Similar games
Games like Seafarer: The Ship Sim
astragon Development · 2026 · Windows
Steam: 64 % positive of 2,050 reviews, as of Oct 28
Build your maritime career solo or with up to 4 players. Take on contracts across diverse harbors, command different ships, and tackle cargo runs, patrols, rescues, firefighting, and unexpected events in a vast Northern European open world.
24 games that play like Seafarer: The Ship Sim and 24 that look like it. Closest by gameplay: Ships At Sea, Sailwind and Professional Ship Simulator.
Player tags
Steam reviews
What players say
Mixed reception: players praise the ship handling, weather and visuals, but many call it arcade-like with thin bridges, repetitive cargo work and bugs.
Many players like the look of the game: detailed ports, convincing weather and sea, and a wide range of vessels from tugs to large cargo ships. Several enjoy walking through the interiors, the engine room faults and the feel of each hull, and say the game is relaxing to play. The complaints are just as common. Many reviewers say the simulation is shallow: bridge controls are placeholders, thrusters and steering are hard to use, the sea is often flat, and tug physics and wakes feel unrealistic. Some describe repetitive cargo loading, slow progression and long sailings back to port. Others report crashes, soft-locks in missions, poor optimisation and problems with controller and hardware support. Recent reviews are harsher than the older helpful ones, with more reports of bugs, a multiplayer requirement and a near-total absence of single-player options.
Praised
- Ship handling and water
Players find the hull feel and water physics convincing, with varied ship behaviour from tugs to large freighters.
Many players - Visuals and ports
Reviewers praise the detailed ports, ship models and weather effects, even if performance is demanding.
Many players - Variety of vessels and jobs
Players value the range of ships and missions, including tugs, rescue and cargo runs, and the walkable interiors.
Some players - Relaxed, enjoyable play
Reviewers say the game is relaxing and fun to return to, especially for fans of truck-sim style games.
Some players
Criticised
- Arcade rather than simulation
Reviewers say controls, physics and bridge equipment are simplified or placeholders, so it feels more like an arcade game.
Many players - Bugs and crashes
Many recent reviews report game-breaking bugs, crashes, soft-locks in missions and cargo loading problems.
Many players - Repetitive cargo work
Players find loading, lashing and unloading containers tedious and slow, with little to do at sea.
Some players - Thin single-player options
Players say the map is limited, there are few custom voyages and recent changes push players into multiplayer.
Some players
- Who it suits
- Players who enjoy relaxed ship-handling and cargo runs, and who accept an arcade-style sim in early access.
- Who should skip it
- Players wanting a realistic maritime simulator, single-player depth or a bug-free experience should skip it for now.
Short vs. long playtime: Players with over 100 hours are more critical of repetitive gameplay and recent changes, while newer players are more positive about the visuals and relaxed play.
Summarised by AI from 64 Steam reviews (English, helpful and recent), as of Oct 28, 2026.
Best matches
Plays and looks like Seafarer: The Ship Sim
These games are close to it by gameplay and by look, so they appear in both lists below.
Ships At Sea
69 % positive of 2,527
Shared: Naval · Exploration · Immersive Sim
Professional Ship Simulator
69 % positive of 327
Shared: Simulation · Naval · Exploration
Fishing: Barents Sea
78 % positive of 2,395
Shared: Simulation · Naval · Realistic
European Ship Simulator
41 % positive of 596
Shared: Simulation · Naval · Open World
By gameplay
Plays like Seafarer: The Ship Sim
Matched from Steam descriptions and player tags. The tags under each game are the ones both games share.
