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

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  1. Reviewsreviews
    Mar 25, 2018
    4
    This game has potential although it falls short on so many levels =( Single player is brutal.. if you come head to head with a boat of more than 1 people you are basically screwed or you have to escape. Just tried playing for 2hours single player mode and got 0 quests done due to ppl attacking my boat when I was on shore. Just a side note I don't usually play this game single player soThis game has potential although it falls short on so many levels =( Single player is brutal.. if you come head to head with a boat of more than 1 people you are basically screwed or you have to escape. Just tried playing for 2hours single player mode and got 0 quests done due to ppl attacking my boat when I was on shore. Just a side note I don't usually play this game single player so this review is also based on multiplayer experiences. The customization is currently very lacking.. you can choose from few different colors for your boat and sail... thats it..you cant customize the details on the boat at all expect for few choices for your front decor. The clothing choices are also very lame and non-imaginable. The funny thing is your only reward from progression are those lame only for look items.. The sea graphics are the most beautiful I've seen but sailing long trips is still quite boring as there is not much to do on the boat if more than 1 players are in it. The game has potential but currently 4/10... lacks content and customization possibilities.… Expand
  2. bvigec
    Mar 24, 2018
    4
    First off I really like how the game looks but that's about it...OK and pirates :)

    The game has no progression, there is no point in it, no end goal, no sense. Repetitive quests with no story behind them with generic islands and generic characters. No feeling of reward. It seriously lacks a looooot of content and progression mechanics. It also lacks a better fighting system and    First off I really like how the game looks but that's about it...OK and pirates :)

    The game has no progression, there is no point in it, no end goal, no sense. Repetitive quests with no story behind them with generic islands and generic characters. No feeling of reward. It seriously lacks a looooot of content and progression mechanics. It also lacks a better fighting system and character. You can not really emerge in the game as it has no story to tell.

    I am really disappointed in this game, I had such high hopes for it. It is very overpriced and lacking content and a goal for playing.    … Expand
  3. Ireland914
    Mar 23, 2018
    2
    A fun small scale "indie" type of game hyped up and marketed as a triple A title. Mildly amusing for a while with a full crew but offers little in the way of content and replayability. Grind just to get the higher tier cosmetic items? No thanks. One map, four weapons, only one type of enemy?! Oh, and then there was the shipwreck of a launch. Absolutely brutal. Maybe check this out whenA fun small scale "indie" type of game hyped up and marketed as a triple A title. Mildly amusing for a while with a full crew but offers little in the way of content and replayability. Grind just to get the higher tier cosmetic items? No thanks. One map, four weapons, only one type of enemy?! Oh, and then there was the shipwreck of a launch. Absolutely brutal. Maybe check this out when it's on sale for $15. I tried it with the gamepass for free and would have been very disappointed if I had actually paid for it.… Expand
  4. ImmyandPTsmack
    Mar 21, 2018
    4
    Mediocrity at best. People giving 10/ 10 r just corporate slaves trying to raise the user score. There is way too little content to justify 50 uk pounds. It gets boring very fast. Rare took 5 years to make this? I think the game should have been 20 pound.
  5. gruntly
    Mar 20, 2018
    4
    Having spent half my time so far playing on PC, and half on Xbox, both play similar. The Xbox version is lacking graphical settings compared to the PC version so the PC version is better in that category. Controls are able to be hot-keyed for keyboard but the game is designed to be played with a controller which you will learn fast.

    Sea of Thieves is a great technical demo for a ship    Having spent half my time so far playing on PC, and half on Xbox, both play similar. The Xbox version is lacking graphical settings compared to the PC version so the PC version is better in that category. Controls are able to be hot-keyed for keyboard but the game is designed to be played with a controller which you will learn fast.

    Sea of Thieves is a great technical demo for a ship sailing game that could have been. It looks fantastic and the base model is good, but beyond that it falls very short. Essentially all the game has to offer will be done by about hour 5, 10 or so hours and you've experienced the nuts and bolts of the entire game.

    To me it feels like a F2P or $20 game that was supposed to have content packs, quests, add-ons, story line unlocks, and other things you paid for over time. Instead they went with the full price route and it falls short in almost every aspect of actual gameplay. It looks good, the base of it is fun, but all the "story" and progress is just repetitive quests that are nearly identical with a few hard bosses (paired with boring combat) sprinkled in between.

    In two years, this game might be fantastic. Its minimalist design and learn as you go sandbox feeling have a lot of potential. As of right now, you wake up in a bar with no tutorial and realize it's because if the game had one it would be more compelling than any story or faction it has to offer.

