Port Royale 4, a 17th-century historical trade and management simulator, recently released for the Nintendo Switch last Friday, May 28th. Set during the Age of Sail period, Port Royale 4 encompasses a large map that spans the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Game Mind Studios originally released the seafaring simulator in 2020 on PC as the latest entry in its long-running series.
Gameplay and Features
Port Royale focuses primarily on trade and business management, but players will also be able to take action against rival ports and nations through strategic naval battles. There are four extensive single player campaigns following each nation (England, France, Spain, and the Netherlands) that allow players to follow their selected nation’s journey to supremacy in the Caribbean. Port Royale 4 features 60 Caribbean cities to establish and manage trade with along with fifty buildings and 25 production sites to produce goods. To lead each nation, players will choose one of four character classes: the Explorer, the Merchant, the Buccaneer and pirates, each providing their own benefits and disadvantages.
The game features a system to construct entire towns through a variety of buildings that effect productivity, resources, and the management of the overall happiness and state of citizens. By growing your reputation, you can get licenses, building permits, new buildings and ships to unlock that will expand the adventure. To traverse the sea, players can get behind the sails of 18 historically authentic ship types, all from the late 16th and 17th centuries. With an armada of ships, players will engage in turn-based, tactical naval battles set on a hexagonal grid.
How Studios Like Gaming Minds Can Benefit off of Historians
Developer Gaming Minds took
over the Port Royale series at the third entry and has been behind similar
historical games, including Railway Empire, Grand Ages Medieval,
Rise of Venice, and Patrician IV. Historical game developers and
publishers Gaming Minds benefit from historical research and companies like Epoch
XP. Through research and extensive writing, historical researchers can provide
the knowledge that companies like Gaming Minds can use to help create a
compelling and almost real background for any historical game. Historians can
help market and provide the details that developers can integrate into their
games, regardless of the era.
At Epoch XP, we specialize in creating compelling narratives and provide
research to give your game the kind of details that engage your players and
create a resonant world they want to spend time in. If you are interested in
learning more about our gaming research services, you can browse Epoch XP’s
service on our parent site, SJR Research.
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(This article is credited to Josh Rife. Josh has been a longtime gamer, playing games from a variety of different genres. From Sci-Fi to historical or fantastical medieval games, he enjoys playing and discussing them with others. Some of his favorites include the Mass Effect series and the Total War franchise. He’s working towards writing and researching history as a fulltime career, taking inspiration from his parents, who own Epoch’s parent company, SJR Research.)