Nantucket

Nantucket is a real surprise and will appeal to those looking for a mix of management, strategic and RPG with a fascinating lore.

This charming, clever and addictive historical sailing sim is marred only by some rather Dull combat mechanics.

Nantucket is well worth your time if you are looking for a fresh take on the strategic role-playing game genre, or are a fan of the original story that it is based on.

Nantucket brings to life the golden age of whaling and the story of Moby Dick in a tight package that’s perfect for anyone who is a fan of history, a good management sim or the story of Moby Dick. Unlike other management sims, Nantucket is intuitively easy to understand, helping the player along as much as possible without holding their hand completely. It can be unforgiving, but only if the player wants it to be, as with the use of quick save/load, Nantucket shows that it can be both enjoyed for casual and more serious play. Losing time sailing the seas of the 19th century feels fantastic in this classic epic and the hunt for Moby Dick proves to be as rewarding as it sounds.

Nantucket is one of the first surprises of this 2018, thanks to the mix between RPG mechanics and strategic elements, and is also Herman Melville's heir.

Though the combat is unoriginal and a bit confusing, every other aspect of Nantucket shines brightly and all of it comes together to form a great indie experience unlike any other.

Nantucket is a generator of amazing tales, the likes of which people usually tell by the fireside while sipping hot mulled wine. Low budget and a couple of glaring mistakes are the only things that deny it greatness.

Nantucket tries to develop a sequel for Moby Dick by Melvill, but the ambition of Picaresque Studio clashes against a weird and not-so-fitting game formula. A little bit too repetitive, with an unbalanced difficulty curve, Nantucket is still a decent game, with some gameplay elements borrowed from board games and RPGs.

Nantucket is a strangely compelling and addictive game that acts as a follow up to Herman Melville's Moby Dick. While it can be quite repetitive, it's this loop as you develop your ship and crew that lets the game sink its harpoon into you. With a great visual design and some songs made just for the game, alongside the in-game newspaper that sticks true to the in-game date, Nantucket has buckets of atmosphere. I doubt it's a game for everybody, but Moby Dick, Strategy and Simulation fans (you don't have to be all three) will find this a charming game.

Quotation forthcoming.

There are titles that do not need too much invention. A good workmanship in a cleverly chosen environment and a little creative tenderness are enough. The result are inconspicuous gaming pearls, whose are a joy to collect and play. Nantucket is exactly such a game.

I found Nantucket to be high on style but thin on substance, but its modest price point saves it from my more barbed harpoons. It has some pleasantly nostalgic reminiscences of Sid Meier's Pirates and a management system that borrows some of the more surface-level mechanics of Paradox games - both of which are good things. Plus, it really is the only thing that does exactly what it does. The originality of the concept is worth something even when it's not necessarily backed up with mechanical innovation.

The perfect sort of game to play wile doing something else - unless you're a whale, of course. [March 2018, p.75]

Nantucket attempts to provide an immersive experience for players, complete with a flawless soundtrack, difficult and strategic mechanics and an interesting story based on your own decisions. However, it suffers due to the repetitive and somewhat tedious gameplay and numerous other factors that detract from the whole experience.