Skull and Bones Reviews
Skull and Bones is a bloated game that does manage to swim instead of sink, but not without many caveats. In an attempt to separate itself from Black Flag and stand out from the likes of Sea of Thieves, Skulland Bones doesn't so much color outside the lines as much as dogmatically stick to a tired formula while burying its strongest attributes under mountains of redundancy and half-realized concepts. For those who crave a game set during the Golden Age of Piracy, there are definitely things here to enjoy, but get ready to do a lot of digging.
Ubisoft's long-in-the-works pirate adventure boasts a beautiful world and bombastic ship-to-ship combat, but it sinks amid boring busywork and tedious traversal.
Combining moody and gratifying ship-on-ship combat with shallow live service trappings, Skull and Bones is great within the claustrophobic parameters of what market forces allow it to be.
Skull and Bones is a maritime RPG with a strong foundation, even if it feels like a live-service first draft.
With excellent sailing and naval combat mechanics, it's a shame that Skull and Bones is so hampered by its lack of diversity, odd developmental decisions, and minimal capacity to offer a true pirate fantasy.
Despite its long and circuitous course to arrive at port, Skull and Bones is the type of game that may change significantly in the coming months. But to evaluate it as it stands, fellow pirate enthusiasts may discover what I did – a flawed but beautifully presented historical fantasy in which one can take to the water and make a fortune, even if absolutely everything about the pirate life isn’t always pretty.
Skull and Bones strips away everything great about Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, resulting in a dull live-service game that's often a chore.
The looming question now is support. Is Ubisoft’s roadmap for this game going to generate the kinds of quality content and community excitement needed to sustain a player base? Live-service games are a crapshoot at best, but it’s clear there are things in the works. Speculation runs rampant on reddit that we’ll be getting more dynamic PvE events like monster hunts, and that the really cool stuff is coming. But, like so many other good ideas for Skull and Bones, it doesn’t actually exist yet.
With its stunning visuals, immersive gameplay mechanics and richly-detailed world, Skull & Bones is a must-play for any fan of action-adventure games. If you liked Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag's take on ship combat, you'll love this game. So grab your cutlass, raise the black flag and prepare to plunder your way to infamy on the high seas. Fair winds and following seas, matey!
After 11 years of development, Ubisoft Singapore's open world pirate-venture is a deeply ungenerous live service that's so dull, I'd turn anywhere else for entertainment.
Skull and Bones might have been a better game had it released sooner, but at it's fun combat is dampened by its rather dull progression.
Skull and Bones doesn't quite live up to the expectations of "a AAAA game", at least not at launch. The title relies on dynamic naval combat and bland, pointless walks on land. What Skull and Bones does it does well, but it doesn't aspire to be the definitive pirate game. Perhaps the ultimate pirate ship game would be a title more in line with what we've encountered.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Skull and Bones is a very odd game and there are plenty of aspects to it that will leave a great number of players stone-cold. But, there is also something wonderful about it as well; the sense of exploration, the cathartic combat, the glorious visuals, the welcoming online community, and the ridiculously catchy sea shanties. In short, like the very best pirate, Skull and Bones will be loved by some, and hated by others. For my part, and in spite of its issues, I love it.
Skull and Bones proved to have a stable enough structure to stay afloat and not sink as long as the French publisher decides to support one of its most controversial projects ever. With more profound and enveloping gameplay, we would be talking about a worthy rival to Sea of Thieves. Still, Ubisoft Singapore's pirate-based adventure is just a decent video game experience more likely to be appreciated for the management aspect and the considerable amount of playable content.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Skull and Bones turns the Golden Age of Piracy, one of the most exciting periods in history, into a mundane and plodding experience.
Skull and Bones isn't an unmitigated disaster, but it ends up throwing a lot of its potential overboard. The problem isn't that it's a game-as-a-service, but that its design falls short. It has highlights and good ideas that make it enjoyable, but if this is AAAA, then let Davy Jones drag us all into the abyss.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It's everything surrounding those battles and skirmishes that makes Skull and Bones a harder sell. The simulation aspects are limited and under-baked, the questing is almost always tedious, and there are only a few main ship models to work with. Lacking the ability to dock and explore, ocean exploration feels perfunctory and artificially hampered. Better ship customization options open up eventually, and it’s initially interesting to tinker with armaments, but it’s hard not to want even more of the best boat blueprints, more gear, more detailed inclusions that would make these vessels feel authored and unique, something to elevate the vacant core routines. Skull and Bones could have been a welcoming and rare new beacon for pirate game fans but, even with seasons of promised premium content yet to come, this boat is visibly sinking.
Skull and Bones does what it set out to do quite well. Combat is fun, the upgrade system is rewarding, the environment is engaging, and the sound design is phenomenal. But everything that it doesn’t do sticks out like a sore thumb. A next-to-non-existent narrative, repetitive one-trick missions, and a lack of anything pirate-related other than sailing a ship hurts. To its credit, I enjoyed my first twenty or so hours more than I thought I would. But it’ll take a significant, focused effort from Ubisoft to maintain interest over the years to come.