Blazing Sails Review (Jay Kacey)
TL;DR: While the game originally showed promise, an absent player base and relegation to "eternally early access" make this a better concept than an actual product. Do not buy this game.
Blazing Sails originally entered early-access in November of 2020. As of today (March 26th, 2022), the developers have given no indication that the early-access period will be ending any time soon in the foreseeable future. Originally, the game had an "Early access roadmap" with a general monthly timeline for the planned full release. Since then, the road map has been "extended" several times now, with new updates being penciled in, but with the actual "full release" date pushed back, and eventually removed. The last self-titled "major update" on March 11th didn't even mention the road map or a path to full release. By this point it's clear the developers have no plans for what actually constitutes "full release". In fact, considering the original road map, the game in its current state is far beyond the planned full game. In spite of all this, the developers have continued to produce paid DLC for the game. It seems clear the developers are trying to peddle the game as early access, with shiny new DLC, and the promise of completion "some day".
The player base for this game is practically nonexistent. In my experience, at peak hours, the global player count is around 20-30 players across all servers. At any given time, there are usually only one or two lobbies with any players at all. If you have any plans of buying and playing this game, you should convince your friends to come along with you. Otherwise, you're going to feel fairly lonely playing with the same 4 or 5 random players you get queued with.
The gameplay itself is fairly fun. There's a few different metas that have been constructed, and the different ships and weapons add variety and flavor to the game. There are two or three different game modes but in my experience the majority of lobbies with players are for the classic "battle royale" gamemode. To reiterate, the greatest weakness for the actual game is the lack of playerbase; as fun as it is if you can find a full lobby, the game simply isn't that fun when the only two lobbies have 2-6 players on two ships.
In its current state, I would not recommend purchasing the game. Even on sale, I can't in good conscience recommend buying it. The fact is: an early access battle royale game that doesn't have a consistent player base isn't fun, especially considering the slimy tactic of peddling it as early access with no release scheduled, yet continuing to produce paid DLC.