Wildgate delivers exciting Sea of Thieves shenanigans in space
By Marco Wutz
The sound of ringing alarms is being pierced by a computerized voice warning us of fires, low oxygen supplies, and intruders on board as our humble vessel – the Pizza Party – races to its destination, pursued by three other ships targeting us, all with similarly unserious names such as the aptly named Still Relevant, which joined the hunt last. We are target number one due to our cargo: the Artifact.
The Artifact is the grand prize all five ships on the map are vying for. The crew that nabs it and escapes through the sector’s Wildgate is the winner and we made the ill-considered choice of picking this astounding piece of technology up way before the gate opened, giving other ships plenty of time to catch us. So there we are: Fires are spreading on our ship, half the guns are out of order, and an enemy boarding party is trying to steal the Artifact in all the chaos, which would enable them to take all the glory for themselves.
Despite watching my ship being blown to pieces – and quickly following it thanks to no longer having any oxygen to breathe – I can’t help but laugh. Victory eluded us on this occasion, but the fact that we were invested enough to stick around and watch the outcome of the match should be testament to the stories Wildgate can create.
In development for five years at Moonshot Games, one of many studios formed by ex-Blizzard developers, the team-based sci-fi shooter is best described as an action-packed, compact Sea of Thieves match in space.
Five ships with four crew members load into a procedurally generated map that looks different every time and are tasked with finding the single Artifact hidden somewhere in the sector. The crew that takes the Artifact through the Wildgate wins — but eliminating all other ships is viable as a route to victory as well.
Like in a battle royale or extraction shooter, the initial phase of a match is heavy on looting as your crew breaks into points of interest and completes the quests they offer, such as activating certain devices or clearing all non-player enemies present. Each location rewards players with loot, which is primarily used to upgrade their ship: You can find more powerful weapons, like a Sniper Turret or Macro Turret, or useful attachments that let you fly into meteor storms without taking damage — an advantage that can be crucial during combat maneuvers.
Loot can also complement your personal equipment, though. Turbines can act as your personal mini ship and quickly get you on board an enemy vessel, while Bomb Traps can be placed there to sabotage them. A handheld tractor beam is powerful enough to keep ships from escaping for some time, which is super handy to keep pesky Artifact thieves in place.
All of this equipment seems to have a pretty straightforward purpose, but can be used creatively to open up completely different playstyles. There is a type of rocket you can mount on an enemy ship to bring it off course, but if you place an even number of them in the right locations on your craft, they can provide a substantial speed boost no one will be able to keep up with.
Ingenuity and individual heroism can decide a game of Wildgate as much as smooth teamwork, taking calculated risks, or getting blessed by the loot gods with powerful upgrades — but none of these things alone is enough to stand against a combination, making Wildgate feel rewarding and satisfying like few other multiplayer games.
Sea of Thieves is the obvious comparison, but I repeatedly felt reminded of a game called Guns of Icarus Online in regard to Wildgate’s ship-to-ship combat, as both titles are set in 3D combat environments, which gives the maneuvering and shooting a similar feel — a big plus in my book.
Moonshot Games co-founder Dustin Browder confirmed that the title from 2012 is among the inspirations for Wildgate along with Rare’s pirate adventure, Overwatch, Apex Legends, and Subnautica. The latter certainly influenced the looks and atmosphere of the Reach, which is basically a little more hospitable take on Warhammer 40,000’s Warp.
Players can choose from a variety of ship classes, which all possess different bulk, speed, gun emplacements, and layouts. The Hunter is a great compromise between all these, but players with excellent piloting skills could probably get more out of the speedy Scout, while a crew that prefers to bring more firepower will be happiest with the fortified Bastion. Unlike in extraction shooters, though, there is nothing that can be transferred from match to match. You’ll start any match with the base version of your ship and need to earn those upgrades and equipment.
There is also a colorful cast of characters consisting of robots and aliens to pick from, each of them having unique passive abilities and attributes. The robot character, for example, doesn’t need oxygen to breathe, making him perfect for exploring and boarding, while the cute, little alien named Sal gets bonuses to repairing and can randomly invent potent ship upgrades by salvaging unwanted equipment. Her increased HP and the fact that she doesn’t have a weak point on her body make her strong in combat as well, though, once again providing versatility.
You can completely customize your character’s loadout, bringing primary and secondary guns as well as two gadgets of your choice — Wildgate is not a hero shooter, though that’s an easy mistake to make at first glance.
It manages to condense much of what makes Sea of Thieves’ gameplay appealing – the action, the exploration, the exhilaration of playing a pirate – into 20 to 40 minutes and adds elements to it that spice up the formula, such as the unique characters and the more complex environments.
Matches start off pretty relaxing with only NPCs being nearby, but once you send out probes to scout the map in hopes of finding the Artifact or valuable points of interest and stumble over the opponents’ ships, things progressively get more intense. You never know when someone might sneak up on you, especially in the chaos of a skirmish. Your crew needs to make decision after decision and react to what’s happening — and once the Artifact is on someone’s ship, which is broadcast to everyone, things get really hectic in the best of ways.
Studio co-founder Jason Chayes said that one of the key pillars of Moonshot Games’ projects is that “everyone should leave with a story” — and that promise certainly comes to life in Wildgate, which is targeting a launch in 2025 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S as a premium title. Read more on the title in our interview with Jason Chayes and Dustin Browder.