Beneath Windrose's historical pirate setting runs a layer of dark supernatural forces. What starts as a grounded survival game gradually reveals a world where devil pacts, undead armies, ancient prophecies, and corrupted creatures blur the line between history and fantasy.
Blackbeard's devil pact
The foundational supernatural event in the game. Edward Teach forged a deal with infernal powers, gaining the ability to raise the dead and command them as soldiers and sailors. His undead fleet patrols the seas and occupies strategic islands. The exact terms of his pact, and what he sacrificed in return, are part of the game's unfolding story.
The undead
Blackbeard's forces include multiple undead enemy types:
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Cutthroats | Undead swordsmen who engage in melee combat |
Musketeers | Ranged fighters who keep their distance and fire muskets with slow but heavy shots |
Pirate Sergeants | Armed with both pistol and sword, effective at close and medium range, tougher than regular pirates |
Drowners and corrupted creatures
Drowners are zombie-like enemies that players encounter from early in the game. They shamble through coastal areas and swamps, serving as a constant reminder that the supernatural threat is not confined to Blackbeard's fleet. Beyond the Drowners, the world contains corrupted enemies with supernatural abilities. The October 2025 Galaxies Showcase revealed corrupted crabs, mutated by some unnamed dark force. The Ashlands biome is heavily associated with corrupted enemies, suggesting that certain areas of the world are more deeply affected by supernatural contamination.
Supernatural weapons
Several weapons in the game carry supernatural properties, hinting at the sources of dark power in the world:
Item | Details |
|---|---|
Plague weapons | The Plague Halberd "wounds the body, destroys the soul" and applies corruption stacks. The Arboris Saber channels plague energy for special attacks. These suggest a pestilent supernatural force separate from Blackbeard's undead. |
Soul Eater greatsword | Described as having "belonged to the Ghost Captain," implying ghost ships and spectral pirate entities beyond Blackbeard's forces |
Dragon's Breath | A weapon that spits a cone of flame, suggesting magical or supernatural weapon sources beyond mundane crafting |
Ancient mysteries
The game's lore references deeper supernatural elements beyond Blackbeard's immediate threat:
Cursed gold with unknown properties
Ghost ships sighted on the open sea
Lost islands that appear and disappear
Ancient maritime empires predating European colonization
Secret cults with occult connections
Lost charts leading to unexplained phenomena
Columbus's Book
Columbus's Book of Prophecies ties the supernatural elements to the historical setting. The missing pages describe a treasure with power over the seas. Whether this treasure is itself supernatural, or whether it provides defense against supernatural threats, is one of the game's central mysteries.
Tone
The developers describe the world blend as an "alternative Age of Piracy" that layers supernatural elements over a historical foundation. The game starts grounded (gather wood, build shelter, survive) and gradually reveals the darker forces at work. By the time you are fighting corrupted creatures in the Ashlands, the supernatural has become part of everyday survival rather than a sudden genre shift.