Avast Ye, Scallywags!
Set sail on monochromatic seas and blast your way to fortune in Pirate’s Boom Boom, a supremely stylish shooter from developer Pirate’s ArrBC. Play as Pirate and Crow and fire your way through 99 arcade levels while collecting a bounty of rare artifacts and coins. Use your hard-won riches to unlock and upgrade special skills for your cannon, boat and Crow. With easy-to-learn mechanics and plenty of treasure to discover, you’ll be living the life of a pirate in no time.
Ready, Aim—Fire!
When players boot up Pirate’s Boom Boom for the first time, they’ll be greeted by the game’s simple yet stylish display and vivacious synth music. Presently, arcade mode is the only way to play, though the developers have promised a story mode in the game’s next major update. Tapping Play leads to the game’s initial level, preceded by a bit of instruction regarding the game’s mechanics.
Your humble boat will float through levels as waves of various ships launch cannonballs at your vessel. The goal is to survive the onslaught and sink as many opposing ships as possible. Players will need to aim their cannon by guiding their crosshairs with one thumb and fire by tapping ‘Boom’ with their other thumb. While the initial cannon feels wimpy, over time you’ll gain skills and abilities called Talents that provide extra oomph.
The first of these skills includes the Speedy Cannon, Boat Repair and Boom Boom. The Speedy Cannon ability doubles your cannon’s firing rate for eight seconds, while Boat Repair heals 60 HP. Boom Boom rapidly fires 10 shots and is perfect for tougher enemies like the Kamikaze ships, which do tons of damage by crashing into your boat. You’ll want to use your skills as soon as possible to optimize your chances of survival as you mow down enemies and nab their loot. Additionally, these skills will recharge after a short cooldown, so the faster you use them, the more frequently you can access them.
Put that Wealth to Work
After you’ve amassed a trove of coins, visit the album/shop to unlock Talents, which upgrade your abilities. To unlock Talents, players must perform certain achievements as well as pay the required number of coins. You can use Time Crystals, which are currency earned through watching ads via the Treasure Chest, to focus on achievements and gather coins. After unlocking Talents, these upgrades are applied automatically to your vessel. You can also purchase items in the shop, which will add even more special abilities to your growing arsenal.
Talents feel fairly priced, but items verge on exorbitant, ranging from 30 to 40 thousand gold. While this gap seems fair for skilled players, those who struggle with the game’s mechanics may grow frustrated. Pirate’s Boom Boom can be unforgiving at times, especially early on. After an unsuccessful voyage, you’ll be sent back in time to a previous level and face an ad. Ads can be annoying, especially early on, since you’ll probably encounter them pretty frequently. As discouraging as this can be, practice does make perfect, and you’ll be blasting through levels in no time. This makes unlocking Talents the biggest priority for new players, as it will undeniably lead to higher scores, which means more coins and items in the long run.
A Coffer Full of Charm
Pirate’s Boom Boom is dripping with inky appeal. Pirate and Crow sport rubber hose-adjacent designs, which give the game a unique, cartoonish appeal, similar to Cuphead. The cheeky voice acting and synth soundtrack only add another layer of polish to this gem of an action shooter. The world feels fully realized, and it’s a shame there’s not more to explore just yet. With Story Mode on the horizon, Pirate’s Boom Boom seems like it’s aiming for greatness. Given my experience, I have full confidence it’ll land safely ashore.
