Skull and Bones is UBI Soft’s online pirate game that has finally been out after years of development and multiple delays. Now, the big question is whether it is worth $70 and a decade of waiting. All of it started with Assassin’s Creed 3 and Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. Comparing it to the Assassin’s Creed games is harsh but you can’t just play this game without thinking about those games if you have played them. Unlike Assassin Creed games, Skull and Bone, is a live service pirate game. Nearly all of the game takes place on a ship and there is no combat outside the ship.
It is a game designed to keep players engaged so they can keep on grinding. The primary activities include sailing and blasting enemy ships which is nearly all that the game offers. Players who prefer live service games are the target audience for the game. In a sense, it is World of Warships meets Sea of Thieves. There is a lot to discuss before concluding. All of it makes you wonder, Is Skull and Bones Worth It? Let’s find out.
The Start
Skull and Bones starts with creating a character and then you jump into the large pirate world. There is a good amount of size to the map making it worthy of exploration. The islands are interesting with their own biome and stuff. In the beginning, you will get dumped into the main pirate town which is the first settlement. That’s also where you will be introduced to the main element of crafting.
There are tons of quests to be found from story-centric to NPCs to bribing people for rumors. There is also a job board that you can walk to and take tasks from. The islands also have a bounty board that you can use to take bounties from. Even when sailing, you will find more mysteries and treasure maps that will keep you going. It can be overwhelming and dull at the same time due to repeatable activities.
The first few hours are really boring, you will just be talking to NPCs which usually include getting this and doing that. During that initial time, there is not something better to do. The importance of time stops to matter and that is where the game is at its worst. There is no sense of character, place, or world. Your character is just a mindless avatar talking to NPCs that don’t seem to matter.
The World
Some of the quests givers look great but that’s all that is good about them. There is no incentive for storytelling or anything. There is also some interesting stuff going on in the background such as different factions but most of it is devoid of any life or excitement. Most of your encounters with other NPCs are hollow at best since nearly all of them are vendors. Outposts and towns you dock at are detailed and look good. The main town is the area where Skull and Bones is more livelier. In contrast, other islands look beautiful but are devoid of life.
Throughout your gameplay, you will come across beautiful islands, sunken ships, haunted ships, haunted caves, and beautiful villas. In town, you will only see vendors or guests waiting for you in the corner. There are no generic NPCs in town, maybe the developers are hoping that players will fill up the map.
The Ship Battles
Everything else is secondary as the core part of the game is about ship battles and sailing. Guns are fast, light, and fun but not realistic. Even with big ships, everything is responsive. It is a fast, action-packed, simplified version of Black Flag. It is fun to sail and sailing around has a couple of different speed notches.
There is a crew stamina to manage while sailing. If you want to go fast, you can get items and things that will help you do that. Wind will constantly change, so you have to worry about it and work with the change in the wind. There is more focus on sailing compared to Blag Flag. I am constantly comparing it to Black Flag. It constantly reminds you of Flag Flag if you have played it.
You can either sail in a first-person cockpit view or an easily swappable third-person view. Crows Nest view from the top is also an option that can be helpful to see the far-off ships. It is easy to get into sailing vibes. There are things in the game to get you back into that sailing vibe. You get to see cool views such as fog rolling in or the sun setting down. Birds will follow your ship. Skull and Bones can look good. It easily gets you into pirate mode at times.
Combat
Combat is flashy, and fast, aim mechanics are good, and battles can end with a decisive blow. However, there are drawn-out battles with big ships that can take quite a bit of time. Steering is zippy and responsive. Ships have weak points and these weak points can be used tactically such as taking down the sails of a ship to slow it down.
There is a cool variety of weapons and cannons. Some of these weapons can be ridiculously powerful and unrealistic. It’s not like Skull and Bones is a pirate simulator so it’s expected. The effects of shooting ships are satisfying and their explosion has a good visual effect. Damage on the other ship might not look good and lacks impact. All of it makes bracing for the attacks softer. You can hold the button to brace for impact but it is not as good as bracing in other games.
After all is said and done, combat is still good. You will be sailing through the sea while destroying smaller and bigger ships. The drawn-out battle against wanted ships or big ships is really cool and challenging. Dropping stuff, using mortars, setting stuff on fire, using long guns, short guns, big explosive shots and a lot of fun weaponry makes the combat better.
The combat of the Skull and Bones is good enough that it makes you start thinking about crafting. Boarding ship is an option, your crew will throw rope and then there will be a cut scene after which you will get resources and bonuses. You are not involved in the boarding process, for you, it is nothing more than a cut scene.
General Gameplay
There are so many things about clicking and something happening than actually doing it. You are not parking your ship, launching your ship, or boarding other ships. All these things happen, giving you loot and a cut screen.
Customization is good with the option of customizing the way your crew looks. You can’t change everything about a crew member. Your first mate can’t be customized and he is always at your side. The first mate can stick out like a sore thumb after hours of gameplay. Ship sails, logo paint, body type, sail paint, crow’s nest decoration, and decorative stuff on the front are all the customization available. All of it is fairly detailed as well.
Then there is the store that we have to talk about. With new games, it is more like an elephant in the room. It is not pay-to-win and just cosmetics stuff but it should be kept in mind that Skull and Bones is a $70 game. Player interaction is simple and it is nice to have another player help you take down big ships or a fleet of ships. Outside the combat, player intervention is not good and does not feel worthwhile.
Lact of On-Foot Gameplay
One of the major reasons that Skull and Bones is so shallow is due to the fact that on-foot stuff is not that great. It feels devoid as the only things you can do are emote, climb the ladder, or rope and that’s about it. If the game was just limited to boats then it would have been fine but that is not the case. It will tease you with running around in the beautiful town and biomes all to stop you from doing anything meaningful.
As mentioned earlier, you can’t board the ship, there is no melee combat, and you can walk around in ship. It shows you all that could have been possible but you are not able to do any of it. UBI Soft made it clear that it would be a ship-focused game but knowing it doesn’t help due to the amount of things you are missing. There is a beautiful world out there full of adventure, ship blasting, village raiding, pillaging, and other stuff but it’s just out of your reach to partake in it on the ground.
Verdict (Is Skull and Bones Worth It?)
Skull and Bones lets you feel like a Pirate with all its ship blasting pillaging, and hunting ships. Once out at the sea, you can explore the vast world. Engage in ship battles, complete bounties, and raid towns. All these activities are good but only if you engage directly in ship battles. There is a lack of on-foot combat and the game drastically needs it. No matter how good the ship battle is, there is no land battle to complement it. Even boarding the ship is nothing more than a cut scene.
The base game is not really interesting to push through. It is not a disaster by any means and will have a dedicated player base that will keep it alive. With updates the game can become better because the combat itself is not too bad. The result will be the opposite if it remains the same. It is the type of game that you would want to keep an eye out for long term.
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