Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 78 | 5 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 97 | 0 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 79% | 73 | 441 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 88% | 82 | 2 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 6 reviews sampled · 3 total reviews in window · weighted 4 up / 0.6 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (15)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
“Between sea shanties and sea perils, there’s a lot of charm in Nantucket. I just wished it wasn’t as grindy in early game and as tedious in late game. A bigger focus on narrative and impactful enemy encounters would’ve been great.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“A surprisingly compelling roguelike about the pleasures and perils of hunting whales.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“I found Nantucket to be high on style but thin on substance, but its modest price point saves it from my more barbed harpoons. It has some pleasantly nostalgic reminiscences of Sid Meier's Pirates and a management system that borrows some of the more surface-level mechanics of Paradox games - both of which are good things. Plus, it really is the only thing that does exactly what it does. The originality of the concept is worth something even when it's not necessarily backed up with mechanical innovation.”
read full review ↗ - 84
“Nantucket is wonderfully cohesive, a real beauty of a ship built from unremarkable materials. It's too shallow to really drown yourself in, but just deep enough to be compulsive, constantly throwing up interesting decisions. If you're all about the destination, this might not be the ship for you. If you're down to enjoy the voyage, you could do a lot worse.”
read full review ↗ - 82
“Nantucket is a real surprise and will appeal to those looking for a mix of management, strategic and RPG with a fascinating lore.”
read full review ↗ - 100
- 75
“Nantucket is a strangely compelling and addictive game that acts as a follow up to Herman Melville's Moby Dick. While it can be quite repetitive, it's this loop as you develop your ship and crew that lets the game sink its harpoon into you. With a great visual design and some songs made just for the game, alongside the in-game newspaper that sticks true to the in-game date, Nantucket has buckets of atmosphere. I doubt it's a game for everybody, but Moby Dick, Strategy and Simulation fans (you don't have to be all three) will find this a charming game.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Which brings me to a little suggestion to all new players: don't do Ironman mode until you get comfortable with this game. There isn't enough variability in Nantucket to warrant the amount of frustration of losing all your progress because you went into a new whaling ground thinking it was just a bunch of whales and it turns out to be a shark ground. I do enjoy a good challenge but if you want to experience the story better, save Ironman for the replay.Some other little things that stuck out to me was that the random text encounters dealing with your crew got to be a bit annoying when you were trying to manage your resources. It was such a nice little surprise to hear sea shanties that your crew was singing but the fact that it gets cut off every time you go into a battle proved to be very jarring.Nantucket is well worth your time if you are looking for a fresh take on the strategic role-playing game genre, or are a fan of the original story that it is based on.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“To finish things of, I didn’t really enjoy this game. Maybe it’s because I’m not good at strategy games, or the fact that I don’t really enjoy simulations either. But despite coming into this game with an intent to give this the best review I could, it didn’t manage to swing me in the right way. The music in the game I really enjoyed, and the experience was definitely a new one but I don’t think I have the ability to recommend this game. Weather it’s because I haven’t enough experience with this kind of game or because I don’t enjoy this genre as much as others, I don’t know. I shall still give my best attempt to give it a score I think represents the game properly, so…”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Nantucket is a small but charming strategy title that nails almost everything it sets out to do”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Though the combat is unoriginal and a bit confusing, every other aspect of Nantucket shines brightly and all of it comes together to form a great indie experience unlike any other.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Nantucket brings to life the golden age of whaling and the story of Moby Dick in a tight package that's perfect for anyone who is a fan of history, a good management sim or the story of Moby Dick. Unlike other management sims, Nantucket is intuitively easy to understand, helping the player along as much as possible without holding their hand completely.”
read full review ↗
Hu3br
MonsterVine
Game Debate
Old Grizzled Gamers
IGN
ACG
Wccftech
Destructoid
Respawning
WellPlayed
Windows Central
Hardcore Gamer…and 3 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Hotfix for Nantucket 1.4Sep 27, 2019
- Patch 1.3 is out! More to come.Nov 10, 2018
- Patch 1.2 out! The game is now available on Mac and Linux.Aug 14, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 1.1 out!Mar 15, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 1.1 out!Mar 15, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Patch and additional versions updateMar 4, 2018
- Patch and additional versions updateMar 4, 2018