Saltsea Chronicles review – beguiling marine mystery is a delightful adventure

Die Gute Fabrik; PC, PS5 and Switch
Involving narrative game reveals little by little the complex relationships of a ship's crew seeking their kidnapped captain

Saltsea Chronicles is a Choose Your Own Adventure story blown up to epic proportions. The primary mystery unfolds like this: the ragtag crew of a ship are seeking their kidnapped captain. A vessel with indigo sails has been spiriting people away, and perhaps their beloved leader is among them. The player explores the world through investigating still vignettes - illustrations of the islands, of the boat, of rooms - by leading the cursor through different nodes. There is a colourful menu system to help keep players aware where each character is at, both literally and in what they want and need. Conversations and scenes play out, the rich mystery tipping open little by little.

Though Saltsea initially seems to be a visual novel, it rejects a lot of the storytelling principles that novels rely on. There is no singular hero here: this is a story about the experiences of an entire crew and, in time, a community. It rolls out in tiny scenes, branching carefully through the mystery. This makes the choice aspect of the gameplay different than other story-led games: you get a real sense of the relationships the cast have with each other, rather than one singular character's solo perspective. A thoughtful feature within the save system allows players to branch out and try other options, if they want to play through the rest of the cast's narratives.