Expeditions: Samurai review: Your crew would like a word before you start another civil-war incident

The big picture

Captain Flynn reaches Japan aboard De Albatros in 1600, inheriting the awkward task of keeping a crew alive while powerful warlords compete for control. Expeditions: Samurai gives leadership more to do than deciding who stands nearest the enemy. Diplomacy, stealth, tactical fighting and companion relationships all want attention. The captain's main qualification may turn out to be the ability to hear several competing suggestions without immediately walking back to the ship.

Campfire Cabal's RPG, published by THQ Nordic, entered Windows Early Access on August 7, 2026. As of October 18, Act 1 is available, Act 2 is in development and the complete story has not released. The current full-release target is the first quarter of 2027, not a guaranteed arrival. Anyone who wants a finished campaign should wait rather than hoping enthusiasm will fill the missing chapters. Current Early Access scope

History has made room for a different visitor

This is alternate history: William Adams stays in England, while Captain Flynn arrives in Japan instead. The premise gives the protagonist an outsider's position within the conflict. That can provide reasons to ask questions and reconsider loyalties, without pretending the game is a documentary that occasionally lets you rearrange an ambush.

Companion friendship, rivalry and romance add personal interests alongside political ones. The attraction is a crew with reasons to disagree, not merely a collection of useful abilities standing around until the captain selects the next destination. Keep the unfinished campaign in mind, though. Those relationship possibilities do not mean every arc or conclusion can currently be completed.

The setting is most interesting when local motives matter alongside the crew's survival. Flynn has an important problem, but arriving in another country does not automatically make every existing conflict a supporting feature of his career. Players interested in loyalties and consequences have a better reason to follow this premise than those mainly looking for historical costumes around a succession of battles.

Someone has moved the gunpowder barrel

You can split the party and position characters in real time before an ambush. Turn-based combat allows movement, attacks and interruptions to overlap, with gadgets and European and Japanese weapons in the mix. That asks you to understand timing as well as location. A plan can look excellent on the ground and become less impressive when everyone tries to carry it out at once.

September 30's Update 1 adds carrying barrels, including gunpowder barrels, to new positions. It also changes how alerted enemies patrol and defend chokepoints. Moving an explosive object gives preparation a clear physical consequence. It is also the sort of activity that makes “we're just having a look around” sound less convincing. Released Update 1 changes

This will appeal if you like setting up a situation before committing. Players who prefer completely isolated turns should notice the overlapping actions and real-time preparation. The game is asking for more than finding the best square when your character's turn arrives.

Let the qualified companion answer

Update 1 lets participating companions handle most dialogue skill checks when they have the relevant skill. That makes expertise a party resource rather than insisting the captain personally excel at every useful activity. There is a reasonable chance someone you brought along knows something, and it seems courteous to let them demonstrate it.

Co-op players can join conversations and contest important decisions. A guest therefore has influence beyond providing another body for the combat plan. That makes shared storytelling more meaningful, while also reducing your ability to carry out an elaborate personal vision without anyone objecting. Choose a partner whose objections you will enjoy hearing.

The village is still on the horizon

The October 14 development update puts the village in Act 3 at full release. Village rulership, its services and crafting remain future content, alongside the unfinished campaign. They should not be counted as activities already available in the current purchase. A promising homestead is less useful than a present one when deciding what you can actually play tonight. Campaign and village development update

Expeditions: Samurai is a conditional choice for tactical RPG players who actively enjoy an evolving game and accept stopping before the story is complete. Its ambush preparation, group expertise and disputed decisions give the available act a distinct proposition. If finishing the narrative is central to the appeal, remember it for later. Captain Flynn already has enough competing responsibilities without your buying an unfinished campaign and then expecting him to finish it anyway.