Message opinions January 17, 2024, 3:55 pm
author: Michał “Pajdos” Pajda
I don’t see much good news on the horizon for players waiting for Ubisoft’s pirate sandbox. If the release isn’t pushed back again and Skull & Bones actually debuts in February, it will at best be a poorer version of Sea of Thieves.
I imagine that behind the decision to make Skull & Bones not just an addition to Assassin’s Creed IV, but a production in its own right, there is a very astute guy at Ubisoft. And perhaps this clever plan to fill a huge gap in the pirated games market would have worked for the French if not for one small obstacle. A moment after the official announcement of this production in 2017… the Rare studio took over thanks to Sea of Thieves, released a few months later.
It’s best not to play with this perspective with a hangover – this camera rocks a lot. Skull & Bones, Ubisoft, 2024.
And then – every subsequent year – the distance between the addictive SoT, which crosses the sea of games under the full sails of Microsoft’s support, and the rescue of the “Ubisha boat” (also full of leaks and patched up several times, as demonstrated by the continuous delays in the press release) was constantly growing. And unfortunately I have the impression that the distance between these two productions will not be reduced even after the official premiere. Why? The December beta felt like the creators just wanted to get the job done as quickly as possible, which doesn’t surprise me at all, because a decade spent tinkering with a title, after which you don’t see the time and effort put in can cause discomfort . Especially because Skull & Bones cannot avoid comparison with Sea of Thieves, and in such a comparison Ubisoft’s pirate proposal does not seem to be the best.
The difficult fate of pirates: limited freedom
Fun in Skull & Bones consists of sea voyages, which are an essential element of the game, and land exploration. Although the word “exploration” was used a bit exaggeratedly here, because we can only go to the mainland in the places provided by the game and the movement range is limited to ports and port buildings. We leave the boat mainly to exchange looted goods, buy new clothes for our pirate avatar or… cook soup. We also interact with other players and develop the main plot.
The photo shows a good-natured and pleasant captain and at least one evil monkey. Skull & Bones, Ubisoft, 2024.
In the latter, it is clear that the creators wanted to give the player an excuse to move between subsequent islands: most of the missions force you to travel huge distances, as in typical “Fedex” missions: go to a specific point, meet a specific condition and return for a reward. During cutscenes we can also choose dialogue options, although I don’t know if these decisions will ultimately affect the hero’s reputation, or if it’s just a mess, because it was impossible to evaluate it during the beta.
The wind is in the pirate’s face and the ship doesn’t want to be messed with
It would seem that in a pirate game one of the most important elements should be navigation, right? It turns out that for Ubisoft it’s not so obvious. While the use of boats in later chapters of the Assassin’s Creed series could have been significantly simplified, since traveling in this way was only an addition to jumping on buildings and eliminating hidden targets, the use of a similar arcade model in Skull & Bones is simply disappointing.
We’re changing maritime savoir vivre: now, instead of grog, pirates will smell like rose petals and violet oils (#masculine). Skull & Bones, Ubisoft, 2024.
Of course, I didn’t need a complicated simulation, but the whole sailing mechanic is limited to pressing a button (twice, to fully set the sails) and holding ANY course, as long as it’s not upwind, because only then the boat it actually navigates more slowly. However, this is an extremely inadequate solution if we consider sailing in the Sea of Thieves, where it is necessary to determine the wind direction by observing the behavior of the sails and ribbons suspended on the shrouds and constantly correcting the tension of the shrouds. the ropes. In Rare’s game we have the sensation of sailing on a virtual sailing ship, in Skull & Bones we rather move on a motorboat that pretends to be a sailing ship: the faster it is, the higher the class of the ship we command.
The videos are of a decent standard. Skull & Bones, Ubisoft, 2024.
The setting is a big plus and the game makes you feel relaxed at times
However, it must be admitted that Skull & Bones shines on multiple levels. First of all, it’s really a beautiful production, as can be seen not only in the screenshots, but also during gameplay. Observing the coast or weather effects is a pleasure for the eyes, especially when using cameras other than the default one (from behind the ship), such as the one from behind the crew member monitoring the crow’s nest or the one that allows you to observe the game world from the point of view of the captain who controls the ship. The locations of the territory, their architecture and the network of corridors in which you can initially get lost are also quite good.
And there is a lot of activity on land, for example we can bow down and cook soup. RPG in full swing… Skull & Bones, Ubisoft, 2024.
The customization items deserve special praise: the number of captain outfits and ship beautification options was already quite large in the beta and will certainly increase in the actual game. There are also a lot of ships to choose from, although I only managed to unlock a few (mostly due to a bug that gave me…unlimited cash!), but there were a lot more grayed out slots for blueprints found.
It’s hard to judge the plot after the few hours spent with the main missions: the missions may not have been exciting, but they gave us hope that in the long run we might have a chance to be pleasantly surprised by the story told here. In this respect, you still have to give credit to the creators and believe that they will not interfere with the matter, because it is also an important bargaining chip in the discussion of whether Skull & Bones is worth reaching for. Beautiful views may not be enough.
Ok, time to go on a diet because our knots are falling out. Skull & Bones, Ubisoft, 2024.
The Kraken waves its tentacle – and I’m running out of Częstochowa rhymes
So who is this game for? I’m not entirely sure, and I think Ubisoft itself lost sight of its target audience somewhere along the way. For those fascinated by marine science, this title may seem overly arcadey, and therefore bland and bland. On the other hand, people who are not interested in sailing and piracy are unlikely to read it, because there is not much to do on land. So who? PvP enthusiasts will probably have fun here.
I will definitely check out Skull & Bones after the premiere, but… as I anxiously awaited this production, my enthusiasm waned significantly. At the moment, it looks like it’s going to be a strong, mediocre pirate game, neither a very good nor a very bad game. However, it is very expensive, unless you choose the version with two additional exclusive missions and pre-release access. Then it will be even more expensive.
And here I exchanged bugged items for bugged cash. I’ve always had a business mind. Skull & Bones, Ubisoft, 2024.
I played Sea of Thieves for 6 hours – this is the most fun the game’s December beta allows. I spent much of this time navigating and completing the main story missions, but I didn’t avoid the side activities either. It’s a shame that these turned out to be not very different. I spent just a moment on the ground, checking out the hero and ship cosmetic options and watching cutscenes between missions.
2024-01-17 14:55:00
#Skull #Bones #beautiful #disaster