Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean

Factors	Rating	Description
🎮Gameplay	6	Ambitious mechanics, but plagued with clunky controls and frustrating bugs.
📷Graphics	7	Pirate-era aesthetic, but marred by poor animations and visual inconsistencies.
🎧Narration/Audio	8	Passable voice acting, but a very generic soundtrack.
😮Variety	5.5	Enemy types and environmental variety feel repetitive after the first few missions.
🎰Re-playability	4	Limited replay value due to bugs, lack of polish, and unfinished content.
💲Price	4.5	Not recommended at full price; perhaps worth a look in deep sale.

I was excited to dive into the pirate-filled world Frigato promised, but ended up caught in a web of frustrating bugs, confusing gameplay decisions, and an overall sense that the game was not fully finished.

📝Story/Plot without spoilers:

🔸 Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean is set during the golden age of piracy and follows Samuel, a young captain, as he sets out to uncover a mysterious family legacy and face legendary sea monsters. Alongside a loyal but questionably skilled crew, you embark on a treasure hunt through cursed islands and encounter mythical creatures that guard valuable artifacts. Although the story sets an adventurous tone, it lacks clarity and cohesion, with minimal character development and confusing objectives that seem to appear without context. The lack of a map and incomplete mission logs only add to the disorientation, making it a challenge to stay invested.

🎮Gameplay:

🔸 Frigato initially gives the impression of a real-time tactical stealth experience inspired by classics like Desperados and Commandos. However, this promising setup is compromised by clunky controls and an array of bugs that impact almost every element of gameplay. Basic actions like moving characters, selecting crew members, or interacting with the environment feel unpredictable. Characters often perform unintended actions, animations appear broken (think moonwalking pirates!), and pathfinding is so problematic that simple routes feel like an obstacle course. I had high hopes for the genre and the plot, but it's underachieved. The tutorial didn’t do the justice and kept me confused about the objectives. Even the mission log stayed empty the whole time; maybe it’s a bug.

------🔹Frigato also attempts to incorporate interactive stealth mechanics, but the implementation falls short. A noise ring suggests that enemies can detect sounds, yet you can run right past them without consequence. Features like coordinated moves are conspicuously absent, making tactical planning feel limited and unsatisfying. The game crashes were also a big trouble. Every 30 minutes, I faced at least 2 crashes.

------🔹The game’s AI and variety are similarly disappointing. Enemies show little behavioral difference, making stealth tactics feel monotonous. Occasionally, mythical elements like mermaids add spice, but they are infrequent and feel underused, leaving the game’s unique pirate theme underwhelming. In fact, with just one core character, I found it was possible to bypass most challenges, rendering crew variety redundant. Just by distracting with the parrot(Tai) and throwing the knife, I was able to clear the enemies, but the clunky controls were holding me back.

📷 Graphics:

🔸 Although Frigato has occasional moments of charm in its Caribbean settings, poor animation quality and frequent clipping issues hurt the immersion. The art direction captures the period aesthetics but lacks polish. Visual inconsistencies, such as characters moonwalking, or doing clunky animations, hindered the immersive. The visuals and atmosphere feel promising, but the unfinished nature of the environment lets the experience down.

📝Main Pros and Cons:

🟩Pros-

Pirate-themed adventure with potential for engaging stealth tactics.
There is potential once its improved.
Missing a lot of gameplay features common in this genre.

🟥Cons-

Overwhelming number of bugs, from pathfinding errors to game crashes.
Frustrating controls that often misinterpret player commands.
Incomplete narrative and abrupt, unsatisfying ending.
Multiple game crashes.

🏷️Tips for beginners:

🔸Stealth may not feel consistent, but plan carefully. If you get stuck, try rotating your camera angle, as character targeting can be tricky. As for the lack of map, scout the area by mouse scroll visually to find the target. And keep saving often—game crashes are frequent and may disrupt your progress.

😇 Verdict:

🔸 While Frigato: Shadows of the Caribbean may initially catch your eye with its pirate theme and tactical potential, it ultimately struggles under the weight of its bugs, poor polish, and lackluster story. If you’re a hardcore fan of the genre and have a high tolerance for rough edges, you might find something enjoyable here—but for most, Frigato feels more like an unfinished treasure map. Hopefully, future updates may polish its many rough patches, but until then, consider holding off on this journey.

Rating: 5/10

Looking for treasure... minus the bugs!