Skull and Bones Reviews
Despite being in development for so many years, Skull & Bones offers fewer gameplay mechanics than the naval battles of past Assassin's Creed games. Yes, it does what it claims to do, but the turbulent development process unfortunately prevents it from getting any sympathy votes.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Unfortunately, that doesn't leave Skull and Bones with anything that it can really claim as one of its strengths. Its ship combat is weak, and for all intents and purposes the on-foot gameplay is nonexistent. What little story the game has is threadbare at best, and it gives the player no good reason to slog through the grind. It is saddening, as the game could've been something great, especially since there aren't a ton of pirate games out there. However, there isn't much about Skull and Bones that I will remember a year from now.
Skull and Bones may have survived the turbulent seas of its long voyage to release, but the end result is a game that's barely kept afloat by its solid sailing mechanics, while the uninspiring content, underwhelming presentation, and poor multiplayer design punch far too many holes in the hull.
Skull and Bones is a massive letdown and one of the most disappointing games in recent years. Creativity is almost nonexistent, 70 dollars price tag is unjustifiable and combat becomes repetitive extremely fast.
Review in Persian | Read full review
It's a charming game with a pirate theme and plenty of mechanics, but it does feel repetitive after a while.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Ubisoft has offered a decent base for an online pirate game, perhaps without a lot of variety yet, but it still has atmosphere and depth in terms of upgrading ships, building new ships, as well as trading and, of course, combat.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
After all the drama, all the hype and a lengthy development process, Skull and Bones is here, and it fails miserably. This is not a AAAA title, and even calling it a AAA title is highly debateable. I wouldn't waste my money on it and I recommend that you don't either.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Skull and Bones adopts the theme of piracy in a naval battle game that delivers good combat in a well-crafted fantasy. There is still a lack of precise adjustments to improve the experience as a whole, improvements to poorly developed mechanics, and the endgame in its current state is deplorable. Despite this, there is an opportunity here for fans of the style and setting to have fun, as long as they understand what the game proposes.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Skull and Bones spent seven years in development, but still feels like an unfinished beta version that was released way before it’s time. And while many expect this kind of patchwork from Ubisoft, it is still a reprehensible industry practice that is in no way fair to the players, who despite all the warning signs have waited and hoped for the game’s release.
Skull and Bones has potential but the result is disappointing. the gameplay gets boring after the first hours and the game fails to deliver story wise.
Review in Persian | Read full review
If you can stomach the rough seas of the early game, Skull & Bones has a bounty of live-service content on offer. The end-game mechanics and loot loop rely completely and entirely on the combat system that, thankfully, is one that delivers with every firing of a cannon. Taking over towns and cities, conquering trade routes, climbing the leaderboards - Skull & Bones is a thrilling ride. It's just a shame that it can take 30-40 hours to get there.
Skull and Bones may not be, in Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot’s words, a “quadruple-A” title, but in its current state, it’s still better than its reputation suggests. It’s an enjoyable pirate adventure, especially when played with a friend. Its arcade-style ship controls, gear customization, and straightforward naval combat feel satisfying, while the relatively low learning curve makes it easy for less experienced players to jump in. And yes, I know I’m in the minority here, but I personally find solo ship control more enjoyable than the chaotic crew-based gameplay of Sea of Thieves.
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Skull and Bones is a naval warfare game in a pirate jacket and not the other way around. All in all, if you expect a full RPG game, you won’t be fully satisfied.
Yes, there is fun to be had here with solid combat and a decent co-op-fueled endgame, but the world structured around Skull and Bones is lifeless, bland, and uninspired, destined to be one adventure long forgotten.
With Skull & Bones, we get an arcadey ship adventure without much depth. We had a few hours of fun in co-op, but the variety was soon lacking. If you want to spend a cosy evening sailing across the sea with your friends, you could consider buying it. We wouldn't advise anyone else to do so, as years-old games such as Assassin's Creed Black Flag have shown how good the game could have been.
Review in German | Read full review
Skull and Bones demonstrates that the live-service ship has sunk. Ubisoft Singapore’s troubled development and unclear concept have resulted in a product that barely performs its role, marred by constant boredom and poor design choices.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Skull and Bones is visually beautiful, and the frantic pace of its ship-to-ship battles can potentially provide intense PVP and PVE thrills. However, as a result of its turbulent, decade-long development cycle and the game's resulting "identity crisis", its high points end up getting lost in a sea of mediocrity.
We are not talking about a perfect title, but we must recognize Ubisoft's commitment to a game world that leaves room for freedom of activity and exploration, which aims for long-term replayability, thanks also to the updates expected to arrive shortly . In summary, the product is valid and brings good potential into play.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Skull and Bones should've just been a dedicated singleplayer pirate RPG. Instead, it's a live-service product that I don't see surviving past a handful of seasonal updates. Unless a massive tidal wave is coming that gives everything a proper shakeup, it's lost at sea for me with this one.