Sea of Thieves

 PC
User Score
4.8

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 1093 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 408 out of 1093
  2. Mixed: 155 out of 1093
  3. Negative: 530 out of 1093

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Richard_dias
    Aug 15, 2023
    7
    That's a pretty nice game if you play it casually (check it every now and then with three more friends to see what is new and call it the day), but maybe not much more than that. I was "forced" to play it too much 'cause my sister had a serious case of addiction, and so I started to see the cracks... it can be really, really repetitive.
  2. kucky7576
    Aug 9, 2023
    6
    Was Ok-ish for me and my friends, couldnt catch us for too long because of lack of content but is fun here and there in a while.
  3. CharonIV
    Jun 14, 2023
    6
    arkadaslarla oynanabılecek bır oyun sarar ama bence vasat bır oyun bırseyler eksık
  4. Rat_Lord174
    Jun 11, 2023
    7
    I.. like Sea of Thieves, I've been playing it for awhile now and it's addicting and fun, fighting other ships and even AI is great, so the combat is great and challenging, but takes extremely long to get good at the game, and takes forever to get major progress, it's fun but not the type of game to keep me grinding to the point were It's taking me weeks and even months to get the newI.. like Sea of Thieves, I've been playing it for awhile now and it's addicting and fun, fighting other ships and even AI is great, so the combat is great and challenging, but takes extremely long to get good at the game, and takes forever to get major progress, it's fun but not the type of game to keep me grinding to the point were It's taking me weeks and even months to get the new skeleton curse. The live service aspect is Alright but can lack sometimes, which is fair, and to give the game credit the way they do live service is actually pretty good but can still be weird, I am looking forward to the Monkey Island crossover. Overall it's above average… Expand
  5. Murdockk
    May 12, 2023
    5
    Yani okey görevleri vs fena değil de sıkıcı oyun be. Yine de arkadaşlarınız ile bir şans verebilirsiniz.
  6. OmegaGiven
    May 11, 2023
    7
    I just love making a fun adventure with friends. I normally like a perks and leveling system but it makes sense for this to not have that else pvp would be unbalanced. The game is very replay able. I do wish it had better crash proofing for pc as If my game crashes then im out of an hour of work...
  7. razMN
    Apr 6, 2022
    6
    It's a game with a HUGE potential, but... THERE'S NOTHING TO DO IN IT. I've played it before way back in 2019, and going through it again, nothing has changed: you're a pirate and you'll pillage some islands with the size of an average room for skins. There's no actual direction for what to do and not being able to disable PvP is a bad decision at best (you're just there trying to figureIt's a game with a HUGE potential, but... THERE'S NOTHING TO DO IN IT. I've played it before way back in 2019, and going through it again, nothing has changed: you're a pirate and you'll pillage some islands with the size of an average room for skins. There's no actual direction for what to do and not being able to disable PvP is a bad decision at best (you're just there trying to figure out how to even control the ship with someone then 4 guys come to kill you because yes).

    Has potential but has a poor execution as well.    … Expand
  8. Uarabei
    Feb 21, 2022
    5
    Played the game for 20 hours and got really tired of it. Perhaps I would have played more, but a lot of boring mechanics.

    If the game had increased the dynamics of swimming, then it would probably be more fun to play.
  9. moonlaba
    Jan 17, 2022
    6
    전투며 스토리며 제대로된 부분없이 너무 안일하게 비어있는 컨텐츠들. 그와중에 스킨으로 돈이나 받아먹으려는 심보가 너무 괘씸해버리는 부분..
  10. Jamesmac77
    Dec 17, 2021
    5
    It's simply, Okay, it's pretty fun with a friend or two, but it's an absolute snooze fest on your own, also , there's nothing to do in the game other than to buy cosmetics
  11. andrew9
    Nov 16, 2021
    6
    sea of thieves .
  12. CypiBoii
    Nov 12, 2021
    6
    The first good game RARE Studios has ever devolped is Sea of Thieves.
    The graphics are cartoonish, which makes it uniquie, and its about **** pirates
    everyone love pirate, they even got a story line with character from Pirates of the Carribean

