Ubisoft Original Game Skull and Bones First Impression Review (Xbox Series X)

19.02.2024 - 16:49 / gamesreviews.com / Sid Meier / Series X / Ubisoft

I feel like it has been a while since we had an open-world pirate game, but we got one for 2024. Ubisoft and one of Ubisoft’s Original Games Skull and Bones which was first announced back in 2017 by Ubisoft Singapore at an E3 event. I remember because I was there when it first got announced and I was excited because I love video games that incorporate wooden ships and pirates. This game when I first heard about it, I remember when I was a kid I used to play a lot of Sid Meier’s Pirates which still to this day is one of my favorite pirate games ever. Even though Skull and Bones is nowhere on the same level as Sid Meier’s Pirates, it has some good elements, and that is something we will talk about right now.

Story So Far

So the story begins where you are shipwrecked after an intense battle, and you start with a small tiny raft ship and eventually meet your first Kingpin John Scurlock who helps you on your journey to become the most fearsome pirate Kingpin ever. Throughout the story, you will encounter many different factions that are constantly at war with each other for dominance over the sea and islands, but nothing compares to the major factions that control most of the regions.

Gameplay

The first thing you should do that is important for any game like Skull and Bones, is the reputation ranking system, in this case, it is Infamy, as your Infamy rank keeps going higher and higher, players will be able to unlock more blueprints. There are a total of 10 tiers of Infamy with Kingpin being the last tier. To progress and earn Infamy points to your rank, every action you do in the game contributes to it, from sinking ships to plundering settlements or even hunting down wildlife.

The game entirely is about 90% sea and 10% land, so if you are a fan of games where you get to be captain of your ships, especially a pirate captain then this is for you. Most of the time you spend on lands buying and selling stuff, crafting and cooking, talking to NPCs for quests, and finding buried treasure chests. Every outpost or main port you docked, each place is unique and has its own vendors and island perks that make it special, I enjoy visiting these islands because I get to see what it is like being a pirate at sea and finally finding land after so many hours at sea.

The ship combat controls and UI system are similar to a few games that I played before Ubisoft Assassin’s Creed Black Flag & Assassin’s Creed Rogue, which are two of my favorite games. I love the ship combat in both of them and during my first couple of hours in Skull and Bones, I had the same feeling of happiness and love for exploring and also trying to become a fearsome pirate kingpin. Naval combat for Skull and Bones features weapons from Cannons,