Shippin Demo Impressions

The demo of Shippin introduces us to the narrative adventure of Salva, a sailor lost in a mysterious region. Quest adventures and fun fishing await. Ahoy matey!

The Backstory of Shippin

I played as Salva, a sailor. The demo for Shippin began with him piloting his boat in the dark with just a little light to guide him. He was looking for someone, but I’m not sure who. He said, “they have to be here”. Then there were some mysterious occurrences, and the next thing I knew, it was days later. I wasn’t quite sure what had happened, but it turns out another sailor named Khan had saved me. While I was recovering, he also repaired my ship. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember where I was going, I just knew I had some sort of mission to accomplish and someone to find. Because I felt indebted to Khan, I accompanied him on some adventures, which included fishing and other tasks.

The Gameplay in Shippin

In the demo of Shippin, there was a good amount of fishing as well as quests, piloting the ship, finding treasures and retrieving barrels from deep in the water. I played with a controller. The fishing mechanic was really fun. First I spotted whirlpools in the water and piloted my ship towards one. When I was in a whirlpool, I was instructed to quickly press A. That gave me a circle around my ship with small light blue fish visible. I cast my line near a fish, and as soon as it bit, I smashed the A button again to reel it in. I liked that!

I found the mechanic for retrieving the barrels unusual. First, I had to bring the barrel closer to the surface by rotating the left joystick. Then I had to rock the boat using the right joystick, followed by a few more rotations of the left joystick to bring it above water. As I pulled the barrels out of the water, there was a great winch sound, which I enjoyed! Last, the piloting of the ship was not too difficult, and I usually struggle with tasks like that! I found the ship fairly easy to control.

I was given a journal which held a wealth of information for me. What fish I caught, what quests I was doing and much more. It even looked old, the cover was leathery, and the pages were weathered. Nice attention to detail! I always appreciate it when games have one dedicated place where I can find all the information I need to proceed. Oh, and I was also able to purchase upgrades for my boat, like an overdrive mod,e which gave me a burst of speed. It looks like there are quite a few more upgrades to purchase in the full game.

Wait, I Have Radar in Shippin too?

Yes, I had radar on my ship also. It helped me to detect those barrels deep underwater as well as various other types of treasures. Both had to be brought to the surface, but using different methods. The treasure only required that I drive right over it and press A, but I had to do this in the brief period of time that the radar showed the item. It’s only a few seconds, so it’s a nice challenge, and it seems purely optional to the actual mission of the game.

The Look and Feel of Shippin

Shippin seems to take place in an unnamed Middle Eastern region. The soundtrack sounds Middle Eastern, as does the scenery, but the demo does not state the location. It’s a bit of a mystery. Wherever and whenever the story takes place, it’s a lovely journey. There seems to be lots of desert as well as a small village. My character did not do any walking around off the boat, although there were a couple of cut scenes with him walking. My time was spent in the water, on my boat. It was a 3D open-world game with many water regions to explore. Some areas, however, were inaccessible due to a mysterious fog. It was explained to me that no one knows where the fog came from, but it impacts the lives of those nearby. One thing I especially appreciated was how the places where I should dock my ship were clearly outlined for me. I hope that continues in the full game.

My Overarching Mission

The beginning of the game served as a tutorial, and it did a nice job. It explained the various functions of my ship as I used them but my character still wasn’t quite sure why he was there and what he was searching for. This clarity was provided in a letter from my character’s father. He explained that he was trying to solve the mystery of the fog that surrounds them. He said that if I found the letter and not him, it would be up to me to complete his work.

Final Thoughts

During my time with the demo, I ran into a couple of issues, so I reached out to the devs. They replied very quickly and helped me a lot. I’m always impressed with game devs who are very responsive to players. To me, it indicates that they are committed to developing an excellent game and want to make sure the players have the best possible experience with it. So Bravo to the game devs at Big Trident Studios, the creators of Shippin.

Big Trident Studios is based in Argentina and comprises 8 individuals. They all have non-game-related day jobs and work on Shippin after work hours. Despite that, someone always replied to my queries quickly. This is the first game they have created together, and it should be released sometime in 2026. The premise of this game is unique, and I wish them all the best with it. I encourage you to give the demo a try.

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