    But the game do get boring after 10 hours of playtime.
  13. deax
    Nov 10, 2021
    5
    Eu sinceramente não consigo compreender o porque as pessoas gostam disso em 2021. O jogo é um constante loop de navegar por mares entediantes, atracar em uma ilha que te mandaram atracar, procurar pelo tesouro, vender o tesouro e repetir infinitamente, tudo isso pra comprar roupinha e skin de arma.
  14. Bioreactor1987
    Oct 19, 2021
    5
    Весело только с друзьями.
    В одного вы будете зад себе поджигать, когда в очередной раз вам сольют часы геймплея.
    Прогресс в виде исключительно косметики - такое себе решение. Но разрабы молодцы, игру развивают до сих пор.    Весело только с друзьями.
    В одного вы будете зад себе поджигать, когда в очередной раз вам сольют часы геймплея.
    Прогресс в виде исключительно косметики - такое себе решение.
    Но разрабы молодцы, игру развивают до сих пор.
  15. CallOfTheVoid88
    Oct 2, 2021
    7
    Decent game but a missed opportunity, this game could have been so much more but they dumbed it down to keep it kiddie proof.
  16. TheSikvel
    Sep 28, 2021
    7
    It was very interesting to play with friends, but the variety of content is depressing. Enough for 50-70 hours.
  17. Oshiri_Maeda
    Jul 9, 2021
    7
    Pretty nice chill coop, PVP is almost non-existent. However, those several time we did PVP it was pretty hilarious. The game doesn't have much unique content, and I played only about 10 hours, but those were fun. Buy on sale.
    Btw, water visuals are just stunning! and meteors were pretty cool as well :D
  18. Rudey21
    Jun 21, 2021
    7
    dflv ;mbdfk lmgkdfkggkdfklglkldfkllgkdflgdfgdfgldlldgflgfdkldfgggkljdfjkgjk
  19. Maf1k
    Jun 15, 2021
    7
    Игру купил за 700 рублей в стиме. За эти деньги мы получаем: Очень интересную песочницу для игры с друзьями, но после определенного времени игра надоедает. Игру рекомендую, но надоела за 13 часов игры
  20. tufekciero
    Mar 12, 2021
    5
    BRONZ zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
  21. Deadude313
    Feb 7, 2021
    6
    its meh, just meh. nothing really special, but it is enjoyable with friends.
  22. SuomiSoldat
    Jan 9, 2021
    7
    The game is good, and great fun especially with friends. My main gripe with the game is that there really isn't any progress you can make. Sure you can buy skins and such, but I'd loved to have some other progress to achieve. The second issue with the game is the inability to conveniently play with more than 4 friends. Like I have 6 friends I play the game with. It would be fun to be ableThe game is good, and great fun especially with friends. My main gripe with the game is that there really isn't any progress you can make. Sure you can buy skins and such, but I'd loved to have some other progress to achieve. The second issue with the game is the inability to conveniently play with more than 4 friends. Like I have 6 friends I play the game with. It would be fun to be able to join the same server...… Expand
  23. Hello12345678
    Dec 31, 2020
    7
    This was a fun game to play with friends , good graphics . It more or less gives you a playground in which to do whatever wacky stuff you want to .
  24. ChrisWhiteWolf
    Dec 22, 2020
    5
    Had a ton of fun for the first 2 hours playing with 3 of my friends, but after that initial period, I feel like I've seen absolutely everything the game has to offer and now all I can do is replay the same stuff.

    All the quests feel the exact same: sail somewhere, find a thing, go back, rinse and repeat. That's not helped by the fact that doing everything in the game feels like a huge    Had a ton of fun for the first 2 hours playing with 3 of my friends, but after that initial period, I feel like I've seen absolutely everything the game has to offer and now all I can do is replay the same stuff.

    All the quests feel the exact same: sail somewhere, find a thing, go back, rinse and repeat. That's not helped by the fact that doing everything in the game feels like a huge pain in the ass. Playing on any ship but the smallest one, you are simply not able to see ahead of you as you sail, your progress is entirely up to the mercy of the wind, which is somehow ALWAYS in the direct opposite direction of where you are meant to go, slowing your progress to a crawl and making every single trip an annoyance.

    All this plus a terrible UI that's a huge mess that focuses on realism rather than convenience, much to the game's detriment, and you have a game with a ton of potential that unfortunately amounts to nothing more than a couple hours of fun.    … Expand
  25. Cradac
    Dec 17, 2020
    5
    This game really is great.
    SInce release, Rare has done a very good job of adding new events and features, and they plan on doing so in the next few years as well. For Free.
    I see why people think the price tag is high for this game but one must also see what they get for the price. === Edit: Two years later I mus revise the main part of that review. The content updates in the last    This game really is great.
    SInce release, Rare has done a very good job of adding new events and features, and they plan on doing so in the next few years as well. For Free.
    I see why people think the price tag is high for this game but one must also see what they get for the price.
    ===
    Edit:
    Two years later I mus revise the main part of that review. The content updates in the last year were lackluster at best. Barely any original content, mostly recycling old missions and additions to the new MTX store "the Pirate Emporium". The amount of sell out this game has gotten is incredibly sad.
    Besides some questionable decisions in its community management Rare has lost my good will in the team. I do not recommend the game anymore.    … Expand
  26. zarnor
    Dec 13, 2020
    5
    Disclaimer: Haven't played the relatively new 'story mode' included to open world. My review doesn't include information about this new quest line.

    The game is really fun for spending time with a group of friends. It offers plenty options to roam around, have a chat and complete tasks, do ship battles to have a cackle. However, game doesn't provide any real incentive to grind. The only    Disclaimer: Haven't played the relatively new 'story mode' included to open world. My review doesn't include information about this new quest line.

    The game is really fun for spending time with a group of friends. It offers plenty options to roam around, have a chat and complete tasks, do ship battles to have a cackle. However, game doesn't provide any real incentive to grind. The only goal of the adventure mode is to unlock cosmetics by grinding money and emissary (faction) levels.

    If you are looking forward to fighting ships PvP mode offers great fun with friends. It kind of resembles a battle royale mode but with ships. You roam around looting and improving your weaponry stock in a large map, fighting with opponent ships. This is probably the most laugh I had in a battle royale mode with friends in a while.

    If you are alone and lookıng for a game that ıs not so stressful and just there to be a 'background noise', it might be a decent option. However, it is relatively hard to operate even the smallest ship alone. Moreover, tasks take significantly more time doing alone since there is a lot of manual carrying around involved. Most of your time will be spent walking around carrying chests.

