Edge of the World Review

Edge of the World puts a pirate spin on shuffleboard with asynchronous multiplayer. It's a curious mix, but hey - why not, right?

Yes, this is basically shuffleboard; where there's a lane with four areas that are worth more points the further down one goes and going outside of the lane is worth zero points. In Edge of the World that's exactly what it says on the tin, as the pucks in this shuffleboard are pirate ships launching themselves precariously close to the edge of the world. It's not a very practical game to replicate in reality.

The twist comes in that players get special abilities to help turn the tide in their favor. Each captain has a passive ability that helps them out, like a longer aiming arrow or heavier ships that are harder to move. As well there's an active ability that can be used once per round, including such effects as anchoring nearby ships, or firing cannonballs at opponents! In real shuffleboard launching cannonballs is considered rather unsportsmanlike.

The game takes place over three rounds, where the score after four ship launches are tallied up for their point values being added on, so it's not just something where one bad round will sink a player. In fact, one great round could turn over two mediocre rounds. The power-ups do a good job of adding variety to a simple game concept while not over-complicating it.

The game is free-to-play and there are coins for buying additional powerups, which can provide an advantage but the game is balanced in such a way that each powerup has a downside to it, too. Put an anchor right on the edge? That would serve as an effective stopping point for the opponent's ship, now wouldn't it? Use the Princess Push to go forward a bit more? Whoops, accidentally just went off the edge! They still require smart play and luck - they're more modifiers than anything.

The user interface and menus are very loud and could do with a redesign to make certain elements pop and others be flat; everything as it is right now just blends together, especially on the title screen because everything is just screaming at the player.

I believe Edge of the World is one of those games that does its job well, but it's not really essential. The game isn't one that demands to be played. There are worse fates to be had. This is the gaming equivalent of the middle manager at some corporation, putting in that 9-to-5. Their life isn't glamorous, but they reliably bring home the bacon and live comfortably, and there are worse fates to have than theirs. That's the life Edge of the World lives and there's no shame in that.