkey Island
Amongst all the games in the Monkey Island series, The Curse of Monkey Island is probably the best, with a perfect blend of humor and pirate designs. Being a point and click adventure game, the curse of monkey island revolves around Guybrush Threepwood, a wannabe pirate who is on a quest to free his lover who was turned into a statue. During the course of the story, the guy would have to deal with bands upon bands of ravenous pirates and cutthroats, with the final boss being his nemesis, captain LeChuck.
The game was really appreciated at the time of release, with most reviewers mention its excellent voice acting, music and art style.
9 – Sea Of Thieves
For people who have friends who are interested in the same game, Sea of Thieves is the ideal game for squads. It is an open-world multiplayer pirate-themed game with core gameplay being ship to ship combat against other crews. In this game, you will be practicing all your pirate skills like sword dueling, cannon firing, navigating... and more. Furthermore, all players partly shared the game world, with sites for single and multiplayer – which meant they will very often encounter other players during their adventures.
The main objectives for players to complete in this game are doing travel quests like voyages, raiding other ships to get loot or invading a fort to steal gold and treasures.
8 – Sid Meier’s Pirates!
Finally a pirate-themed game for people who do not have enough friends to embark on an adventure. The 2004 game is an action-strategy adventure game in which you would step inside the shoes of a pirate captain, whose aspiration is to be the next owner of the seas.
You would start as just a humble buccaneer, owning only one vessel. To build your pirate fleet, you would have to raid ships, get a crew, and fight other competitors. Besides that, you would have to do favors for the four nations who are trying to create a colonial empire. Overall, the game is dated, but not so much that you cannot enjoy it.
7 – Lego Pirates of the Caribbean
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean is a lego adaptation of the original pirates' trilogy of movies. It is similar to the earlier Lego games, with simple gameplay that’s suitable for younger aspiring captains. The core gameplay is pretty much the same, with you jumping around solving problems and puzzles, along with a bit of light combat.
Each character that you could play would have their own unique abilities that would play a crucial part in solving puzzles.
6 – Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
In the fourth game of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, you get to be both an Assassin and a Pirate at the same time. The gameplay actually changed comparing to the previous games, with more focus on the open world ship-based exploration while still retain the usual third-person land-based missions, melee combat, and stealth. The main setting of the game spans around the colonial era of the West Indies, with three main cities of Kingston, Havana, and Nassau.
Assassin’s Creed 4 received massive praise and was one of the best games of 2013. Reviews often cited its open-world gameplay and sidequests.
5 – Stick & Bones
In Stick & Bones, players would follow the story of an undead pirate who’s trying to find a treasure and fulfill his last wish. It is kind of a silent comedy, as even after death the journey must continue. The gameplay consists of puzzle-solving, sword dueling and all the action-adventure stuff that a pirate would do. The Quick Time Events are the best part about this game, as they managed to make something tedious and uneventful like QTE to become enjoyable.
4 – SteamWorld: Heist
The sea of stars contains its fair share of pirates. In this game, players would step inside the shoes of a space captain and her crew of robots to embark on a space adventure. The universe in SteamWorld is filled with spaceships to raid and ruins to loot, along with fellow competitors that would pose a serious challenge to your journey. This turn-based game encourages players to be creative and making skill shots by bouncing bullets at the walls.
3 – Space Pirates and Zombies 2
Another Space Pirate-themed game – while this is actually not as good as the first entry combat-wise, its pirate theme is definitely something else. You would get to do all the usual pirates things like raid, loot, and combat while defending your ships for the space zombies. If you are bored with the campaign, there are various modes such as a sandbox in which you can tinker and experiment with whatever you see fit.
2 – Tropico 2
Tropico 2 is a little bit different than other games in the series – you would have to build your own island paradise from your pirate activities. The main objective of the game is to capture prisoners to work as slaves on your island and fill the coffers of your treasury.
This game showed that there is more to piracy than just raiding and fighting. A delicate balance must be maintained so that the three nations in the Caribbean would not be able to find your island.
1 – Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
The latest Pillars game is very different from the original concept. While it is still an isometric RPG adventure, the settings have the protagonist wake up on a ship. After that, you have to go around assembling an RPG party – who would then act as your pirate crew.
Sail from island to island, follow the footsteps of your enemies, ambush and destroy them. There is a crew management aspect for the gameplay as well, in which you have to manage resources including people, food and medical supplies. There have been only a few attempts in making a Pirate RPG, and Deadfire is probably the best of them all.
Interested in more of our Top 10 lists? Please check out this post for the longest RPGs ever.