East India Company Review (PC)

A game based on history, per definition has something to prove and compare itself to. When a bold game maker like Nitro Games take on a mission of these proportions they face the overhanging problem of the game ending up as a bleak copy of the complex and fascinating events of a naval epoch, enter East India Company.

The player commands a fleet of ships belonging to the East India Company of choice. The goal is to achieve success in trade and naval warfare demanded to run business as usual. The player can choose to take side of an East Indian company originating from Britain, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Spain or The Roman Empire.

Remarkably, there is no option to take the role of the peoples and countries that were exploited by the East Indian Companies, which would have been interesting and added moral depths to the game. In an eager attempt to make a colonial power focused naval warfare and trade game that side of the story seem to have been overshadowed.

Initially three rather tedious and old-fashioned tutorials show the overall concepts of the game. Having endured them, one has an idea of the basics and can play in full campaign mode, but I would suggest the player look at some YouTube demos and trailers instead to learn the game quicker and in a more inspiring way.