Nice furniture, rum, tobacco, luxury clothing: these items demand higher prices but will sit idly in your ships' holds if citizens of various cities can't afford to put food on the table.Īs your fleet grows bigger, you'll need to set up automated trade routes. Once basic needs like food and shelter are taken care of, citizens will begin searching for luxury goods. Big money comes from transporting essential goods from a producer to another city that needs it. Each city produces certain things, like cotton, fruit, or grain. The principle of supply and demand is in full effect here, as is a hierarchy of needs. You can do this manually, sending ships to different ports and filling the cargo holds with the various items and goods you need. You start out with a few small ship convoys that can sail to different cities, buying and selling goods along the way. When you first begin, most of the emphasis is on trade. There are multiple ways to achieve that outcome, but a huge chunk comes from moving goods around the Caribbean. Whether you're playing one of the game's structured campaigns or its sandbox mode, your goals are the same: accumulate gold and economically choke out your rivals. It's extremely nice to pause Port Royale 4, set up half a dozen new trade routes, assign different convoys to them, then unpause and watch everything go into motion.Īt its core, Port Royale 4 is a game that's about controlling the economy through production and trade. Port Royale 4 Review: Old-School Capitalism T's perfect for the right type of gamer, but there are some quirks of the genre and other elements tacked on that could make a sizable chunk of gamers bounce right off. This is a cutthroat engine builder that encourages you to play as the worst type of capitalist.
PORT ROYALE 2 REVIEW SKIN
Port Royale 4 is much more akin to factory and supply chain management games, just with an "Age of Pirates" skin plastered over the top. Look a little closer, however, and you'll know that's a false flag.