Games to Play if You Love Windrose

For centuries, people have been fascinated by the idea of being a daring pirate sailing the ocean. While movies and TV shows have offered glimpses into that world, video games currently provide the most immersive way for most of us to experience what it might have been like to live that pirate life.

Kraken Express’ first game, Windrose, is a thrilling new survival adventure that puts you in the shoes of a pirate during a reimagined Golden Age of Piracy. You can play solo or with friends, sailing the seas in search of treasure and fame. It’s one of the most exciting pirate games to come out in a long time.

Despite still being in early access and only available on PC, Windrose has become a huge hit in 2026. If you’re enjoying this PvE game, there are plenty of other similar titles with comparable gameplay and world design worth exploring while you wait for your next Windrose adventure.

10. Return to Monkey Island

A Classic Swashbuckling Tale

Pirate-themed video games are all over the map when it comes to quality and how they play, but the Monkey Island series has consistently delivered fun and laughs for over 35 years. The latest game, Return to Monkey Island, continues that tradition.

Return to Monkey Island is a classic point-and-click adventure where you play as Guybrush Threepwood. You’ll solve puzzles and try to uncover the mystery of Monkey Island, all while getting into funny situations with pirates.

Though Return to Monkey Island is very different in gameplay and style from Windrose, it’s a fantastic, hilarious, and heartfelt tribute to one of the most beloved pirate game series ever made. Any gamer with even a passing interest in pirates should definitely play at least one Monkey Island game.

9. Dredge

Lovecraftian Exploration

I was initially drawn to Windrose because it looked like a pretty grounded pirate game, but it quickly became clear there’s a lot more going on! It’s not just about realistic sailing – you’re facing off against seriously fantastical enemies. Think creepy, zombie-like drowned sailors and even magical ghost captains like Israel Hands. It really adds a unique twist!

If you enjoy the atmospheric exploration of Windrose, Dredge is a great next step. It’s a game where you play a fisherman in the town of Greater Marrow, uncovering the secrets of a strange fog and the supernatural events surrounding it.

While not strictly a pirate game, Dredge is a wonderfully atmospheric nautical adventure. You explore the seas in a fishing boat, uncovering a mysterious and unsettling story. As you play, you’ll face increasingly terrifying creatures from the deep, like ghostly sharks, colossal crabs, and massive anglerfish.

8. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean

Disney’s Greatest Pirate Game

People who enjoy the game Windrose probably also like Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Although many Pirates of the Caribbean games exist, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean by Traveller’s Tales is generally considered the best.

Similar to other classic LEGO games, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean is a funny, lighthearted take on the first four Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Players can control almost any character from the films while solving puzzles and enjoying simple, action-packed combat from a third-person perspective.

Even though you can’t directly control Jack Sparrow’s ship, the Black Pearl, in LEGO Pirates, it’s still a surprisingly good LEGO game. The game’s funny, silent comedy style really fits Captain Jack’s personality, and it’s packed with references fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise will enjoy – including a playable version of the classic Disneyland ride.

7. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Link’s Aquatic Adventure

Windrose focuses on sailing, finding new islands, battling pirates and monsters, and uncovering ancient ruins. The game The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker offers a similar experience with all of these features.

Unlike most Legend of Zelda games, Wind Waker has a unique, cartoon-like style and takes place centuries after Ocarina of Time. Players control a young Link as he sails across a flooded Hyrule on the King of Red Lions, a special, living sailboat.

Even though Wind Waker breaks from some traditional Legend of Zelda conventions, it’s still considered one of the series’ best games. This is mainly because it’s incredibly enjoyable to travel around the game’s islands and experience the adventure of Toon Link, who’s determined to defeat Ganondorf and rescue those he cares about.

6. Sail Forth

A Cozy Seafaring Voyage

I’ve been really blown away by Windrose, especially how good it looks and how fun it is to play, especially with friends online. But if you’re after something a little more chill and relaxed – a truly cozy pirate game – you absolutely need to check out Sail Forth by Festive Vector. It’s perfect if you want to just unwind and enjoy the pirate life without all the intensity.

