In this review we will tell you in detail about Skull and Bones, the new pirate MMO developed by Ubisoft Singapore
Skull and Bones was announced for the first time by Ubisoft way back in 2017 and now, after countless postponements, is finally available worldwide. From the announcement to today, the title has caused a lot of talk about itself, raising doubts and fears related to it troubled development. We have had the opportunity to try Skull and Bones thoroughly in the last few weeks and this one review we’ll talk about it in detail.
A history mentioned | Skull and Bones review
Skull and Bones is set in the Indian Ocean of the 17th centuryor, in the midst of the age of piracy. The story of the game opens with a fierce battle that sees the ship your protagonist was traveling on sink miserably. After being shipwrecked and creating your character (with an extremely basic editor), you will be rescued by some secondary characters and immediately set sail for Saint Anne. This island is a paradise for pirates and here you can ask for a hand John Scurlock, a legendary pirate captain. Scurlock will help you get back on your feet, providing you with a ship, a crew and offering you the possibility of make a name for yourself under his wing.
This introductory phase is really very subdued and unfortunately so is all the rest of the narrative. In fact, during the main story all the most important events will be told in a very approximate way which is unlikely to enthuse players. The poor narration is also accentuated by some elements of the technical sector, by questionable direction and by the terrible characterization of the characters. Of course, in an open world MMO like this the main focus is the gameplay and having an interesting story is not at all essential, but in any case we were hoping for a little better quality.
Floating Fortresses | Skull and Bones review
Being pirates, obviously for you there will be nothing more important than your ship. At the beginning of the game you will only have a small boat at your disposal, but over time you will have the opportunity to choose between many different vessels. In fact, there are many ships available in the game that stand out for many elements. First of all, these vessels can belong to one of three categories: DPS, Tank and Support. Obviously the ships DPS They specialize in dealing damage, those Tank in resisting enemy blows and those of Support in helping allies.
Each ship can also boast of unique passive skills. For example the Only specializes in ramming and can inflict the flooding status, while the Padewakang gets bonuses when using explosive weaponry. Finally, the vessels also further differ in terms of basic statistics such as maximum speed, load capacity, health and vigor of the crew. In particular the force is a very important value, since it works like a sort of ship’s bunting which is consumed by performing some specific actions.
As you can see, the vessels in the game are very varied and lend themselves well to different play styles, but obviously can be customized further. In addition to the obvious cosmetic changes it is also possible freely modify the ship’s equipment. The weapons available in the game are truly varied and they range from the more classic cannons to ballistae and flamethrowersand what’s more you can also count on support weapons Able to heal allies. To conclude, each ship has different slots in which it is possible to equip gods mobile. These items are not just ornaments, but will also provide several passive bonuses very useful to the whole crew.
Between waves and cannons | Skull and Bones review
Skull and Bones allows you to control a fearsome pirate vessel yourself in a very simple way. In fact, while you are at the helm you can raise and lower the sails at will with the appropriate buttons, thus regulating the maximum speed of the ship. As the wind pushes your vessel forward you will be able to adjust the direction with the rudder and, although you will have to take into account elements such as the direction of the wind and wavestravel will never require too much attention, allowing you to focus more on what matters most: naval battles.
There are a lot of clashes in the open sea immediatesince basically you will simply have to limit yourself to aim and shoot with your paraphernalia while trying to avoid enemy fire. If you want, you can blindly bombard the opposing vessels with everything you have, but to inflict maximum damage you will have to try to hit their weak points, indicated by various bright red elements. Once you have weakened a ship enough you can continue to attack it until it sinks, or you can come alongside it to start a boarding. Boarding will initiate a short sequence written down in which your crew will jump onto the enemy ship and he will steal all his cargodestroying it instantly.
The naval battles are certainly very satisfying and represent the game’s greatest strength, but unfortunately they will rarely be able to put you in serious difficulty. In fact, the sense of challenge is greatly reduced due to the low risks in case of defeat. Of course, if you are destroyed your cargo will end up at sea and you will have to rush to recover it before someone else takes it, but by paying a very small sum of money you will have the possibility of respawn very close to the site of your defeatthus also allowing you to easily finish off the enemy ship again.