    Because of the fun I had with a group of friends I am giving a 5. Otherwise game is very boring to play alone with no goal to achieve.    … Expand
  27. Lugarty
    Nov 13, 2020
    6
    The game started out as a big disappointment, but over time it has been growing a lot with several new mechanics and ways of playing, Rare is really doing its best to improve the game. They just need to stop make microtransactions that's ruin any game!
  28. Spideyhero360
    Aug 21, 2020
    7
    The biggest highlight of this game are the Tall Tales. They were incredibly fun and actually felt like a real pirate adventure (especially if you play with friends.) Graphics are also really beautiful. Everything else gets repetitive and boring really quick though. All the quests are about either finding and digging up treasure or killing skeletons and thats about it. The game doesn’tThe biggest highlight of this game are the Tall Tales. They were incredibly fun and actually felt like a real pirate adventure (especially if you play with friends.) Graphics are also really beautiful. Everything else gets repetitive and boring really quick though. All the quests are about either finding and digging up treasure or killing skeletons and thats about it. The game doesn’t really have much variability to it at all.… Expand
  29. Sonyer
    Jul 2, 2020
    7
    If you have a lot of friends to play every day this game is for you, but if you only play alone... this game is not for you because you always need more people helping you to do missions and stuffs like that.
  30. Tonyiu5641
    Jun 21, 2020
    7
    Overall it's a nice game, great effect especially the sea and tsky... the most interesting part is the pvp mode.
  31. KarthXLR
    May 16, 2020
    5
    Sea of Thieves is marketed as a "Make Your Own Adventure" type of game. After playing it for a few weeks off a trial on GamePass, I've gotten to admire the gorgeous seas, the insanity of friends screwing up certain situations, and then the bitter realization of knowing that I had experienced every type of quest only 3 days in.

    The competition for game makers these days is immense, not    Sea of Thieves is marketed as a "Make Your Own Adventure" type of game. After playing it for a few weeks off a trial on GamePass, I've gotten to admire the gorgeous seas, the insanity of friends screwing up certain situations, and then the bitter realization of knowing that I had experienced every type of quest only 3 days in.

    The competition for game makers these days is immense, not only are you going up against massive free-to-play giants both on phones and PC, but also with other games-as-a-service platforms like GTA Online, Destiny, and even No Mans Sky. So the most important thing to do is to make your game stick out, make it fun, make it visually appealing. Sea of Thieves definitely has the look and the idea down, but the gameplay simply is dull and samey.

    You start out choosing from a pre-made selection of pirates to make as your avatar, it doesn't matter if you don't get one you like, as you will quickly discover that cosmetics and alterations are the only thing you can purchase in this game. Once you start your first quest, you're plunged right in to the sailing mechanics of the game. My group started and immediately got into a terrible storm, setting the ship on fire and striking multiple of us with lightning. At the time, it was extremely stressful and funny, we were laughing crazy hard. And it was a great introduction to the zaniness the game can bring out. We started doing a handful of different missions, including digging, bounties, rhymes, and a fruit crate.

    But slowly, you start to notice that those missions are it. If you've done one digging mission you've done all of them. Find the X, dig it up, optionally fight skeletons with the god-awful combat system (we'll come back to this), and sell the loot for gold or doubloons. As a matter of fact, that's the only thing you can do with ANY of the quests in this game, it's only good for gold. But hey, currency is important in these games right? In GTA Online there are endless things to buy, from haircuts, clothing, cars, guns, bases, and even your own business. In Sea of Thieves? There's cosmetics, and not really a ton of them for being a 2 year old game. No upgrades, no side-grades, just cosmetics. Rare has opted for a "horizontal progress" approach which basically means skill is the only thing that improves in the game. But, honestly? This is a hard sell on a full-price game. You have to be so sure that your game is fun to play even without rewards to sell it this way. And Sea of Thieves just isn't.

    Even going past the lack of content, even 2 years in, the other big element of sea of thieves is combat, and it
    just

    isn't

    fun.

    The hand-to-hand combat with sword and gun is just awful. There's no way to skirt around it. Your sword has a slow floaty animation of 3 swings and a charge up shot, that's it. And you have a few selections of guns to choose from which are all single-shot flintlocks which need to reload between each shot. While this makes sense in a pirate setting, it doesn't make sense in terms of the gameplay. The combat, while being extremely slow, has dire consequences. PVP feels floaty and weightless yet you can die in 3 seconds flat. It's terrible, and I don't know how Rare hasn't completely revamped it by this point.

    The naval combat actually shines from time to time, as it's the main gimmick of the game. Sinking other players ships is where I got most of my fun during my playtime. You have a variety of cannonballs to choose from each with their own strength or player-effect, with the endgoal of waterlogging the enemy ship enough to get it to sink. While this was extremely satisfying the first few times around, ship combat became tedious, overlylong, and pointless since there's only gold as a reward, which as stated previously, can only be used on cosmetics. And if it is YOU getting sunk, I hope you like spawn camping! You spawn in the exact same location every time after your respawn timer finishes and you can bet the enemy will be waiting for you to cause death again. This is such an embarrassing oversight, how did Rare not catch this? On top of this there's no real risk to open-firing on someone as there isn't really a punishment for dying OR griefing. There's no punishment for enemy ships repeatedly picking fights with others and no way to opt out. Doesn't make a lot of sense.

    It got to the point where I really just wanted to do story missions to get the most out of my trial, but I repeatedly ran into events, griefing ships picking a fight with us and making us lose our progress, or some bug either crashing or halting progress that just made me want to quit. To top all of this off, we're still encountering situation where quests aren't getting triggered or stacks of events are happening to us, such as a kracken encounter and a ghost ship right next to each other.

