Skull and Bones has finally set sail! Plunder or flounder?

I want to be a pirate!

Wanting to be a pirate is a good incipit to many a great adventure. Skull and Bones made it clear from the beginning that pirating would be the focus of the game. It could have taken many forms: plundering treasures, swashbuckling, naval battles and so on… in the end, it seems it settled on resource gathering and trading, which are not exactly the most thrilling pirate activities out there. There is a backstory about you being an underdog who slowly rises to fame and success, but it is so generic and forgettable that it went totally unnoticed after the first few minutes.

The main focus of the game is to improve your vessel to be able to undertake more and more perilous tasks. You do that by finding blueprints and gathering enough resources and money to complete every upgrade. Resources are scattered all over the map, often on remote islands, so a good part of your time is spent just sailing along. Almost the entirety of the game is spent sailing, since there is nothing meaningful to do on land. You come back to your hub to turn in quests and buy some upgrades or accessories, and that’s it. There are no lost islands to explore. No buried treasure to find. No rivalries and sword fights. You can’t even board other vessels, it’s just a cannonball fight. Outmaneuvering and shooting enemy vessels can be fun, but it also grows stale quickly when there’s nothing else to do.

Apart from sinking enemy ships, the most exciting activity you will be doing in Skull and Bones is sailing to distant places where you can sell your goods for the highest price. There is a good deal of ship fighting during your travels, be it vessels to plunder or enemy ships trying to sink you. It does spice things up, but after a while you will realize you are just doing the same things over and over. There is also no real penalty for failing, when they sink you all that happens is that you respawn, wait out the alertness timer, and retrieve all your stuff undisturbed.

Sailing through storms and fair winds

The above does not mean Skull and Bones is an inherently bad game. Simply, it is different than what most people expected. If you were expecting a great adventure full of exploration, with a compelling story and memorable characters, this is not it. As a pirate, this is not BlackBeard, and certainly no Captain Jack Sparrow! It’s a good trading simulation, though, and naval combat is fine and well done, especially if you manage to coordinate your attacks with other players (it’s not always easy to find people willing to lend a hand). The graphics are stunning: some of the best moments in the game are often found when just sailing at high speed along the coast, wind in your sails and a shanty being sung while you enjoy the scenery. Then again, the immersion factor drops drastically when you heal your partners in battle by shooting magical healing cannonballs at them…

Complaining about what could have been won’t avail much. Much better to focus on what’s actually there and take the game for what it is, a good trading simulation with naval combat. If that is something up your alley then you will enjoy Skull and Bones and its long trips in distant seas. Stay away if you want adventure and storytelling.

An ongoing journey is what you get

Being a live service game, Skull and Bones is constantly evolving. Four Seasons are planned for release during the first year, each introducing a new threat to the status quo along with new items and mechanics. At the time of writing this blog Season 2 is underway, and we can tell that each update improves and builds on the strong points of the game, further cementing its status as a (slightly) multiplayer pirate simulation. It’s not yet known what will happen in future seasons, but from what we’ve seen so far Skull and Bones seems on the right track to provide enjoyment to a growing number of players.

A game that plans its own route

So, did Skull and Bones live up to the expectations? It definitely didn’t, mostly because of 2 reasons: it stemmed from a totally different game (Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag), so people were expecting a different take on pirating. And it was in development for over 10 years, which pushed hype and expectations through the roof. Taking a step back and examining it with an unbiased eye, it can be seen that while Skull and Bones may not have found Big Whoop, it definitely managed to grow a mustache - maybe even a beard!