Planned Release Date: 2027

About This Game

Keep your crew alive. Keep the sea outside.

Eight Bells is a real-time-with-pause naval roguelike. You are a young Navy officer with a single ship and a wanted list. Hunt the pirate captains on your posters across five regions of a dangerous sea, from the Crown Waters to the Cursed Fog, and climb the ranks from Ensign. Lose the ship and the career ends.

Broadside combat, room by room

Both ships are laid out room by room. Send crew to the gun deck, the rigging, the pumps and the surgeon. Win the range contest to choose your fight: stand off at long range, close for a broadside, or row a boarding party across. Fire spreads, water rises through the breaches, and the hands who put them out are the hands you need on the guns.

Bounty hunting

Every rank comes with wanted posters. Hunt down the captains on them to collect the bounty and earn your next promotion. Let a captain slip away and the price on that head goes up.

A crew with an edge

Humans, merfolk and stranger folk each change what a crew can do. Merfolk don't fear the flooded decks, while others trade toughness for skill. Hire at port, refit, restock, and sail on.

Spells and beasts

Raise fog, lay hexes, and keep a beast hold. Loose a creature from the deep on the enemy ship and let it do its work.

A sea that bites back

Pirates are not the only danger. More than ten sea monsters roam these waters, from the Kraken to the Hydra, and none of them fights like a ship.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

Some of the current artwork (including ship and monster background illustrations) was generated with AI image tools and edited by the developer. These are placeholders that will be replaced with hand-made art before release. No AI content is generated while the game is running.