I'm not saying this open-world pirate RPG is the Sid Meier's Pirates successor I've wanted for 21 years, but based on its bangin' Steam Next Fest demo, it's not not that

gamesradar.com:

It is way, way too early to dignify Seven Seas: Adventures by calling it a "spiritual successor" to Sid Meier's Pirates!, widely regarded as the best pirate game ever made, but I gotta say, I toyed around with its new Steam Next Fest demo and it sure does scratch a very specific itch.

Sid Meier's Pirates is explicitly a "huge inspiration" for developer Concept Games, and although I love Sid Meier's Pirates!, I approached the Seven Seas demo with trepidation. I've always considered the 2004 Pirates remake untouchable and as close to perfect as you can get, so the idea of a follow-up hasn't made much sense to me. That said, Seven Seas isn't a sequel, remake, remaster, or in any way associated with Sid Meier's Pirates; it definitely follows a similar template, but it takes place in its own distinct world and tells a different, although similarly open-ended, story.

Admittedly, I think Seven Seas' art style is what convinced me to give it a try. In contrast to Sid Meier's cartoony color palette, Seven Seas looks a lot more muted and elegant, with a painterly quality to its presentation and rich, dynamic colors, intricate textures, and pretty clouds. I mean, just look at this thing:

Anyway, games like this, of which there aren't many, aren't really about the story or graphics, they're about player freedom, agency, and the consequences that come with that. You've got an open-world sandbox you traverse to get between ports, and at those ports are various facilities driving a robust and fluctuating in-game economy. In Sid Meier's Pirates!, you can uphold your nobility by choosing to build wealth solely through legal trading, or you can fully embrace the pirate life by pillaging the seas, capturing ships, and taking over cities. You can also blend the two playstyles, with the world around you reacting to your decisions appropriately.

That system is very much carried over in Seven Seas, giving you several options when encountering other ships in the seas and when docking into