    So honestly? Why bother. When the core gameplay loop isn't fun, why invest any more time into anything else?    … Expand
  32. Gkanjim
    Dec 11, 2019
    6
    A parte multiplayer do jogo com os amigos é boa, mas a quantidade de bugs e a falta de utilidades que deveria haver no jogo é de ****, contarei sobre algumas das ocorrências comigo, uma delas foi que estacionei o navio numa ilha e ele ficou meio preso com o píer, logo em seguida o navio começou a se mover sozinho mesmo ancorado e depois ele desapareceu sem nem afundar(foram 3 horasA parte multiplayer do jogo com os amigos é boa, mas a quantidade de bugs e a falta de utilidades que deveria haver no jogo é de ****, contarei sobre algumas das ocorrências comigo, uma delas foi que estacionei o navio numa ilha e ele ficou meio preso com o píer, logo em seguida o navio começou a se mover sozinho mesmo ancorado e depois ele desapareceu sem nem afundar(foram 3 horas perdidas de loot que estavam nos barris de madeira, canhão e comida, logo foram 3 horas jogadas no lixo, obrigado por essa sensação) e outros são quando você vai para lugares que talvez fique preso(mas não ficará) você é teleportado para o navio... além disso, cadê o "kraken" aquilo pra mim são tentáculos! E não podemos nos esquecer de que não há maneira de desativar o pvp mesmo se você só quiser focar na história, logo se algum grupo de players idiotas quiser te seguir eles irão até o fim do mundo e você talvez perca todo o progresso na missão e tudo que estava no navio sem nem ter jeito de contestar já que se você estiver sozinho contra um grupo de 4... acho que já sabe no que dará.… Expand
  33. darkness0121
    Nov 17, 2019
    5
    SoT used to be fun for me but now its nothing but trolls who just want to go around killing you for no reward. Really now 4v1 for a fisher who allowed them to search the ship to prove nothing was on board, and their response they wanted blood. PVP should be in PVP area only, with a seperate area for PVE
  34. Averycrosslin
    Nov 2, 2019
    7
    Sea of Thieves is an open world pirate game, filled with treasures, combat, and adventure. I really like this game, but it does have some flaws. The game play is repetitive at times, but if you are like me and can only play an hour or so a day then it shouldn't be a problem. The animations are fine, although they can be glitchy occasionally. My next problems have nothing to do with theSea of Thieves is an open world pirate game, filled with treasures, combat, and adventure. I really like this game, but it does have some flaws. The game play is repetitive at times, but if you are like me and can only play an hour or so a day then it shouldn't be a problem. The animations are fine, although they can be glitchy occasionally. My next problems have nothing to do with the gameplay, but the devs decisions. The servers are usually pretty empty, which makes it hard to find other players. Similar to No Man's Sky, they should have waited a long time before releasing the game, because at first it wasn't completed which I think is what caused the low player count. Those are really my only problems with the game. I cannot describe how fun ship combat is. Patching holes, firing cannons, boarding enemy ships, all of it is awesome fun. Ship combat is at another level in arena mode, where combat is most common. Treasure maps are exciting, and skeleton forts are extremely fun. The sort of campaign, or tall tales, is extremely fun too. Overall, a pretty fun game.… Expand
  35. FrostAtronach
    Mar 18, 2019
    5
    Full transparency: I got this game during a free trial with the Xbox Game Pass for PC, but I'm actually pretty glad I didn't spend any money on this game. I also never played alone, so I don't really have a view of that part of the game, although I'd surmise that it's probably just as empty as the rest of the game. This game came out about a year ago to the day, and from reading otherFull transparency: I got this game during a free trial with the Xbox Game Pass for PC, but I'm actually pretty glad I didn't spend any money on this game. I also never played alone, so I don't really have a view of that part of the game, although I'd surmise that it's probably just as empty as the rest of the game. This game came out about a year ago to the day, and from reading other reviews it has not progressed much since then.

    This game honestly feels like an early access game. If it was, I'd have to say it's a pretty decent early access game. The fact is, however, that this is a fully released game. It sure looks like one too, as this is one of the best looking games I've ever played. The style is fantastic, and the sound really adds to the atmosphere which for the first few hours makes the game incredibly immersive. Your first time fighting (or more accurately running from) a Kraken or Megalodon will be an unforgettable experience.

    This is where the issues begin. The gameplay, while passable, becomes incredibly repetitive after only a short period of time. When I first began with my friends, it was awesome setting sail and having no clue what we were doing, trying to find our own adventure. Problem is, that adventure doesn't exist. You'll find yourself being more of a delivery boy than a pirate, with insanely generic voyages that are only fun for the first or second time. The Reaper voyages add a little, but really just become a vehicle for more grinding.

    Some voyages along with general 'exploration' will end up in ship to ship combat. As with most things in this game, the first time is incredible. But once you've done a couple fights, you've pretty much seen all this combat has to offer. The PVP can freshen this up a bit, but ultimately it still feels one-dimensional. Furthermore, there doesn't really seem to be much reason to engage in PVP beyond doing it for the fun of it. You can fight on land as well, but this is still lackluster, as you'll pretty much only be fighting a couple types of skeletons by playing sword-tag or headshotting. There are only 4 types of weapons; sword, pistol, blunderbuss, and rifle. These weapons can never be upgraded and only undergo cosmetic changes to my knowledge.

