Helm or High Water

Grab your sword, man the helm, ready the crew, and loose all sails!

Helm Or High Water is a VR pirate ship combat game with asymmetrical local co-op. Work together with a friend on keyboard and mouse or gamepad to control all aspects of the ship from the helm and sails to the cannons and crew.

Pick your voyages carefully and with great cooperation you may have enough gold to upgrade your ship, improve the local island, dress like the pirate lord you are, or just to pile up real big in the middle of town.

Asymmetrical Co-op

As the Captain (VR), steer the ship clear of danger, give the order to fire the cannons, use your flintlock pistols to thin out the enemy crew from afar, and your sword to defend yourself from boarders.

As the Crew (Keyboard or Gamepad), adjust the sails, allocate crew members, choose cannonball types, and relay important information about the map, enemies, and ship status to the Captain.

Features

Feel the Waves: Most VR ship games have flat oceans or fake rocking motion, but not here. Real buoyancy physics simulation makes it feel like you’re actually on a ship. Watch the bow of the ship rise and fall over a big wave or keep your eye on the horizon if you’re feeling sea sick.

Mind the Wind: Sailing directly into the wind will make you a sitting duck. Angle your sails and use the wind to your advantage.

Station the Crew: Your ship has 3 roles for crew members; Sailor, Gunner, and Deckhand. Allocating crew members is vital to voyage success, as each role affects the ship in different ways.

Sailors - Increase anchor, sail, and sail angle adjustment speed

Gunners - Required to load, aim, and fire each cannon

Deckhands - Repair damage to the hull and sails

Choose your Ammo: Switch to Grape Shot for a better chance at hitting enemy crew, load the Chain Shot to do extra damage to the sails, or stick with Round Shot to damage the hull.

Beware of Boarders: Keep one hand ready to grab your trusty sword or flintlock, because enemies may be jumping aboard when ships pass close by. Dispatch them quickly so you aren’t distracted from your other important duties!

Style to Intimidate: Ditch the sea soaked rags and dress to impress with coats, gloves, hats, eyepatches, earrings, and beards to boot. Visit the Clothing Vendor's stall to spend your hard earned coin on over 40 cosmetic items.

Seamless Drop-in/Drop-out: Local Co-op has always been the focus, but the game no longer requires a second keyboard player and can be played Singleplayer, or back and forth as needed at any time with seamless drop-in/drop-out.

Game Modes

Hunt: Hunt is the simplest game mode. Jump right into the action and make sure your ship is the last one standing.

Blockade Runner: In Blockade Runner, you begin with a fully loaded cargo ship and attempt to deliver your goods to the allied fort. A blockade of ships and forts sits between you and the drop off point, attempting to destroy your precious cargo.

Destroy or evade all of the enemies that are after you and deliver your cargo undamaged for the full reward.

Fort Assault: The only objective here is to destroy the Fort, but it may not be as easy as it sounds.

First, you'll have to sink the ships protecting it, making sure to stay out of the Fort's range. Then, the main challenge begins! Forts are formidable enemies with more cannons and more durability than you, but they cannot repair their stone walls.

Can you and your crew out-maneuver the giant and live to sail another day?

Planned Features

Pick your Voyage: Balance risk and reward when you carefully choose your voyage from the replayable, radiant voyage system. Procedural map generation and optional secondary objectives, as well as variable difficulty and payouts, ensure no two voyages are identical.

Boarding/Ship Capture: Get in close and use your grappling hook to initiate boarding. If you’ve got the crew, you might even flip that ship to your side.

Upgrade your Ship: Reinvest some Gold into making your feared flagship even more formidable. Add more cannons, strengthen the hull, expand the crew cabins, and more. Repaint the hull and, of course, the sails must be black.

Improve the Town: It’s time to do some pirate infrastructure spending. Build better housing for your crew, open a Tavern to help them unwind, or hire a weaponsmith to make new swords and guns.

More Game Modes: Sink ships, seize the map, unearth the treasure… and outrun the fleet hot on your tail in Buried Treasure or set your sights on new targets with Flagship Boss Fights.