The idea that the Caribbean was all about glory, empire-building and wealth accumulation does overlook the very real impact that these empires had on the region – an impact that continues to reverberate to this day – and overlooking it does come across as a little irresponsible. There is an argument that you could make that the developers could have used it as a teaching moment more. It is the ideal era for the various tactical and strategic systems that the developers have implemented into the game, and while the history itself is a light touch, you do feel like you get a sense of the dynamics of the period from the game.
Port Royale 4 takes place at the exact period of history that you expect it would – the golden age of piracy, where England, Spain, The Netherlands and France square off to exploit the South-East of North America, the North-East of South America, and the Caribbean islands for their own wealth, and pirates and privateers exploited the conflict between the four great nations to their personal wealth. It remains the same highly accessible blend of city builder, trading manager (by low, sell high, from one end of the Caribbean to the other), and turn-based ship-to-ship combat simulator. Otherwise, there’s nothing that distinguishes this Switch version from the PlayStation 4 edition. It’s the perfect Switch experience, in other words, and for me, at least, that’s more than worth the technical compromises.
#PORT ROYALE 4 PS4 TEST MOVIE#
Because the systems are relatively efficient, there’s a good pick-up-and-play quality about the game that makes it good for short bursts of play, and the calm pacing also means that it’s ideal to play while splitting attention between two things at once (for example, watching a movie and playing at the same time).
#PORT ROYALE 4 PS4 TEST PORTABLE#
On the other hand, Port Royale 4 lends itself really comfortably to the handheld, portable experience. It’s hardly an issue, since this is a simulation game and entirely disinterested in testing reflexes, but it’s all worth nothing in the context that if the presentation is your only priority, the other versions are superior. There are also some noticeable loading times that disrupt the flow of the action just a little too much, and the frame rate does noticeably stutter at times. The graphics are a noticeable step downwards in terms of resolution and fidelity, and that lends the world a grainy look that is disappointing, given the gorgeous Caribbean vibe of the game on the other platforms.
Of course, it doesn’t look up to the same standards of the game on PlayStation 4 ( you can read my review of that version here).
#PORT ROYALE 4 PS4 TEST SIMULATOR#
What I will say is that if you did overlook it on launch in late May, however, do use this review as an excuse to go back and look at it again, because this is currently the best simulator going on the console.
That’s my excuse for why this review is so late, anyway, and I’m sticking by it. It’s been out for a fair few weeks now, but with all the JRPGs, visual novels, and other things that have been landing on the console too, I’ve only had time to play this in short bursts here and there. Kalypso really picked the wrong time to release Port Royale 4 on Nintendo Switch.
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