Ships At Sea
69 % positive of 2,527
Shared: Naval · Exploration · Immersive Sim
Sailwind
89 % positive of 2,346
Shared: Simulation · Life Sim · Exploration
Professional Ship Simulator
69 % positive of 327
Shared: Simulation · Naval · Exploration
Following Seas
75 % positive of 161
Shared: Simulation · Naval · Exploration
Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition
87 % positive of 323,181
Shared: Naval · Exploration · Open World
Fishing: Barents Sea
78 % positive of 2,395
Shared: Simulation · Naval · Realistic
Sail Forth
92 % positive of 602
Shared: Simulation · Exploration · Sailing
Ship Simulator Extremes
51 % positive of 2,309
Shared: Simulation · Naval · Realistic
Raft
92 % positive of 324,997
Shared: Simulation · Open World · Co-op
European Ship Simulator
41 % positive of 596
Shared: Simulation · Naval · Open World
Sailing Era
78 % positive of 4,610
Shared: Simulation · Exploration · Transportation
Stormworks: Build and Rescue
89 % positive of 55,066
Shared: Naval · Exploration · Immersive Sim
More matches
- Ship Simulator: Maritime Search and Rescue51 % positive of 115Shared: Simulation · Naval
- World Ship Simulator15 % positive of 177Shared: Simulation · Naval · Realistic
- Fishing: North Atlantic - Enhanced Edition76 % positive of 2,542Shared: Simulation · Naval · Exploration
- Windrose86 % positive of 48,644
- Windward79 % positive of 2,669Shared: Naval · Exploration · Open World
- The Pirate: Caribbean Hunt82 % positive of 4,668Shared: Simulation · Naval · Exploration
- Windward Horizon78 % positive of 403Shared: Naval · Exploration · Open World
- Blackwake80 % positive of 26,071Shared: Naval · Open World · Sailing
- VR Sailing96 % positive of 325Shared: Simulation · Immersive Sim · Transportation
- Sailaway III65 % positive of 164Shared: Simulation · Naval · Realistic
- Elite Dangerous76 % positive of 82,813Shared: Simulation · Exploration · Open World
- Sid Meier's Pirates!93 % positive of 6,244Shared: Naval · Exploration · Open World
By look
Looks like Seafarer: The Ship Sim
Matched from screenshots. Each card shows the screenshot closest to the look of this game.
Ships At Sea
69 % positive of 2,527
Professional Ship Simulator
69 % positive of 327
Fishing: Barents Sea
78 % positive of 2,395
Fishing: North Atlantic - Enhanced Edition
76 % positive of 2,542
The Last Caretaker
86 % positive of 13,900
Age of Water
72 % positive of 2,893
Once Human
78 % positive of 194,003
Ship Simulator: Maritime Search and Rescue
51 % positive of 115
Cold Waters
87 % positive of 4,618
Wolfpack
87 % positive of 1,873
UBOAT
83 % positive of 25,773
Modern Naval Warfare
55 % positive of 249
More matches
- Deadliest Catch: The Game50 % positive of 1,522
- World Ship Simulator15 % positive of 177
- Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age90 % positive of 6,408
- European Ship Simulator41 % positive of 596
- VR Sailing96 % positive of 325
- Just Cause 2: Multiplayer Mod91 % positive of 14,559
- Stormworks: Build and Rescue89 % positive of 55,066
- Derail Valley95 % positive of 9,569
- WILL: Follow The Light73 % positive of 564
- Transport Fever 371 % positive of 7,014
- Silent Depth 2: Pacific58 % positive of 274
- Carrier Command 282 % positive of 3,467
At a glance
What games like Seafarer: The Ship Sim have in common
- The tags they share most often with Seafarer: The Ship Sim: Naval (17 of 24), Simulation (16) and Exploration (14).
- They came out between 2005 and 2026, none of them after Seafarer: The Ship Sim (2026).
- Best rated by Steam players: Sid Meier's Pirates! (93 % positive of 6,244).
How these matches work
Matches come from embeddings of Steam descriptions, player tags and screenshots, computed offline. “Plays like” compares what the games are about and how players tag them; “Looks like” compares their screenshots. The share of positive reviews is based on Steam user reviews.