Black Sailors x Narratify: From Backlash to Gamescom

Our relationship with Black Sailors: Bay of All Saints, a Brazilian game by Mandinga Games, started long before Gamescom.

We first connected with Tiago Prudente following the game's announcement on Steam. Inspired by the history of Africans forcibly displaced to Brazil, the project was born from Mandinga Games' desire to honor their African ancestors and reclaim a part of history rarely explored through games.

This decolonial approach immediately resonated with Narratify. Rather than centering the Western perspective traditionally used to depict this period, Black Sailors: Bay of All Saints puts African characters and their experiences at the heart of its story, while restoring the historical context in which Africans were forcibly brought to Brazil.

From backlash to support

Following its Steam announcement, the game faced significant cultural backlash online. We connected with Tiago and offered advice and support on navigating the situation.

We later featured the project in Disculture, our video collaboration with French anti-racist media Histoires Crépues, using the controversy to discuss representation, historical narratives and the backlash that can emerge when games challenge dominant perspectives.

Then, Black Sailors was featured in our Afro Game Showcase, an online summer event dedicated to amplifying african and afro-diasporic narratives in games. The feedback was immediate: Black Saiolrs resonated very positively with the showcase audience. finally, a decolonial perspective coming straight from Brazil, vombined to an innovative ship game.

From online support to Gamescom

Our latest collaboration felt like a natural continuation of that relationship: moving from defending culturally distinctive games to actively helping people discover them.

As part of Narratify's African Games presence in the Indie Arena Booth, we showcased a playable build of Black Sailors: Bay of All Saints across five days of Gamescom, reaching both industry professionals and an international consumer audience.

Our team was trained on the build beforehand to introduce the game to visitors and encourage wishlists. The activation also included visibility through the Gamescom Steam event, social media coverage and photography.

Most importantly, we were able to watch players discover the game first-hand and gather feedback on its gameplay, narrative, controls and overall experience — insights that can now support future iterations of the project.

Supporting culturally bold games

This collaboration reflects what we want Narratify to stand for: supporting games that tell African and diasporic stories not only when they face backlash, but throughout their journey toward finding an audience.

It also connects directly to our Backlash Preparedness Workshop, through which we help game studios, publishers and community teams anticipate cultural backlash, understand polarized audience reactions and better prepare their projects and teams.

Black Sailors: Bay of All Saints shows why this work matters. Games can challenge the perspectives we've inherited, restore overlooked histories and give creators the space to tell stories from their own point of view.

Wishlist Black Sailors: Bay of All Saints on Steam and follow Mandinga Games' journey toward release.

In Tiago's words

[Testimonial from Tiago]