    All in all, this game has the potential to be amazing, but after a year I find it unlikely that the game will ever reach this potential. As it is, it's a game worth a couple hours of fun with friends for some laughs. I'd recommend getting the game pass with a couple friends to enjoy that first bit. Beyond that, it's an average experience, not really worth its $60 price tag (ouch).

    P.S. Character creation is NOT GOOD.    … Expand
  36. Ydun79
    Feb 11, 2019
    6
    I give this game a 6 based solely on the fact that it is amazing fun with friends. If they add more content for free that number will go up,
  37. mirg
    Dec 25, 2018
    5
    It's repetitive in nature but it's steadily improving as time goes on.

    The team working on this product are dedicated to making the game better and have been making improvements in a speedy manner. So, I cannot give this a negative review nor can I give this a bad review. The game shows promise but the team needs to work faster. I'll come back next year to write a proper review for    It's repetitive in nature but it's steadily improving as time goes on.

    The team working on this product are dedicated to making the game better and have been making improvements in a speedy manner.

    So, I cannot give this a negative review nor can I give this a bad review. The game shows promise but the team needs to work faster. I'll come back next year to write a proper review for it but for now, this is mainly just a "grab loot and sell it for cosmetics" game with heavy emphasis on teamwork.    … Expand
  38. aver233
    Aug 4, 2018
    7
    This game lacks story and reason to grind, but that's not really the point. Jumping into this game with three friends is probably the best multiplayer experience i've ever had. Countless hours of fun. if you can convince your friends to buy this with you, i totally recommend it. And also the new free dlcs really improve the game
  39. ColdAqua
    Jun 9, 2018
    5
    This game had a lot of potential! It was a new open world concept set in a theme that is not used nearly enough in games. When you first get in the game you start on one of the many outposts, and have to get a voyage from one of the three factions. The first few voyages will be fun, and you will probably have a great time with your friends. But after a while you realize that there are onlyThis game had a lot of potential! It was a new open world concept set in a theme that is not used nearly enough in games. When you first get in the game you start on one of the many outposts, and have to get a voyage from one of the three factions. The first few voyages will be fun, and you will probably have a great time with your friends. But after a while you realize that there are only three different types of voyages, and they get repetitive very fast. It would have been a good game for 20-30 bucks, but the current price is just way too high.… Expand
  40. TimidTanuki
    May 1, 2018
    5
    tl;dr: Sea of Thieves would be a great beta, but it pretends to be a full release that doesn't merit a $60 price tag due to extreme the lack of content.

    -- Pirate games are relatively few and far between, so when I first started hearing about Sea of Thieves I was pretty excited; the overall concept sounded amazing, and it was being built by a solid company. When it finally    tl;dr: Sea of Thieves would be a great beta, but it pretends to be a full release that doesn't merit a $60 price tag due to extreme the lack of content.

    --

    Pirate games are relatively few and far between, so when I first started hearing about Sea of Thieves I was pretty excited; the overall concept sounded amazing, and it was being built by a solid company.

    When it finally released, I picked it up with a couple of friends and set sail to pirate it up - and what we found was a game that, had it been called a beta or pre-release and priced at $20-30, was a beautiful start to a game.

    But it wasn't a beta. It was supposedly a full release game, and cost as much as any other AAA title out there.

    In short, the game suffers from a lack of content. Here's a rundown of what you can do in-game:

    -Get a quest from one of the three factions, sail to one or more islands, and do one of three things: Dig up a chest or chests; cage livestock of the proper 'colors'; or fight a couple of waves of skeletons, kill the captain, and take his skull; then sail back to port and deliver/sell the items
    -Engage in ocean-based PvP battles that are generally limited to firing cannon, ramming, and boarding to fight with the limited melee and pistol moves
    -Find the occasional random chest, skull, or item and take it to the proper faction to sell it
    -Find the occasional "message in a bottle", which will send you on a treasure hunt identical to Hoarders' quests
    -Come across a shipwreck and risk drowning as you collect - you got it! - more stuff to sell
    -Sail to a randomly-spawning "skeleton fort", fight waves of a few different types of skeletons, open the vault, and take the stuff back to sell
    -Earn rep for each of the three factions to unlock slight variations of their quests or 'special' skins for your weapons and clothes
    -Buy purely cosmetic upgrades to your weapons, clothes, and ship
    -Sail off the edge of the map
    -Occasionally get attacked by a kraken that you can kill for an achievement and nothing else

    That's a lot to do, right?1 Not really.

    There are 3 minor variations of fetch quests, random spawns that grant or lead to the same loot you get from fetch quests, forts where you fight a couple of enemy variants to get the same loot you get from the quests, or get ambushed by giant tentacles that you can kill for no tangible purpose. Oh, and PvP (which seems to happen infrequently due to how world instances are populated, and which seems to happen when it's most inconvenient).

    That's the whole experience.

    Even the occasional 'special' chest - like the Chest of Grog, which makes you drunk while you carry it, or the Chest of Sorrows, which cries while you're sailing and will sink your ship if you aren't paying attention - is just a slight variation of the only real non-PvE thing you can do in the game, which is fetch quests and more fetch quests.

    There are no classes or leveling. Each pirate has the same set of skills, which boils down to sailing the ship, doing two types of attacks with a cutlass, and shooting a pistol, blunderbuss, or sniper rifle.

