Skull and Bones Review: "This Boat Is Visibly Sinking"

So far, 2024 has been incredibly solid with its big AAA releases. Multiple companies like Atlus, SEGA, Capcom, and Square Enix have been dropping quality titles for gamers to enjoy. And then, there’s Ubisoft, who has been trying to spin the release of Skull and Bones into something positive. Their pirate-themed multiplayer adventure title has been in development limbo for years, and then when the beta finally released, it didn’t exactly spur people to try it out for full price. Ubisoft has been going overboard, pun intended, to sell it as a AAAA title, which many know by now to be nothing more than a puffery statement.

Skull and Bones finally launched earlier this month, and though it has done quite the opposite of setting the world on fire with its critical reception, for those who’re sailing the high seas in the online pirate game, Ubisoft has released its first free season of post-launch content.

Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones finally launched earlier this month after years of delays and development issues, but the online pirate game was, predictably enough, met with less-than-stellar reviews upon release. On the commercial front, the full extent of how the game is performing isn’t yet clear, but at least in terms of average engagement per user, it seems to be doing well enough.

Skull and Bones, the oft-delayed pirate game from Ubisoft that finally arrived earlier this month following almost a decade of development, has released its first season of post-launch content on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC — introducing, among other things, new world events, new contracts and bounties, plus a battle-pass-style progression track.

Skull and Bones has been a long time coming. First announced way back in the simpler times of 2017, it’s now finally seeing release a whopping seven years later. With numerous delays throughout its lengthy development, it’s safe to say that interest in the title has waned. The initial response was positive, but that has since shifted to ambivalence and borderline antipathy. I’ll admit I approached playing Skull and Bones with little to no excitement, so imagine my surprise when I found myself thoroughly enjoying my time with the game. After many hours of play, Skull and Bones has well and truly got its cutlasses stuck into me. However, my recommendation does come with some serious caveats.

While Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League falls short of WB Games’ expectations, Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones isn’t doing much better. Sources speaking to Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson report that it had around 850,000 players.

The rarest currency you can get in is Sovereigns, which only appear during the endgame portion of your adventure. Used to purchase new cosmetics for your character and ship, you need to compete with others to earn these items. However, you must reach a certain level of Infamy first before you can even consider collecting Sovereigns toward the end of your adventure.

In , a vast number of ships can be built to add to your armada, but the one that sends a shiver down your spine when you hear its name is the Pyromaniac Sambuk Ship. It is an excellent ship to hit enemies fast and hard; it is also quite challenging to get without knowing what you have to do to get it. Players must prioritize it if they want to use it as soon as possible.

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allows pirating players to have more than just a simple parrot as a pet aboard their pirate ships, with parrots not even being an option at launch. This naval combat game currently only has a couple of cat or lemur animal companion options, with most of those being limited to special events. Therefore, many players are hoping that the list of available in-game pets will expand quickly. Having a pet on board a pirate ship may not be a necessity in the game, but having this option available is a fantastic feature that needs to be expanded on.

The Sunken Goldmine in is an out of the way outpost location that has a few helpful items for players to trade for. This makes it a good place to seek out, although the route to get to it might prove perilous. Players should be wary when seeking out this path, but it also could be well worth it.

Despite claims it is a «quadruple-A» live-service experience, Skull and Bones's user Metacritic score has taken a pummelling since the pirate ship game was released on Friday, 16th February.