Published Sep 4, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT
Brandon Zachary is a Lead Writer for Screen Rant's New Movie Team. He also writes or has written for Comicbook.com, CBR, That Hashtag Show, Just Watch, and TVBrittanyF. Brandon is an Emerging Screenwriters Semi-Finalist, co-writer of a Screencraft Quarter-Finalist, a seasoned on-screen interviewer, and a MASSIVE nerd. You can reach him at [email protected]
Sea of Remnants is far from the only game to take to the open sea lately, but it's also one of the most instantly striking. Set in a vast open world and brought to life with a distinct Tim Burton-esque art design that instantly stands out from the competition, Joker Studio and NetEase's pirate adventure is already shaping up to be a uniquely compelling addition to 2027's gaming slate.
Those defining elements have always been at the core of the game, according to the developers behind it. Screen Rant attended Gamescom 2026 and had the chance to speak with the team and play an extended demo. Our chat focused on their greater ambitions for the game, the distinctive art aesthetic, and why they went for a roguelike.
Sea Of Remnants Was Always Going To Look Unique
The most instantly striking element of Sea of Remnants has always been the visual aesthetic. The characters are imagined as puppet-like people, with a vivid costume design that comes with an inherent sense of roughish charm. The game looks great and benefits from the charming world design. This was also an element of the game that was in place from the earliest days of the property.
"One thing we knew for sure was that it was going to be unique. We knew it was going to be interesting [visually] before the art team joined the project. That was never a thought; that was always part of the DNA in our art design. We believe that doing it in this style makes it more memorable for players. It gives more layers to the storytelling."
That extends to the natural aesthetic clashes of the characters, which can range from foppish pirates right out of a romance novel to slight and slick musicians with dashes of cultural inspiration. That excitement of playing in this massive sandbox was a little too intoxicating, it seems, as the team actually had to cut down on additions to the game in its early form.
"We had too many combat options for the players; it was such a complicated system. We cut it down to only the characters... so that it could be comfortable. And likewise, on the ocean side, there's a lot of content that we wanted to put into the game, but it soon became too much, either for the players to experience because it's massive, or for us as developers to make."
These expansive ideas extended to new adventures on different islands, which would involve big voyages to coincide with updates that created "the magnificent, spectacular things you see when you're going across the ocean." While that content isn't in the game in its current form, it certainly sounds like the open sea roguelike has plenty of directions to grow in the future.
Yo Ho, A Remant's Life For Me
Sea of Remnants uses that slick visual flourish to add some unique flavor to a tried-and-tested gameplay mechanic. The exploration of islands can lead to plenty of fights with the local wildlife, mystical creatures, or other pirates, setting off turn-based combat straight out of Final Fantasy.
"When we decided on the name of the game," the Sea of Remnants creatives explained, "We'd already decided this was going to be a rogue-like game with infinite loops. We knew we wanted competition among the crew to generate synergy in turn-based combat gameplay. We had multiple versions to choose from [as inspiration], and it is still a clash among our core development team."
The combat mechanics are all slick, especially in boss battles like the massive mermaid/siren that appears in the demo as a boss battle. It all blends together well, with distinct character-centric attacks blending with the fast pace of a turn-based combat that feels genuinely chaotic and thrilling.
"It's all about making it make sense," the team explained. "We want the characters, the gameplay, the animation, the action, all of it needs ot fit into the world and the narrative. That was always the ultimate goal when we set out in the beginning. Then, with the clashing of thoughts and ideas, we landed on this." The flow of tight combat and flashy moves underscores the game's commitment to that fusion.
With plenty of games out there that also highlight the innate sense of adventure that comes with pirate adventures, the Sea of Remnants team knew they needed to stand out. That's where everything came together, the art design and world building informing the combat and gameplay -- and vice versa.
Sea of Remnants will stand out, for sure, when it hits in 2027: "We have stylized characters very individually, but give you realistic, illuminating environments. We want you to adopt the familiar with the strange... the looping theme throughout the game, the combined effect it has on the crew and the voyage, stimulates the player to further create and innovate in building their crew. It's a great combination of the gameplay and the narratives."
English (US) ·