Sea of Thieves Reviews
I am sitting cross-legged in a watchtower, praying the crew searching for me doesn't realise I'm here.
A game brimming with potential. Incredible attention to detail and the potential to create your own stories is tempered somewhat by a lack of guided content to keep players motivated.
Jack of many trades, master of none. Sea of Thieves has a beautiful, wide ocean to explore. It's too bad that it feels about as deep as a puddle.
Rare's piratical playground looks lovely, but you have to make a bit too much of your own fun. The sound and the fury of the waves is lovely, but for Sea of Thieves to be properly good it needs to give the players more to work with.
Rare's pirate simulation is a blissfully uncomplicated blast, but you'll need a close crew of friends to make the most of it
Rare unquestionably need to apply new meat to these beautiful bones. I've enjoyed the ambience of Sea of Thieves so much that I want it to be something that stays in my life for a long time to come, but, in its current state, I know that is impossible.
Sea of Thieves is a disgustingly enjoyable game that is endlessly entertaining among friends. That said, it has an incredible deficit of organized content, too few customization options, and needs a bigger, more varied world map. I have no doubt that as the game grows and evolves, it will become an iconic, phenomenal title, but for now it remains deeply flawed even while being relentlessly fun.
Teamwork makes the game in this gorgeous pirate adventure, whether you're fighting the Kraken or chasing pigs
Rare have been clear about their goal of wanting players to create their own stories within Sea of Thieves, and it is safe to say they've succeeded. Let's hope they can keep the ship on course.
Sea of Thieves establishes a framework for promising concepts, yet fails to deliver on its true potential.
Sea of Thieves is a blast when playing with friends. With its focus on cosmetic customisation, we slipped into the pirate's life with ease – even after six years of updates and seasonal changes. Its natural and immersive approach to navigation makes it a seafaring sandbox well worth visiting, and a focus on cosmetics over high-tier loot make it a game you can play at your own pace. It's a delight to steadily come to grips with the mechanics of the game too, whether that be how to outmanoeuvre enemy ships or sell your loot with quickened efficiency. It might not have the same level of grind that a lot of players look for in a live service game, but there's endless pirate fun to be had here, and we're glad that PlayStation players finally have the opportunity to join in on the swashbuckling chaos.
Sea of Thieves is a daring attempt by Rare but also a lacking one on so many fronts. While the graphics are fantastic and the game has a unique charm, ultimately the world feels empty, devoid of content and features. Sailing with friends can be an exhilarating experience at first, but when there's not much to do the fun dies down pretty quickly.
This historian notes the progression in the pirate's attitude. At the outset, she is optimistic at best and infuriated at worst. Her outlook seems to peak when she first joins a crew and sails with friends, but she cannot maintain that energy, and eventually devolves once again into frustration—primarily, it seems, with other pirates of the time, who show little to no restraint in their violence for no reason. However, she maintains a constant love for the sea, and seemed to greatly enjoy the time she spent in a full crew; even throughout misfortunes, such as lost ships and chicken mishaps, there seemed to be great amusement. Perhaps, had she a more accessible and constant crew, her piracy might not have ended so soon after her arrival in the Sea of Thieves.
During first few days Sea of Thieves feels like a brilliant pirate adventure game. Beautiful world, unique co-op mechanics, complex ship management from the first person view, great compass system without any mini-maps with marks, and battles between the players create a huge number of interesting situations. But then you begin to understand that exploration element is underdeveloped, the world is barren, and there are too few opportunities for new fresh adventures. Basic mechanics are incredibly cool and promising, so Rare needs to act fast and create new content updates and expansions.
Review in Russian | Read full review
As it stands Sea of Thieves feels like a title that gets the ideas in place for an amazing game, yet fails to capitalize on them. There simply isn't enough content to keep me coming back. I love Rare and I hope this builds into something amazing at some point, but for now this game is hard to recommend sinking a serious amount of time into.
Sea of Thieves is great fun, and there's not much else like it available at the moment ... But, with a lack of an actual story or the ability to level up your characters or ship, it's hard to feel a sense of real progression and we wonder if that magic will wear off once you've hit your reputation cap and nailed the look of your character.
With time, though, Rare could make Sea of Thieves into one of the system's standout titles that shows what systems like cross-play can do as well as reminding us of Rare's long history.
Between the game's breathtaking visuals, candid humor, and heavy emphasis on cooperative play, the horizon is bright for Rare's swashbuckling shared-world adventure.
Sea of Thieves is a game with great potential, but undermined by the lack of variety and depth. Meditative alone, fascinating and epic in multiplayer, the navigation experience provided by Rare is truly unique and brilliant. On the other hand, the extreme freedom given to the player cannot be fulfilled because of clumsy boots on the ground mechanics and quest structure far too repetitive.
Review in Italian | Read full review