The mark of any great simulator or strategy game is if it encourages emergent storytelling - if you care enough about what you're doing for it to form little stories in your head. Port Royale 4 did that for me. From my obsession with becoming a global coffee baron, through to the nightmare armada of pirates I built up that would surely have terrified every boat or town that saw it bearing down on them, Port Royale has the flexibility, complexity and visual splendour that you will want to take it, and play it on your own terms, using your own strategies. That the game allows you to do that while remaining accessible to complete beginners is all the more impressive.

It is fun and engaging, and you will have to study at length every most important aspect within it: from the trade to the economy, from the strategy of naval battles to any situation that may arise. The greatest risk is that it may not be for everyone, despite its value and proposition. Port Royale is back, now get your sails ready!

The fourth instalment in the Port Royale series will keep fans happy with its upgraded features and a bigger map than can be found in Port Royale 3. For newcomers to the genre, they’re likely to be overwhelmed at first with all of the aspects that need to be understood to create a prosperous empire. However, developer Gaming Minds has tried to make the game as accessible to those players as possible. In this, they’ve largely succeeded.

Overall, fans of Port Royale 3 will enjoy the new strategic combat, larger map, and various tweaks and improvements. Those on the fence, or really starved for anything to do with pirates, could be swayed by the new entry but might grow tired after a while, but anyone skeptical that they would be entertained by a merchant simulator likely wouldn't find this game to be an exception. In the end, Port Royale 4 isn't the world's greatest strategy game, but it builds upon a solid foundation to cement its role as the flagship merchant simulator.

Port Royale 4's gameplay consists almost entirely of all of the bits in other strategy games that you'd normally set to "Automate" because they're fiddly and boring. It's a game set in the era of pirates with nary a hint of swashing nor buckling. It's like if Pirates of the Caribbean 6 was just three hours of Captain Jack Sparrow filing his tax returns. Yes, we know that somebody, somewhere, must have been filling in the paperwork back in those days, but we just don't want it to be us.

Port Royale 4 starts off strong, but its solid trading and management gameplay just become repetitive over time, eventually turning into a waiting game as numbers slowly get bigger. Managing cities and trade routes also never really overcome the somewhat awkward controls on console, and combat never becomes interesting. Still, if you absolutely love trading and seeing your empire grow is all the reward you need, Port Royale 4 might be for you.

The complex systems at Port Royale 4’s core never flourish under the weight of its uninspired moment-to-moment gameplay and lack of structural balance.