Sailwind
I've tooled around in Sailwind a bit. What's there is quite well done, and the community (at least the Discord) is generally rather pleasant and interesting. As a game, it's... Different. There isn't really that much
exploring going on, necessarily, as the world is more or less already very well charted from the get-go.
The difficulty, and the main hook of the game, is in successfully
navigating that world.
While you do have some excellent maps available, there's no way of telling where YOU are in relation to that map, aside from actually, y'know... Using navigational instruments. Checking your latitude at night via quadrant, your heading via compass, triangulating your position via spyglass and local landmarks. Then feverishly double- and triple-checking everything again to make damn sure you're actually headed in the right direction.
It's an odd mix of zen and nail-biting stress. Catching the wind in your fastidiously-trimmed sails and cruising through the gorgeous ocean waters is amazing and relaxing, but not knowing if you're in the middle of the ocean
en route to your destination or if you're in the middle of the ocean and
fucked is always great fun, especially with longer journeys where your ETA can easily vary by 3-5 days even with a perfectly straight course. Getting up to do the morning scan of the horizon and finally seeing a landmass after more than a week at sea is a grand and comforting experience every time, especially if you weren't over-cautious with stocking up beforehand and your food and water supplies are running thin.
It's definitely a game with a learning cliff, but once you start getting the hang of things you begin feeling a real mastery of your vessel. It's been a while since I last played, and since that time they've added ship/sail customization, sail shadow, and other fun bits and bobs. Can absolutely recommend if you're interested in checking out a very different experience, and if the idea of using actual tools in order to navigate tickles you.