In the single-player adventure game Sail Forth, you play as a shipwrecked captain exploring a world of water. You’ll travel across 12 different areas, build a crew and a fleet of unique ships, and battle pirates and massive sea creatures – including a multi-headed monster called the Magma Leviathan.

While you can’t step onto land in Sail Forth, the game offers plenty to do! You can collect items from the sea with hooks, fish, customize and improve your ship, and become a skilled sailor. These features more than compensate for the lack of on-foot exploration.

5. Valheim

Windrose’s Closest Counterpart

While Windrose heavily promotes its ship combat, pirate battles, and boarding actions, a significant portion of the gameplay focuses on survival elements. This includes collecting resources to improve your ships and bases, and hunting animals in the game world.

Actually, Windrose focuses so much on surviving that it’s very similar to Valheim. Valheim is another game still in development where you play as Vikings who have died and are trying to prove themselves worthy of Valhalla in a Norse afterlife setting.

While Valheim is a game about Norse Vikings—not 18th-century pirates—it shares similarities with Windrose. Both games offer detailed sailing, plenty of mythical monsters to battle, and satisfying crafting systems. If you enjoyed Windrose and want a similar experience set in an earlier era, Valheim is an excellent choice.

4. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

Yakuza’s Most Bizarre Entry

The Yakuza series is famous for its compelling crime stories in open-world games, so the announcement of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii in 2024 was both surprising and fascinating.

Unlike other Yakuza games, Hawaii focuses on sword fighting and battles at sea. The story follows Goro Majima, who has lost his memory, as he becomes entangled in a conflict with a group of people dressed as pirates from the 1700s. They’re using boats to bother the islanders and search for a hidden treasure.

Believe it or not, the game Hawaii offers surprisingly excellent naval battles, and it’s been doing so since 2013. The story is wonderfully strange – a captivating mix of drama and pirate adventure that immediately makes you wonder why people are fighting with swords, old-fashioned guns, and sailboats in the present day.

3. Skull and Bones

Ubisoft’s Ambitious Pirate Multiplayer Game

After the huge popularity of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Ubisoft decided to create a new game focused solely on its ship combat and open-world exploration. After several years of development challenges and redesigns, that game became Skull and Bones.

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Skull and Bones is a multiplayer exploration game set in the Indian Ocean during the late 1600s. Players become pirate captains and sail the seas to hunt sea creatures, attack trading vessels, fight other pirates and fortified locations, defeat powerful bosses, and battle opposing players.

Like Sail Forth, Skull and Bones limits players to landing at Sainte-Anne and a few specific islands and ports. While you can’t fight other players with swords, the ship combat and exploration in Skull and Bones are really fun and visually appealing, especially when playing with friends.

2. Sea of Thieves

Rare’s Comical Pirate Journey

While games like Skull and Bones and Windrose offer fun pirate multiplayer experiences, Sea of Thieves by Rare was long considered the best in the genre.

Players can explore a vast ocean world either alone or with a crew of up to three friends. They can hunt for treasure, battle massive sea creatures, participate in special seasonal adventures, and even fight other players to plunder their hard-earned rewards.

Sea of Thieves consistently receives large updates that introduce fresh gameplay experiences, like the Sunken Kingdom. However, at its heart, the game remains incredibly fun and addictive, revolving around sailing to islands, hunting for treasure, fighting other players or sea creatures, and working with friends to keep your ship afloat during chaotic battles.

1. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

The Greatest Pirate Game of All Time

Windrose is shaping up to be a fantastic pirate game and could potentially surpass Sea of Thieves as the top multiplayer option. However, it still faces a challenge in becoming the best pirate game ever, a title currently held by Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

Set in the West Indies during the early 1700s, Black Flag tells the story of Edward Kenway, a Welsh privateer and the grandfather of Connor. The game follows his journey as he becomes captain of the brig Jackdaw, forging alliances with legendary pirates like Blackbeard. Ultimately, he finds himself embroiled in the centuries-old battle between the Assassins and the Templars.

Compared to Assassin’s Creed III, Black Flag significantly enhanced naval battles with quicker combat and more options for upgrading and customizing your ship, the Jackdaw. It also added exciting new features like whaling, taking over enemy ships, and discovering hidden treasures in underwater wrecks using a diving bell, truly making players feel like pirates.

2026-04-22 02:41