While the fights against bots aren’t exciting, they are PVP convinced us a lot. In fact, having a human opponent against you makes the battles much more exciting and above all challenging. PVP is mainly available in the stages of end game but every now and then it is possible to come across some world events which will allow you to face other players in combat.
A sea that is too flat | Skull and Bones review
Obviously the life of a pirate is not only made up of fighting, but also of exploration. In fact, the Skull and Bones map is for real very broad and to carry out the various missions that will be assigned to you you will end up exploring it all. Exploring the Indian Ocean is a very important aspect of the game, as it is possible to find on the coasts resource deposits, pirate hideouts to dock and settlements full of goods to raid. Sailing the seas in peace surrounded by beautiful tropical landscapes can be a beautiful experience, but unfortunately in Skull and Bones it turns out extremely unsatisfactory.
In fact, travel will always be tremendously long even with the fastest vessels and what’s more they will be almost completely devoid of action. In fact, in the open sea there are no particular activities or points of interest to encounter, except for occasional naval attacks or resource dumps. Navigation also features very few risks, given that storms and adverse winds will only slow down your journey, making travel even more tedious.
This is a real shame, especially considering how often you’ll need to take to the seas in search of materials. Furthermore, it also makes the possibility of dedicating oneself much less interesting trade. In fact, in the game there are many types of goods that have a different price based on the island where you buy or sell them. The possibility of earning money through trading could have been very interesting if the travels had been a little faster and more eventful, but unfortunately this is not the case.
Fortunately, by paying a small amount of money it is possible move quickly between the various camps that you have already reached, thus allowing you to almost completely skip navigation sequences. Unfortunately, however, this convenient feature is not always available. In fact, in the game there are very important secondary missions related to black market and to complete them you will be obliged to transport loads from one part of the ocean to another strictly without rapid travel.
Skinny shelters | Skull and Bones review
Pirates rightly cannot dock easily in the large ports of the Indian Ocean and consequently will have to limit themselves to going to pirate hideout. Sainte-Anne will be your main gaming hub as well as one of the largest settlements you can visit. In this place you will find structures of all types, such as several merchants, a port for repairing and modifying the ship, a warehouse, and so on. Furthermore they are also present artisans very important like the blacksmith, the carpenter and the carpenter who, in exchange for money and materials, will be able to build weapons, tools and even new ships.
Pirate lairs are also the only places in the entire game where you can move on foot with your character. Unfortunately these game sections outside the ship are practically empty, given that apart from interacting with the merchants and seeing some other players walking there will be practically nothing else to do. Furthermore, the vast majority of pirate hideouts scattered throughout the game will be all extremely dull, empty and all too similar to each other. This damages the exploration side of the game even more, since you won’t even have the interest to go and see what a new hideout you’ve just discovered looks like, but you will simply disembark to complete the missions and leave immediately.
Towards the pirate Olympus | Skull and Bones review
At the beginning of the game your character will be nothing more than a pirate like many others, but during the adventure you will have the chance to make a name for yourself through infamy. Infamy basically represents yours experience points and once you have accumulated enough you can rise in rank. Reaching a new rank will get you some small rewards and will also allow you to create new tools, weapons, ships and so on. The progression of your character therefore in practice is linked to the quality of the objects you can obtain. In fact, as you rise in rank you will be able to obtain increasingly powerful ships and you will be able to equip them with improved versions of various types of weapons.
Infamy is obtainable in several ways, but obviously the main method is to complete the various missions of the game. Unfortunately, however, it must be said that from this point of view Skull and Bones does not shine at all. In fact, the missions will be all extremely similar to each other, given that in the vast majority of cases you will have to limit yourself to collecting materials, sinking ships, raiding settlements or traveling from one hideout to another. This repetitiveness is also accentuated by the not particularly well-kept narrative section of the title, which often it will push you to complete contracts mechanically and without paying too much attention.
However, infamy is not the only way to obtain new items for your character….