One of my favorite gaming memories on PC is playing Sid Meier’s Pirates!, especially the top-down sailing and ship combat sections. I’m curious if any modern games have tried to capture or expand on that style of gameplay. I’ve checked out the Port Royale series but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Also, I always thought Games Workshop could do something awesome with this concept, maybe a Man O’ War game. Any recommendations or thoughts on games that offer a similar top-down sailing and pirate experience?
5 Answers
King of Seas is probably the closest you can get to the Pirates! vibe with modern graphics and gameplay. Sailing Era is another option, but it leans more towards RPG elements and trading, inspired by Uncharted Waters rather than pure pirate action. Also, if you’re okay with mobile, The Pirate: Caribbean Hunt and The Pirate: Plague of the Dead are surprisingly solid.
You might want to check out Windward. It’s a top-down sailing game that focuses on ship combat, exploration, and trading. There’s even a sequel on the way, so it seems like the developers are expanding on the concept a bit.
If you’re looking for a spiritual successor, there’s an upcoming game called Seven Seas: Adventures slated for Q3 2025. From what I’ve seen, it really seems to capture the spirit of Sid Meier’s Pirates! Might be worth waiting for that if you want something fresh but familiar.
Thanks for pointing that out! I hadn’t heard of it, but it looks promising for sure.
Man, Sid Meier’s Pirates! was more fun than it had any right to be. Speaking of classics, if you never tried Uncharted Waters on the SNES or Genesis, it’s worth a look—even though it focuses more on trading, it has some freeform sailing and ship combat. I also stumbled upon Horizons Gate recently; it’s an indie game with lots of trading in early gameplay but lets you really dive into piracy and boarding later on. Definitely worth a try if you want a bit more depth.
You might like Tempest: Pirate city — it feels quite like the old Pirates game, with ship customization and a bigger map to explore. Also, although not quite top-down, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag has amazing sailing and pirate action if you don’t mind 3rd person. Lastly, I was surprised to learn Sid Meier’s Pirates even came out on PSP, which works great on the go with touch controls!
Whoa, I never knew about the PSP version of Pirates! That’s awesome to hear — I might have owned it without even realizing.
Oh nice, I didn’t know there was a sequel coming! Definitely gonna keep an eye on that.