The main gameplay loop is going to a port, getting missions, buy supplies and go to a dungeon. once in the dungeon it's essentially a "mystery dungeon" style affair.
when encountering a non combative event (and even sometimes before combat) the game does what is essentially a stat check from DnD; roll for Dexterity, Strength, Potential (in essence, the magic stat of this world), etc. if you succeed, you usually get something or negate damge that would've otherwise happened.

In combat, the game uses a deckbuilding style, when you're on your boat you can edit your leaders decks. the leaders all have stats their more proficient in and the runes (cards) do damage based off a percentage of your leaders stats.
The same goes for non-controlled crewmates, who will act based on their class (warrior uses attacks that scale off their Strength, mages scale off Potential, etc.)

You are the amnesiac captain of a trade ship, who is having visions of a demonic looking lady/man/something in between (depending on your choices) who is trapped in the void.
None of that matters right now, because your hemorrhaging money on expenditures and taxes.
that's when a stowaway named Aureilia is discovered and informs you of your first dungeon. Get to it, captain.

Sometimes when going from port to port, you'll get a prompt saying something needs your attention. usually it will be your quartermaster telling you about a new policy, something that can change expenditures, loot chances during dungeon crawls, how the crew heals after the fact, etc.
Most, if not all, of the policies will affect how crew members see you, but there's some good rule of thumbs here; Aureilia will like things that go against the trade commission, Tiana (your quartermaster) will like anything that goes for the trade commission and Ignacy (the ships local medic, runecrafter and half-beastman) will like it when you make him head of medicine.
Other than the policies, there is not much else that will need your attention.

I want to preface this section with something; this is my personal critique of small facets of the game , but I do feel that it mires the overall experience.
first off, I feel when going into a sexual scene, there's not always a clear indication of how it's going to go; a good example of this is with the only other thing that needs your attention on ship; Ignacy.
Ignacy, being a beastman, has a mating season. Unfortunately for you and the crew, that makes him very nearly mad trying to hold back his lust.
The only other "something needs your attention" event that happens (as of this build) is hearing Ignacy scratching up the walls and other things. You, being a good captain, walk in and Ignacy says (non-verbatim) "I'm not sure how much more I can take".
You have two choices during this talk;

1. back away slowly and run away, like an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.
   or
   
2. "tease the beastman"

Going into this, I didn't think that teasing him meant in a sexual manner, so I literally got booty blasted by Ignacy over the misunderstanding of the situation.

another area of critique for me was in the Loretta questline; it just... stops.
to sum up the questline, you encounter Lindon Loretta, the now physically and mentally altered heir to the Loretta Nobility, living the glamourous life of a sex slave and you can pay for ownership of them. Once you do so, you can either put them in your on sea brothel, or rip up the contract and bring them home.
once you do the MORALLY RIGHT THING and tear up the contract, Lindon tells you where the Loretta Acreage is and asks you to bring them home.
once you get to the gates, a guard stops you and says that Lindon was some young boy, definitely not the person you brought to the gates; he gives you 2 options.

1. bribe him for entrance to the estate
   or
   
2. let him have a ride on Lindon and he'll give you both entrance

once you've made your choice, Lindon goes to the estate, proves that they are the heir and asks you a very important question;
"should I go on your boat and live the life that was created for me by slavers, or should I stay here and try to get help?"
Lindon makes it very clear during the conversation that they have been massively altered both physically and mentally by slavers; now having both sets of genitals, breasts and a mind created for punishment and lust, due to chemicals (like guar milk, which cause breast growth) and magic (i think, I'm a bit hazy on the details) and that their own mind cannot be trusted.
So if you send Lindon home to get help what happens? well, as of this build absolutely nothing, you get your 2000 gold back and some clothes, but I think you get those either way.
One would assume, considering the open end of the questline, you could come back later in the game and see how Lindon is doing now, maybe even see them without their alterations. but nope, quest done (at least for now, I don't know what the devs plans are), go home.

Another Critique I have is the sleeping quarters on the boat; it is completely superfluous. it does nothing, it could be a cutscene only area and it would have the same amount of weight as it does now.
A reminisce/scene view feature would be a perfect addition to the room, meaning one wouldn't need to make saves for non-repeatable scenes.

on the subject of scenes, there are some that can be permanently missed, this is in part due to dungeon bosses having cutscenes. if one could replay boss fights, this would be no problem, but that's not the case.

also, the actual dungeon gameplay feels too grindy and luck based at times (this is coming from a freak that actually enjoys grinding in most games), meaning that subsequent playthroughs will be a slog.

This is the epitome of diamond in the rough.
But the great thing is, is that it's in early access, meaning many complaints and critiques can be rectified as development goes on.
It's got great art, a good story and (mostly) likeable characters.

6.5/10, leaning pretty close to a 7/10.