    There are no item upgrades. Everything you grind absurd amounts of gold for is purely cosmetic. You'll look pretty, but that's about it.

    The factions have no stories. They're literally just quest givers with semantically identical quests.

    The thing that bugs me most is that there is no quest persistence. Did you pick up two of the three chickens you need for the Merchants, and then have to log out? That's gone. Quest items don't persist from log-off to log-on. When you log in, you aren't even in the same place you were when you logged off, and you're starting fresh on any quests. Even the "message in a bottle" maps disappear upon log-out.

    As to what the game does well: It's beautiful, especially the rolling waves and storms; the sailing mechanics are delightful and fun (learning to club haul is great); ship-to-ship battles are an invigorating blast; and holding drunken parties aboard ship while playing your squeeze boxes, puking on friends, and launching yourself out of the cannon are interesting if short-lived distractions.

    What the game does, it does solidly (the lack of persistence not withstanding). But it isn't a $60 game, and it isn't a release game. It's an incredibly pretty pre-release or beta, the groundwork for a solid game with another year of work to pump into it a reason to keep playing. I did pretty much everything you can do in about 3 hours (not exaggerating) and then (thankfully) got a refund from Microsoft (whose horrible games store is another story entirely).

    Sea of Thieves is a great concept, but it's only about a quarter of a game right now. Put in a class or leveling system, add some actual item upgrades, and give it some sort of over-arcing story (or at least unique factions per story) that makes it worth ongoing play, and it'll be a game worth a triple A price tag. Until then, it's a rip-off at $60.    … Expand
  41. Flump
    Apr 23, 2018
    5
    This game has SO MUCH POTENTIAL! Unfortunately, it kinda sucks
    Now I had a lot of fun playing this with my two brothers, but only an hour or so in, I quickly realized that we had already experienced pretty much the entire game. There's just nothing to do. There's no end game... Hell, there's no MID game! It's just quests that have you go dig up a treasure chest, fight some skeletons, or    This game has SO MUCH POTENTIAL! Unfortunately, it kinda sucks
    Now I had a lot of fun playing this with my two brothers, but only an hour or so in, I quickly realized that we had already experienced pretty much the entire game. There's just nothing to do. There's no end game... Hell, there's no MID game! It's just quests that have you go dig up a treasure chest, fight some skeletons, or deliver animals (which is the worst).
    I noticed the "Mysterious Stranger" NPC in the taverns who told me to get to rank 5 in all of the guilds. When I got to 5 they told me to get to 10... I looked it up and turns out that there's no end to it. They just keep telling you to rank up more.

    The things I like about the game
    This is one of the most visually beautiful games I've ever played. The water is gorgeous, the sunsets look amazing, and the stars and northern lights are simply mesmerizing.
    I love the soundtrack and the instruments that you and your friends can play together.
    I really enjoy controlling the ships. It's fun adjusting ropes trying to catch the wind just right in your sails, avoiding rocks, and fighting other ships (when you can find any).

    If it were WAY more fleshed out, it would be a great game. But it just feels so empty. The structure's there, but they need to put the rest of the game on that structure. I absolutely cannot believe Microsoft is selling this for a full $60.    … Expand
  42. maartendc
    Apr 9, 2018
    6
    The game is about the experiences with your friends and the unexpected moments, which are very good, even unique. Run into other pirates and battle them, or make friends, both are incredibly fun and exciting.

    BUT, big BUT: the quests and missions on the way are very boring, and could have used a lot more variation. The bar was very low when designing the quests, and that is a shame. If    The game is about the experiences with your friends and the unexpected moments, which are very good, even unique. Run into other pirates and battle them, or make friends, both are incredibly fun and exciting.

    BUT, big BUT: the quests and missions on the way are very boring, and could have used a lot more variation. The bar was very low when designing the quests, and that is a shame. If there had been a big story or more interesting side quests with little stories, NPCs to talk to, etc., then it would have been a hugely fascinating game. A great pirate mystery to solve, a gigantic hidden treasure that you have to find through clues or riddles ... come on, there are enough pirate films and books to find inspiration. SOMETHING, had been better than NOTHING. Also the sidequests (because that's all the quests are, stupid fetch -quests) themselves have no purpose, no backstory, no plot, no characters, nothing.

    The game feels only like a huge empty sandbox, where you can have fun with your friends, but even then there are dull moments when you meet no one else (because this can be pretty rare).

    I have the impression that another 6-12 months extra was needed to create the actual content in the game. The basic gameplay is solid, it simply lacks content. Unfortunately. For a $60 game, it is really a ripoff. I would rate it more highly if it were $20. That sounds like a more fair price for this product.

