You end up waiting for an on-screen arrow prompt to guide you to whatever destination the game chooses. As you play, you’re tasked with certain objectives, but the game never puts much emphasis on them. The first thing that really sticks out about Naval Warfare is its lack of direction. A twin-stick shooter at sea could have been really awesome, but a number of gameplay hindrances keep this game from being as fun as possible. Rest assured, the ideas are most certainly interesting. But even in its gameplay, Naval Warfare is an utter failure. Oftentimes, games with weak narratives can easily be forgiven as long as they provide a compelling adventure. Storytelling isn’t the only area where Naval Warfare falls short. As cool as these look, it’s hard to really care about the story due to some weak characters and uninspired voice acting. In between chapters you’re treated to stylish hand-drawn cutscenes. Though the story is interesting on paper, the execution is rather lackluster. As part of one of these factions, it is up to you to take on enemies and engage in escort missions. These groups are battling on the sea for total control of various territory, and this is where you come in. The world has been flooded, and various groups have been formed by the survivors. One year later, developer Games Distillery is re-releasing the game on Steam (this time simply titled Naval Warfare) and not surprisingly, it remains a big disappointment. Unfortunately, the game failed to deliver on practically every front. The game featured a highly intriguing steampunk story that took place at sea, and the gameplay premise–a twin-stick shooter set on water–was incredibly promising. Last year, Aqua: Naval Warfare launched on Xbox Live Arcade to below average critical reception.

Naval action pc game review