Sea of Thieves Reviews
Innovative, but also incomplete.
About as empty as a lost bottle found at sea.
Sea of Thieves is what pirate dreams are made of. It's got some holes that need plugging, and I think time will be it's biggest benefit - there's plenty of hours of entertainment to be had with the existing voyages and things to see and do, but I'm incredibly excited to see how the game evolves from here. Sea of Thieves relies a lot on playing with friends and some repetition to get to legendary status. This is an incredibly social game, both verbal and non-verbal, that you'll undoubtedly have fun playing for hours upon hours singing sea shanties while drinking grog and firing off cannon shots for no good reason.
I hate to say that this game left me feeling utterly disappointed. It was fun when you experience everything for the first time, but the novelty wears off way too quickly as the game feels very incomplete. It has so many things that should have made it amazing. You can literally see and feel the aspects that make the game work as well as what could have made people wanting more. But sadly, it lacks so much to the point where it feels like Microsoft forced Rare to rush the game right out of the door in the hopes that what it currently has is good enough to make quick sales. All that potential wasted like a beautiful galleon sinking to its watery grave. If in the future there are patches that will give this game more content, then that’s all well and good. But for now? This game can only be described as “What could have been.”
What you’ll think of Sea of Thieves seems to depend on what you expected going in. Those that wanted a single player pirate adventure are bound to be disappointed by the relatively simple gameplay loop of going to find chests and returning to port with them, earning money to buy cosmetic rewards. Those looking for a multiplayer game with solo or co-operative play options are much more likely to be happy with what Sea of Thieves has to offer.
Sea of Thieves is a sailing master class with epic visuals and a thrill ride for the first few hours of discovery, but the swell simmers down to a stark flat body of water consisting of the same thing all over again just in a slightly different place.
Whatever promise Sea of Thieves had at the beginning falters soon after, to the point where this is a hot contender for The Most Boring Game of 2018.
Sea of Thieves can be a complete blast to play with your friends but a lack of content, an almost disastrous launch laden with server issues and some highly questionable design decisions makes what should have been the ultimate pirate game into a complete and utter disappointment.
"Though there seems to be a content wall holding it back, as well as some glitches needing to be worked out, Sea of Thieves is a solid title. Beautiful visuals and impactful audio draw the player in to an immersive experience."
It would be safe to say that Sea of Thieves may need a bit of refinement to develop the full potential that it could have by far. The multiplayer approach is well chosen and the rare naval battles become the highlight of every adventure. But the missing content that should keep you in the mood and the missing level system let you lose the initial adventure euphoria quickly. So I’d recommend to wait and see how Sea of Thieves develops. What content will follow and whether the price of 60 € can keep up. Because if content won’t be added the game quickly, Sea of Thieves players will drop out one after another. Unfortunately, Sea of Thieves only scores 6.5 out of a possible 10 points at Cerealkillerz.
Review in German | Read full review
Even though it feels a bit stripped down, there is a lot of fun to be had in Sea of Thieves.
Sea of Thieves teases you with this largely unexplored ocean until you realize there's not much out there.
Your path in Sea of Thieves is yours to make. The game is not for everyone, but you can't deny the potential for fun and adventure in Sea of Thieves. Despite some setbacks with trolling players and endgame content, I find myself wanting to play more and more of Sea of Thieves.
Sea of Thieves truly is the ultimate pirate fantasy and adventure, it does however really come down to how much you like the core gameplay.
Sea of Thieves is the perfect framing device for nautical adventure that rewards a committed group of young-at-heart, social pirates to find and evoke the fun from its sandbox. Unfortunately, that gorgeous world has questionable systems and content limits that (if not dealt with) scupper its incredible potential and give it a worrying sell-by-date.
Rare banks heavily on the journey you'll experience with Sea of Thieves, yet sadly the destination is confusing or might be a letdown for others. At the current state, we cannot suggest Sea of Thieves as a game but it's solid on a technical level and can be fun with friends for a while. Let's hope Rare can upgrade the experience fast enough to keep the attention of the most loyal players.
I don't exactly know what is different between current Sea of Thieves and day one Sea of Thieves, but the issues I have with the current version of this game are similar to the ones other had back in early 2018. The missions are dull, money is meaningless, and any positive experience with this game feels fleeting.
In my opinion, Sea of Thieves was always a great game, if a bit bare bones. But after a year of updates, it’s now the fleshed out pirate game we deserve and more updates are in the pipeline. If you can reconcile yourself with what the game is, which is a game about piracy, you will have a wonderful time. It is an experience you likely can’t find in another game. If you’re looking to sail the seas in peace, you should look elsewhere. Now get out there and get that booty!
Sea of Thieves is a great game to play on your own and an even better game to play with friends. The visuals are fantastic and the experience is unforgettable.
Sea of Thieves is an unique adventure that's best played with a group of friends. Solo players will run into repetition and boredom sooner or later. The game could use some more variability in content, but you won't care about that while playing in a well-coordinated group.
Review in Slovak | Read full review