Skull and Bones, a long-running pirate action game that has gone through 11 years of development, has experienced a lot of hardships: the authors have revisited the game’s concept several times, and chopped and reworked entire segments from scratch.
And now on February 16, after a long wait, Skull and Bones – a game about pirates from Ubisoft – was finally released. However, a few years ago it was stopped waiting for it because of numerous problems during the development, as well as strange promises from the developers about the solution of these problems.
After the first negative reviews appeared, the company stated that it had no plans to reduce the price of the game, because it is a new “AAAA game”, a premium product.
The idea of creating Skull & Bones
The idea to turn the sea part of Assassin’s Creed into an independent series appeared to the developers right after the phenomenal success of the Black Flag game. In 2013 Black Flag received high ratings and became one of the best-selling games of the year, second only to giants like GTA 5, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and Battlefield 4. However, Skull and Bones was only announced in 2017, with a release planned for 2018. The developers emphasized that they were drawing inspiration from Assassin’s Creed 4, and many were hoping for something like Black Flag 2.0.
However, the game got stuck in production difficulties, enduring a lot of porting and rewriting game concepts from scratch. Skull and Bones didn’t make it to release until 2024. From the rare clips, it was clear that the game needed a miracle to save it. However, the miracle did not happen: Ubisoft’s novelty received mixed reviews from the press, and players rated it 3.1 out of 10.
Pirates don’t need a plot
Skull and Bones begins with an epic battle scene with many enemy ships, but the enemies prove to be too many and we crash. The player assumes the role of one of the surviving crew members.
Next, the player is offered to create his character, and then he is given a small dhow (a light Arabian ship) and a supply of spears to hunt, aiming to become the most formidable pirate and build his empire.
The setup of the story proves to be the most interesting and well-developed part of the plot. However, beyond that, it feels as if the writers have all been fired.
The story campaign in the game is a flat, uninteresting, superficial, boring, and dull part of the game experience. Almost all characters act as simple dummies for trading quests, which boil down to standard tasks: bring a certain amount of resources, sink a certain group of ships, deliver an important item to a certain outpost, and so on.
According to the plot, the player has to help two pirates to weaken the influence of the French and Dutch fleets in their region. To do this, you must go through a chain of monotonous errands, and at the end of each stage fight a boss ship. This cycle repeats itself twice, evoking only a sense of deja vu, in a bad way.
What’s good about naval battles?
Despite the other shortcomings of the game, the naval battles are done on a good level and cause interest and excitement. Especially challenging battles fill the player with tension. The mechanics of the combat system are mostly taken over from Black Flag, but thanks to the expanded arsenal of weapons, improved physics, and modern graphics, ship battles in Skull and Bones feel more enjoyable.
Battles in Skull and Bones utilize simple mechanics: the player presses a button, aims, and fires, taking ballistics into account. Most ships have vulnerable points, highlighted in bright red, and as the game progresses, some opportunities open up that allow you to deal additional damage. For example, you can swim up close and fire a volley of muskets. There are also absurd skills, such as a catapult that somehow heals allies.
When the battles begin, the game becomes even more spectacular. The cannonballs fly past the decks, the ships around them are on fire, and the crew screams at the insolence of the enemy who strikes the sides. The sight of exploding ships is incredibly satisfying.
However, a flaw in the damage system is worth noting. Regardless of the number of hits received, the ship will still look like new.
What’s wrong with sea battles?
When we think of pirate adventures at sea, what do we think of? Robbing ships, boarding, plundering ports, hiring crew in taverns, and lots of LOTS of rum. But what do we get in Skull and Bones?
In Skull and Bones, there is no boarding as a separate mechanic. Instead, ships are captured with a single button when the player does enough damage to the enemy and sails close enough. A cutscene then begins in which the player can choose which cargo to pick up. The game also lacks land battles and underwater exploration. The player character cannot move around his ship or climb onto someone else’s ship. It is impossible to swim up to the shore or jump into the water. The player cannot go to the nearest tavern and recruit a new crew – they will have to sail with one. This lack of all these important points causes complete bewilderment among players.
The game offers to do two main things: swimming and battles. The usual routine in the game looks as follows: the player listens to a dull monologue from an NPC, gets a quest to collect a certain amount of resources, swims to the right place, takes the resources, and returns. Almost all missions, from story missions to side missions, follow this scenario. In some cases, you will have to use force to get a reward by destroying a certain number of enemies.
Sinking ships in the game can be fun, especially if it’s a new experience or if it’s been a while since you’ve played a similar game. However, this joy is usually only felt during the first few hours of the game. After that, the motivation to attack passing ships disappears as destroying them becomes monotonous and time-consuming. Battles quickly become similar to each other, and the loot is not worth it: if it is not a story ship, it is better to sail by and not waste your time.
Ship and Grind
The ship customization options in Skull and Bones are not shabby. Players can choose from different types of cannons (torpedoes, ballistae, rocket launchers), interior equipment, plating, flag color, flag pattern, and more. Each ship also has unique perks and characteristics, allowing gamers to experiment with creating builds.
For example, if you prefer an aggressive style of play, you can choose a ship with increased damage from ramming and equip it with melee cannons. And if you prefer to act at a distance, you can put a mortar and equip the ship with long guns.
In most cases, the player with the most upgraded ship wins the fight, but even an outsider has a chance to succeed with good skill.
The thing is that Skull and Bones are really “Far Cry about pirates”. In front of you is a boundless ocean littered with recognizable points of interest: outposts must be captured, guard towers must be razed to the ground, merchant ships must be looted, and valuable resources must be shoved in the hold.
You must do it, because victories bring resources and, most importantly, glory points. All the same, the best ships, guns, and armor are available only to the legendary pirate.
Pirates without a treasure hunt are not pirates
At Ubisoft, even treasure hunting has become something lifeless and boring. Players don’t have to think: each map shows the exact location of areas, islands, and even settlements where they can find the bounty. After sailing to the specified point, players find themselves in a tiny location that they simply have to explore to find the place where the chest is buried. Not to worry: when the player gets close to the desired point, a huge red beam starts shining out of the ground, so even the most inattentive player won’t have any trouble determining where to look for the chest after just a few seconds.
Swimming in the Abyss of Boredom
Skull and Bones is a pirate game that is nothing but frustrating and depressing. While the game may bring some enjoyment to those who just want to sail and sink ships, it is only a poor imitation of the already-known mechanics from “Black Flag”. Frankly speaking, the gameplay is so primitive that it looks like an uninteresting three-in-a-row game with a pirate theme.
Even praiseworthy words can be said only about the music of “Skull and Bones”: the gloomy theme from the main menu turned out to be quite good. However, even here the game is inferior to “Black Flag”, whose soundtrack by Brian Tyler reminds us of the power and atmosphere of the pirate world.
“Skull and Bones” could have won if it had been more entertaining or complete with funny bugs and absurd situations. However, it simply presents an unbearably boring and mediocre game that you don’t even want to try due to the lack of any inspiration or engaging experience.
Moreover, the problem isn’t just the quality of Skull and Bones, but the lack of any innovative vector from the publisher as a whole. Ubisoft fails to offer something new within the framework of big projects, and “Skull and Bones” becomes just another example of trying to use outdated ideas without proper updating and development.
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