Playing A Game Windward PC

Windward is one of those long-since-backlogged titles where I can't even remember when I got it. I can imagine why, though: sailing the open seas, completing sidequests, and trading up for bigger and more powerful pirate ships should scratch the same itches as Rebel Galaxy or Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag did. What could go wrong?

Unfortunately, it seems I neglected to notice the "Procedural Generation" tag on this game -- and thus the implication that it has no cohesive plot or narrative. There are quests, and there are even "factions," but... there isn't an over-arching motive for why I should hoard enough money to buy more cannon portholes. Who am I and what am I doing here? ... just ferrying things from place to place, I guess?

Without a compelling introductory hook, and with no written characters (let alone character development), Windward feels less like a swashbuckling simulator and more like a port-trading simulator. Personally, I can't get engaged in such a world; if I don't have compatriots to impress, or villains to crush, the power fantasy is just too shallow.

Progress: Almost none.