Today, publisher NetEase and developer Joker Studio (previously known for the F2P asymmetrical multiplayer survival horror game Identity V) unveiled a six-minute gameplay video of Sea of Remnants, the 'ocean-fantasy' open world RPG announced back in June during that month's State of Play.
The new footage also came with the announcement of the 'Wanderer Test', a small-scale Closed Alpha test that will run from February 5 to 12 on PC. From today until January 23, players can apply for the test by following the official Sea of Remnants X account, engaging with the trailer post, or joining the official Sea of Remnants Discord and completing the application questionnaire. Questionnaires will also be available on platforms including Steam and Reddit. Places to participate in the test are extremely limited, according to the developers, and eligible captains will be notified if they are selected to receive test access.
The press release ends with the confirmation that the game will debut later this year on PC (via Steam) and PlayStation 5. The previous news also mentioned mobile, which is, however, missing now. Perhaps it's simply that it will arrive later than the main versions.
Anyway, Sea of Remnants aims to blend simulation, survival-building, and turn-based strategy. You play an amnesiac puppetfolk sailor navigating the sea toward a cursed, mysterious realm rumored to grant riches at the cost of memories.
The game features over three hundred recruitable NPCs across rival factions, whose allegiances shift based on your choices, reshaping the pirate hub city of Orbtopia dynamically. You'll recruit specialized crews, upgrade modular ship components, and engage in strategic turn-based land combat with mechanics like Reinforcement Points (dice rolls determining damage scaling) and a Posture gauge system, alongside real-time naval combat with responsive controls.
Open-world exploration takes place across volcanic islands, lush rainforests, and eerie ruins, while the progression is anchored to Orbtopia, where you can craft, cook, fish, play mahjong, train hidden professions, and run NPC-partnered shops. The experience incorporates roguelike elements: death or sinking results in the loss of non-waterproofed loot, although couriers allow for safe material transfers. The player's decisions are also said to ripple across faction dynamics and story outcomes, ensuring divergent experiences across playthroughs.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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