The biggest problem I have with Pirates is the difficulty scaling
Once you start to really succeed at the game it starts to push you up the difficulty ladder with each iteration. Some things are only available on higher difficulties, but the timing in the minigames becomes inhumanly difficult to keep up with.
I'm a long time gamer and my reflexes are pretty good, but I could never keep up with the higher difficulties. It was missing a difficulty sweet spot for me, where the difficulty I was on was too easy, and the difficulty above was near impossible.
No, you misunderstand. As you get older or sustain injuries in the game, your reflexes become slower. Also, if you are outnumbered, your reflexes are artificially lowered. So in effect, you can't win anymore and need to change strategies. For example, by shooting up a ship and waiting for them to strike their colors rather than boarding for a sword fight. Consequently, if you haven't taken out the other pirates while young-ish, it becomes impossible. Some swords are faster than others, too.
Once you start to really succeed at the game it starts to push you up the difficulty ladder with each iteration. Some things are only available on higher difficulties, but the timing in the minigames becomes inhumanly difficult to keep up with.
I'm a long time gamer and my reflexes are pretty good, but I could never keep up with the higher difficulties. It was missing a difficulty sweet spot for me, where the difficulty I was on was too easy, and the difficulty above was near impossible.