Fresh off the heels of Where Winds Meet‘s global release, NetEase Games is already gearing up for another major free-to-play release. Courtesy of Identity V developer Joker Studio, Sea of Remnants takes things to the high seas, where fast-paced naval battles determine who sinks and who swims. Set foot on any of the game’s islands, however, and turn-based combat awaits, with an extensive roster of party members boasting their own unique abilities.

In advance of Sea of Remnants‘ upcoming recruitment test, Screen Rant visited the NetEase Games campus in Hongzhou, China, to spend some time with the game. After hours of gameplay, some chats with the developers, and a few delicious meals, we came away with a much better picture of the eclectic mix of ideas that Sea of Remnants is bringing to the table.

Sea Of Remnants Makes A Stylish Splash

Dripping With Personality

From the moment Sea of Remnants was revealed at the State of Play showcase last June, I was immediately captured by the game’s art style. In a veritable, ahem, sea of gacha games with similar aesthetics, the painterly look of Sea of Remnants is a breath of fresh air. The bold slashes of color remind me more of games creatively pushing the limits of Unreal Engine 3 than modern Unreal Engine 5 affairs, which I mean as a total compliment.

Sea of Remnants‘ artistic strengths are best seen in its “puppetfolk” characters, whose Pinocchio-like proportions lend themselves to expressive animation. Before going hands-on with the game, the highlight of Joker Studio’s presentation was its smattering of character concept art, which revealed crews ranging from the Gothic touches of the Black Baron fleet to the imperial regalia of the Dawnbreakers.

While Where Winds Meet featured a consistent wuxia aesthetic, Sea of Remnants incorporates global inspirations, like a touch of Día de los Muertos decor to accentuate the ghostly look of the Shoreless. The same variety applies to the music. In the course of a single boss battle that the team demoed, the score leapt from Zimmer-style intensity to a classical waltz before concluding with a mix of operatic vocals and metal growls.

A World Packed With Characters & Combat

Sea Of Remnants Will Keep You Busy

The look of the game can only take it so far, however, and my hands-on time with Sea of Remnants gave me the chance to find out if the gameplay could back it up. Within the first hour, I got to experience all the core tenets — sailing and fighting, of course, but also the pleasures of poking around the hub city of Orbtopia.

Some of this should feel very familiar to seasoned gacha players, especially the turn-based combat. Each character starts with a simple roster of moves and a stylish ultimate, with specialties ranging from sweeping attacks to targeted heals. It’s a system that should get more interesting as it goes along, bolstered by stylish UI and wonderfully well-animated ultimates.

The naval combat cuts even more fat, taking the formula of games like Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and removing the vague sense of realism from the equation. Ships turn and fire with arcade ease, peppering each other in rapid, weightless succession. The narrative’s opening hours feature less of this part than you’d expect, but it’s always on the table when roaming freely around the world.

Surprisingly, one of Sea of Remnants‘ biggest selling points is its roster of NPCs. The promises sound a lot like the upcoming Fable reboot — more than 400 characters boast daily routines within an interconnected social web. While the overarching story doesn’t branch, the fate of Orbtopia does, and player choices could reshape the lives of its citizens.

Within that larger pool of NPCs, a minority feature unique storylines that are meant to rival the quality of the main narrative. Seasonal updates will continue to add new NPC stories, eventually aiming for the larger 400 NPC target. It’s a dizzying target to set, but Sea of Remnants could fall far short of that goal and still feature plenty to do.

Definitely For Gacha Fans, Maybe For Pirate Fans

The Ocean Could Be Calling

If you’re a fan of gacha games, my time with Sea of Thieves convinced me that you should give it a try. I don’t know the details of how the monetization will work yet — in broad strokes, there’s a character gacha, cosmetic skins, and a battle pass — but NetEase promises that it won’t be a pay-to-win experience. Even in an unfinished state, the core gameplay loop hits the same essentials as previous successes in the genre.

If you don’t like gacha games, it could be a tougher sell. Sea of Remnants boasts some unique points of attraction, particularly its art design, naval combat, and web of NPCs. In a market with a dearth of pirate games, there’s more here to satisfy fans of Black Flag or even Sid Meier’s Pirates than games like Skull and Bones have offered. At the same time, you’ll still need some level of tolerance for the nature of free-to-play games.

Toward the end of my initial play session, I hit a sudden stall in a couple of areas. My characters hit a level cap that required specific resources to break through, and my overall crew level needed a bit of grinding to progress the story. At that point, I gave up on the primary objectives and returned to the sea. There, I found myself immediately re-engaged, sucked back in via the simple pleasures of piracy.

Progress might even out once all the stores, battle passes, and everything else are live, but therein lies the rub. Like every gacha game, Sea of Remnants will be rife with menus and currencies. It’s too early to say whether they’ll get in the way of the game’s carefree spirit, an element the team repeatedly emphasized in interviews. At any rate, I like that carefree spirit.

Systems

Released

2026

Developer(s)

Joker Studio

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op