    It is a shame, but I could not rate this higher than a 6/10.    … Expand
  43. gholazero
    Mar 30, 2018
    6
    Just came out two days ago. Working through (unfortunate) typical MMO launch issues. This game is already a solid 8/10, If you have 1 to 3 friends to play with. Not really built for solo, but can be done: 6.5/10. Could obviously use some tweaks and quest refinements. The base game is excellent. Content additions have great potential to expand it. Everyone is equal as far as equipment.Just came out two days ago. Working through (unfortunate) typical MMO launch issues. This game is already a solid 8/10, If you have 1 to 3 friends to play with. Not really built for solo, but can be done: 6.5/10. Could obviously use some tweaks and quest refinements. The base game is excellent. Content additions have great potential to expand it. Everyone is equal as far as equipment. Progress is 'horizontal' with cosmetic gear and special area unlocks and more complex adventures. Base mechanics and graphics and sound for sailing around the open seas is amazing. It's a sandbox, and a blast for creative types, not so much for pure grinder types and power levelers. There are thieves about, enjoy the pleasant journeys and heart-pounding cannon blasts.
    OMG, needs content. Lowering review after much more repetitive play.    … Expand
  44. Humboldt1337
    Mar 26, 2018
    5
    - Fun
    - Shallow
    - Visually stunning
    Sea of Thieves would be a great game for $20. At full price, this is a rip off. The lack of content is shocking.
  45. LeojetNiopal
    Mar 26, 2018
    5
    Graphics 10/10 - I really enjoy the cartoony graphics and the water details!

    Content 5/10 - There's clearly not enough content and the game gets repetitive very quickly. Gameplay 6/10 - What is there is mostly good. Navigating the boat feels nice. Storms are really cool. Fighting other players is really fun except in solo. Exploring island is boring, there's nothing on them most of    Graphics 10/10 - I really enjoy the cartoony graphics and the water details!

    Content 5/10 - There's clearly not enough content and the game gets repetitive very quickly.

    Gameplay 6/10 - What is there is mostly good. Navigating the boat feels nice. Storms are really cool. Fighting other players is really fun except in solo. Exploring island is boring, there's nothing on them most of the time. I did not encounter the kraken yet so I cannot say. You fight mostly skeleton as far as I know. I saw different kind of skeleton tho. Normal, Captain(they have hats and more hp...) metal skeleton, and ghost skeleton. But yeah, mostly skeleton so it gets repetitive...

    In summary, 5/10 - Okay but could be better. The game has potential but feels like an early access game. So for the price 92$(Can), it's overpriced... You can get refund if you played less than 2hours. One of my friends did. I should have but oh well...    … Expand
  46. Gareee
    Mar 24, 2018
    6
    The initial presentation and sailing mechanics and crew teamwork are great, but they is far too little content or objective variety at present. IF Rare can add more down the road, this game has great potential, but as it is, it isn't a $60 title... You are basically buying a early access game with the promise of future expansions. The only difference is what is there is at least optimizedThe initial presentation and sailing mechanics and crew teamwork are great, but they is far too little content or objective variety at present. IF Rare can add more down the road, this game has great potential, but as it is, it isn't a $60 title... You are basically buying a early access game with the promise of future expansions. The only difference is what is there is at least optimized and polished. We'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and hope this isn't No Man's Sky 2018.… Expand
  47. PixelBard
    Mar 23, 2018
    7
    Rare has constructed a beautiful sandbox for people to play pirates in. The game has a fun, friendly art style that pulls you in while still reminding you that this is make believe. Sailing on the sea with friends is a truly amazing experience as everyone works together to make the ship operate like a well oiled machine. From angling the sails to catch the most wind to repairing breachesRare has constructed a beautiful sandbox for people to play pirates in. The game has a fun, friendly art style that pulls you in while still reminding you that this is make believe. Sailing on the sea with friends is a truly amazing experience as everyone works together to make the ship operate like a well oiled machine. From angling the sails to catch the most wind to repairing breaches in the hull. It's an amazing experience.

    What the Rare forgot to include in this equation is variety. The 3 factions you work for are just a paint coated fetch quests. The games progression is working your way through better tiers of dress up and hoarding your gold.

    Of course also being a game about being pirates you have the option of pirating other players stuff. While this is fun and seems great on paper, there is no long term penalty for being "too aggressive" so a lot of players are inclined to play this route and grief as opposed to following the games intended path. I think if Rare was to implement a karma style system or something that added bounties to excessively aggressive players, this could balance out.

    With all that being said, the game really is a fun sandbox to play in. Sandbox being the key word there. You really need to be able to find your own fun to really enjoy this title. There is almost no hand holding and almost no one telling you that you are doing a good job. It's up to you to feel like you are.    … Expand
  48. CritzGD
    Mar 22, 2018
    7
    While that 7 may be yellow, it is a very high 7 for me. Let me list some problems with the game first

    I've experienced some glitches with the game, my character jitters sometimes, my ship sunk with no holes of water on board and then I disconnected, there are skeletons floating in the air sometimes, but these aren't huge things, they will probably be fixed sat some pint, but the thing    While that 7 may be yellow, it is a very high 7 for me. Let me list some problems with the game first

    I've experienced some glitches with the game, my character jitters sometimes, my ship sunk with no holes of water on board and then I disconnected, there are skeletons floating in the air sometimes, but these aren't huge things, they will probably be fixed sat some pint, but the thing that bothers me, is the lack of content, while what is there is good, there isn't really a lot, the missions consist of either, looking at a map and going to the island and digging treasure, killing skeletons until you kill the captain and collecting his skull, or capturing animals and stuff and you deliver these things you collect to outposts to seel them for gold, and to get reputation for the factions you do this for. However, this is pretty much it, there are shipwrecks, and forts, and of course the Kraken (which is very rare to find). But other than that, there is nothing much else to the game besides the PVP.

