Be right back, I’m currently sailing the high seas and singing sea shanties! Just kidding, I’m playing Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones Closed Beta! But close enough, right?
It’s the closest I’ve come to being a real pirate and now I’m here to tell you all about it.
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Backstory
If you are only just hearing about Ubisoft’s upcoming game Skull and Bones, here is what you need to know.
Skull and Bones is a pirate open-world RPG, set at the end of the 17th century when piracy was in its golden age. The game will have you setting sail on the Red Isle and the Coast of Africa where you will be plundering, fighting, looting, and most importantly building your empire to becoming the Pirate Kingpin.
A Pirate Life for me
Your story begins in the middle of an ambush. While fighting to defend yourself and your ship, you end up defeated and shipwrecked. Stranded in the middle of an ocean, you’re eventually rescued and given a new chance at piracy. You’re now that little bit closer to becoming the fearsome pirate you once were. From here, you set out to find the pirate community of Sainte-Anne; your one-stop-shop for contracts, trading, crafting and shipbuilding.
Sainte-Anne has everything you need to build your reputation as a pirate, all under the watchful eye of cutthroat Kingpin John Scurlock. Surlock isn’t afraid to put you on the job to fulfill his dangerous contracts, all in the name of Skull and Bones.
All deeds impact your Infamy. Infamy is your way of progressing and building your reputation from an outcast to someone to be admired or feared. It determines what contracts are available to you, resources, and the types of ships you can build.
That said, Infamy is not difficult to acquire.
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Simply talking to the vendors and taking on their tasks, exploring and hunting for hidden treasures, and eradicating some dangerous sea life is enough to start making a name for yourself.
Grinding for resources and looting will quickly become second nature as you will find you will need resources to craft upgrades for your ship, weaponry, ammunition, tools and any refined materials for trading. Thankfully the grind is not tortuous as the sea is abundant with shipwrecks, islands, debris, and foreign and rogue traders.
Building your Vessell
What’s a pirate without a ship? It won’t take long and you’re able to acquire one. After gathering the right supplies in Sainte Anne, you can craft a sea-worthy vessel and be on your way to plundering and naval combat.
After setting sail, you’re able to dock your ship at various ports. Many ports are considered safe areas, a rest from the vast sea full of many dangers. Upgrading and stocking your ship with food, ammunition, and repair kits is vital to stay in the battle or to continue your exploration as any revivals in the ocean will result in a hindrance to the health of your ship.
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These ships are built to be weaponised. When building, you will have the option to load out your ship with a variety of weaponry. To upgrade your ship you will need to acquire and complete blueprints. You can find blueprints at vendors, which provide a guide to finding the resources needed to complete it.
As you complete your blueprints you can fully customise your ship’s loadout, including cosmetics, to see you on your journey. On my playthrough, I favoured long-range weapons, as being up close and personal with the enemy can get very chaotic. If you are also a fellow strategist you can mark enemies in the distance with your spyglass to seek out vulnerabilities before making your move.
“Look at me, I’m the captain now!”
As you can imagine, the pirate’s life can get a little intense. And if combat is starting to overwhelm you, you can choose to freely explore the ocean. There’s a lot to be found in the world of Skull and Bones, with islands to discover, hidden treasures and plenty more investigations (or side quests) to pursue. If you aren’t sure where to start you can always take a look at the job board at Sainte Anne to help you decide — or speak to a marked NPC in town.
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The thrilling life of a pirate extends further than just fighting enemy ships on sight. Exploring the world will see you hunt sea monsters, plunder forts, complete various world events and acquiring bounties — just to name a few.
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Any of the above paths will lead to increased infamy, huge pay-outs and worthwhile loot that can change the game as a pirate! The game is full of content and the sea is your oyster; you make the rules on your journey and there are many directions on how you want to play.
Solo or Co-Op?
Skull and Bones is ideally played co-op, however, it can be enjoyed solo. During the beta, I played with a friend and solo to get a balanced experience. Adventuring together in co-op was fun and the game is generous when it comes to sharing infamy. Playing co-op the reward is shared, however, when finding loot it will be separated. While exploring islands together you will also come across pirate bonfires that you throw gunpowder into to receive a temporary stat boost for yourself and allies.
Whilst sailing the oceans you can team up with other players or if you need assistance you can send out a ‘Call for help’, which is an open invite to online players to join your journey and quest. World events encourage you to team up and work together to combat large-scale ship battles and reap the reward.
This game can still, of course, be played solo. I would recommend strategising and preparing before you set sail to make sure you are ready for anything. You will find if you are in combat out at sea that online players may step in to assist you as anything out at sea becomes fair game.
Performance
I played the Skull and Bones Closed Beta on the PlayStation 5 and it ran beautifully. When setting out with your ship, the environment and ocean are gorgeous, and steering your ship is as smooth as butter. However, disembarking your ship and heading to land offered a few noticeable quality and performance drops. On a few occasions, I found my character moving on their own, a distorted effect on NPCs and delayed building textures.
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Other than some minor bugs, I only had one game crash — which is to be expected in a beta of an up-and-coming game. Aside from these bugs and glitches, the game performance was great, and I’d expect big improvements when the full game releases.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Skull and Bones. The game is content heavy and I believe players will always be able to find something to do.
Skull and Bones is set for a release date of 16th February 2024 and can be played on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
