Real-time tactics is a rather curious genre. It essentially takes the basic idea of real-time strategy gameplay – ordering units around a reactive map – and removes resource management and base-building, instead choosing to focus on a highly specific set of specialised units with their own special powers and abilities. Into this storied genre have come excellent games like Desperados, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, and Commandos, and now, developer Mercat Games is throwing its own tricorn hat into the ring with Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean.
In essence, this is a real-time tactics game with a strong emphasis on stealth, and it’s set during the wonderfully rich time of the Golden Age of Piracy. You will take control of a motley crew of ne’er-do-wells and rogues, and you’ll work to try and beat the dastardly British Royal Navy to a treasure that could well change your life. Coincidentally, this game was revealed not too long after Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, and the two games share marked similarities, but there are differences too. Here’s everything we know about Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean.
Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean release date – when is the game coming out?
At time of writing, we don’t have any kind of definitive release date for Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean, and we also don’t really have much of a release window. The Steam page suggests a vague release window of “2023”, so it could be a while yet before we see this one.
It’s also worth noting that there’s a Kickstarter campaign for the game that’s currently active, with the developers asking for £5,792 from potential backers in order to help make Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean a reality. That Kickstarter campaign lists a potential release date of June 2023, which gives us an idea of what kind of release window we’re working with.
What is the Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean Kickstarter offering?
As with most Kickstarter projects, there are several tiers of rewards available if you feel like backing Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean. Here are some of the things that are on offer depending on how much you want to pledge to the game.
€5 Pledge (Landlubber)
- Exclusive Kickstarter demo
- Special Discord backer role
- Your name in the credits of the game
- A thank you from Mercat Games
- A wallpaper pack for both PC and mobile
€10 Pledge (Crewmate)
- A copy of Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean on either Steam or GOG
- Everything in the €5 pledge
€14 Pledge (Pirate)
- Frigato soundtrack
- Access to the beta testing periods
- Everything in the €10 pledge
€22 Pledge (Sea Wolf)
- Frigato digital comic book
- Digital poster collection
- Everything from the €14 pledge
€28 Pledge (Quartermaster)
- 2 Frigato Steam keys
- Everything in the €22 pledge
€50 Pledge (First Mate)
- A special note with your name in the game
- Everything in the €28 pledge
€75 Pledge (Treasure Chest #1)
- 5 additional games from Frigato publisher FreeMind
- Everything in the €50 pledge
€76 Pledge (Treasure Chest #2)
- 5 sim game keys: House Flipper, Dinosaur Fossil Hunter, Mr. Prepper, Workshop Simulator, and Model Builder Simulator
- Everything in the €50 pledge
€99 Pledge (Ultimate Treasure Chest)
- 5 upcoming FreeMind game keys: Farmer’s Father, Snow Plowing Simulator, Painter Simulator, Forest Ranger Simulator, and Service IT
- Everything in the €50 pledge
€100 Pledge (Captain)
- Your name in the game as an enemy
- 3 Frigato Steam keys
- Everything in the €50 pledge
€150 Pledge (Terror of the Seas)
- Special game creation behind-the-scenes video
- Concept artbook with character art
- Everything in the €100 pledge
€250 Pledge (Legend)
- Your own drawing in the game as a painting
- A chat with the developers of the game
- A note, plus backstory, co-written with you for the game
- Everything in the €150 pledge
€500 Pledge (Captain Sparrow)
- A hero quote co-written with you in the game
- Everything in the €250 pledge
€1000 Pledge (Jolly Roger)
- A special level including your picture and you in the game as a boss enemy
- Your pet appearing in the game
- A Steam achievement that you co-write
- A meme on Instagram including your face
- Everything from the €500 pledge and also all three Treasure Chest pledges
What platforms will Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean be on?
Platform-wise, right now, Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean has only been confirmed for PC, unfortunately. It’s likely the developers want to see how well the game does on Steam and GOG before they start making promises to create console versions of it as well. The chances are we could see the game on PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch at some point, but for now, if you want to check it out, then you’re going to need a reasonable PC to run it.
What gameplay features will Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean offer?
If you know your real-time tactics games, then you’ll probably be familiar with a lot of what Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean has on offer. Here are some of the game’s features that you can look forward to.
- Command of a crew with diverse abilities. Each of your crew members will have different abilities that you’ll need to use in order to emerge victorious. Crewmates will also be more or less loyal to you depending on what you do.
- Adventures across the Caribbean Sea. The Golden Age of Piracy is a rich (no pun intended) setting, and Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean promises to explore it. Investigate cursed islands, discover the truth behind marine legends, and immerse yourself in the life of a pirate.
- Stealth and tactics united. You’ll need to sneak across Frigato’s many maps and deal with its cunning AI in order to achieve your aims. You can also use your environment to your advantage, knocking over crates or starting fires as distractions.
- Non-lethal and lethal playstyles. Whether you like to do things peacefully or not, you’ll find that your playstyle is catered for in Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean. However, if you do kill without pause, you might find later levels are harder since your targets have better security.