    However, even with this lack of content.....It's fun, I don't know what it is, but I'm having so much fun with the game and even when playing solo. The combat, in my opinion, is fun to do. The PVP just flows, I've been able to queue up with random people and we had genuine fun with it. Sea of Thieves is confusing, it is severely lacking in content, but I enjoy it so much. I hope that Rare sticks to their guns (or cannons I guess) and keep adding content to the game.    … Expand
  49. Sakaniator
    Mar 22, 2018
    5
    Seriously, no damage control can avoid the fact this game is terrible, is a disgrace. MS is going downhill, imo thanks to this new CEO, nevertheless, to the game:

    It is not really a game, it is a sort of a high tech, interactive, pirate themed virtual chat room. If you have cyberbuddies and you want to get along, drink some beer while pretending youre playing a game, maybe you can    Seriously, no damage control can avoid the fact this game is terrible, is a disgrace. MS is going downhill, imo thanks to this new CEO, nevertheless, to the game:

    It is not really a game, it is a sort of a high tech, interactive, pirate themed virtual chat room. If you have cyberbuddies and you want to get along, drink some beer while pretending youre playing a game, maybe you can enjoy this thing. Thats all. It is vague, it has terrible gameplay and it is poor on variety. I honestly wonder if these devs actually play any games to tell the difference between a good or a bad (or a disgraceful) game. No damage control nor any politically correct **** discourse on how can games be inclusive could ever save this project.

    Im not rating it a 4 or worse because the visuals and songs are ok, it actually has good graphics. But the rest is terrible. No man's sea. Sad.    … Expand
  50. Zayetto
    Mar 22, 2018
    5
    Will be a short review. Great idea, few content, fun with friends the first few hours. Maybe wait one year and see what they add. Absolutely not worth 70 euros. I played with 14 free xbox game pass trial on pc. You could enjoy the game only if you are a cosmetic grinder lover because if you like pvp you have to run around half an hour to meet someone.
    EDIT: the game is great, fun, good    Will be a short review. Great idea, few content, fun with friends the first few hours. Maybe wait one year and see what they add. Absolutely not worth 70 euros. I played with 14 free xbox game pass trial on pc. You could enjoy the game only if you are a cosmetic grinder lover because if you like pvp you have to run around half an hour to meet someone.
    EDIT: the game is great, fun, good mechanins. A lot of potential, i hope all the potential will be used in the future. For now is a raw fruit.    … Expand
  51. jackhh
    Mar 21, 2018
    5
    Truly Beautiful graphics with stunning gameplay and mechanics but really lacks any direction / content to do after repeating yourself with one of in game quests to do. Such a shame...
  52. sam369369
    Mar 21, 2018
    5
    Big and beautiful but ultimately shallow sea. This feels more like a half arsed sailboat simulator to me, I don't feel like a pirate at all. Getting treasure for the umpteenth time is about as rewarding as a happy meal toy. Rolling dice in Risk is more exciting than the combat. I could go on, but as for now this game isn't worth 20, let alone 60 bucks. If they add a significant bit toBig and beautiful but ultimately shallow sea. This feels more like a half arsed sailboat simulator to me, I don't feel like a pirate at all. Getting treasure for the umpteenth time is about as rewarding as a happy meal toy. Rolling dice in Risk is more exciting than the combat. I could go on, but as for now this game isn't worth 20, let alone 60 bucks. If they add a significant bit to combat and missions, and other random content. I would pay 20 for that. I'm seriously rooting for this game, but they should have spent less money on fake hype and more money on adding to the game.… Expand
  53. Daveisonline
    Mar 20, 2018
    5
    Dammit Rare, You dun fukd'd up!

    As a longtime fan of Rare's titles I was hoping that this would be their return to glory, in an epic sea fearing swashbuckling adventure. I mean credit where credit is due, the game looks amazing especially with the water effects, the characters are very charming and the emotes and the ability to play shanties on deck is awesome. However the game is    Dammit Rare, You dun fukd'd up!

    As a longtime fan of Rare's titles I was hoping that this would be their return to glory, in an epic sea fearing swashbuckling adventure. I mean credit where credit is due, the game looks amazing especially with the water effects, the characters are very charming and the emotes and the ability to play shanties on deck is awesome.

    However the game is sorely lacking in content variety, as quests often boil down to one of three different types depending on which merchant you visit and they all get repetitive very quickly, the progression system is also virtually non existent. Not to mention various bugs I've experienced from my items disappearing to my money suddenly disappearing to not even being able to play the game due to server issues.

    Very VERY disappointing.    … Expand
  54. itsz
    Mar 20, 2018
    5
    Beautiful, but seriously lacks content. Good for a laugh with friends, but little more than that.

Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Most Discussed PC Game of 2018
33
#33 Most Shared PC Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 31
  3. Negative: 1 out of 31
  1. PLAY! Zine
    Sep 5, 2020
    90
    Sea of Thieves has successfully redeemed its clumsy launch with Rare being a developer that fully commits to the title with monthly updates for more than two years. Now – it is a game brimming with content, adventure and gorgeous pirate atmosphere with arguably being the best pirate game available and a truly fun multiplayer experience.
    Read full review
  2. PCGamesN
    Feb 21, 2019
    80
    A year of updates has helped fill out its light content, but the real magic was there from the start. Rare’s take on cartoon piracy encourages you to behave as a cartoon pirate should: a little bloodthirsty, a little silly, and almost always drunk.
    Read full review
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Sep 13, 2018
    60
    Sea of Thieves has a solid foundation, but unfortunately there is no content and in a few of gameplay the feeling of being a pirate completely disappears. [Issue#285]
See all critic reviews »