    Stay away until next year and hope for the best.    … Expand
  6. nazkira
    Mar 24, 2018
    2
    Pros: Beautiful co-op sailing experience. That should be built upon.

    Cons: PvP for no reason. "Pirate life" has/had nothing to do with desperately trying to kill everyone you encounter for no particular reason or reward. The proponents of this kind of play (they loudly dominate the official forums) have gotten what they thought they wanted... ...and ended up with a game full of bored    Pros: Beautiful co-op sailing experience. That should be built upon.

    Cons: PvP for no reason. "Pirate life" has/had nothing to do with desperately trying to kill everyone you encounter for no particular reason or reward. The proponents of this kind of play (they loudly dominate the official forums) have gotten what they thought they wanted...

    ...and ended up with a game full of bored griefers and a very limited player base.

    If the devs are smart, they'll take a page from Eve Online and:

    A. Create a satisfying PVE experience
    B. Create a satisfying PvP experience

    As of now, there's neither.

    Hopefully there are enough sales to build a real game here going forward. But for now, its both boring and cynical, caters to mindless hostility, and certainly isn't worth the AAA price tag.    … Expand
  7. GiantSwords
    Mar 25, 2018
    1
    This isn't a game. It's a hardware intensive live wallpaper. A very pretty one, but nothing more.

    I was worried when I learned that the release date was a month after the closed beta. It looked way too unfinished for an actual release. I didn't realize until I played it just how unfinished it was. The suggestion threads for this game are the ultimate in beating a dead horse: there's so    This isn't a game. It's a hardware intensive live wallpaper. A very pretty one, but nothing more.

    I was worried when I learned that the release date was a month after the closed beta. It looked way too unfinished for an actual release. I didn't realize until I played it just how unfinished it was. The suggestion threads for this game are the ultimate in beating a dead horse: there's so little that virtually any coherent suggestion sounds like a compelling addition. In the words of one of those people, "this game has potential like a blank piece of paper has potential."    … Expand
  8. VampierFP
    Mar 21, 2018
    3
    The game is fun with a group of friends but has nothing worth grinding for than cosmetics. But the biggest issue is the terrible interface, inventory & matchmaking system that was clearly developed for consoles and nobody bothered to add a acceptable system for Keyboard & Mouse users./ The entire system figths against you at every turn and makes the simpelest tasks more complex than theyThe game is fun with a group of friends but has nothing worth grinding for than cosmetics. But the biggest issue is the terrible interface, inventory & matchmaking system that was clearly developed for consoles and nobody bothered to add a acceptable system for Keyboard & Mouse users./ The entire system figths against you at every turn and makes the simpelest tasks more complex than they need to be. And the worst part of course is the terrible microsoft store & Xbox program usage. How microsoft thinks this is their worthy competitor to steam I will never understand. Had this game been released on steam I would gladly give it a 7 but the trouble caused by microsofts design decisions cant be overloocked and ruin the fun that can actually be had in this game 3/10… Expand
  9. Pasabor
    Mar 20, 2018
    1
    One of the best looking games ive ever played in my life. But this game delivers less content than most Early-Access Games on Steam. The fact that this game is sold for 70 Bucks is insane in my eyes. You can see everything this game has to offer in 10 minutes: Gorgeous water physics and similar looking Islands that reuse the same Assets through which they look like randomly generatedOne of the best looking games ive ever played in my life. But this game delivers less content than most Early-Access Games on Steam. The fact that this game is sold for 70 Bucks is insane in my eyes. You can see everything this game has to offer in 10 minutes: Gorgeous water physics and similar looking Islands that reuse the same Assets through which they look like randomly generated content.
    In a Game thats all about pirates and ships, you have 4 weapons, 2 ships and 3 Items (Bananas, Canonballs, Woodplanks) Thats all. The whole progression is based around looting chests and selling them for gold, which you can spend on cosmetic items. Thats the entire mechanic of this game.
    For newcomers this game offers no tutorial or hints whatsoever, you get thrown into it without any idea how the gameplay mechanics are supposed to work (how to get contracts, how to finish them etc.). Therefore, if you want to learn the game, you have to read through various reddit posts just to understand the whole gameplay loop.
    Then the game is terribly flawed by several bugs. You lose your gold when you restart the game, contracts just dont give gold when finished, weapons not showing, gamecrashes etc.
    This game should be an early access title with a $15 pricetag, but its a buggy mess with zero content for 70 f*cking Bucks.

    Of course, you might be having fun with it when playing with Friends. But everything is fun with the right people, even smashing bricks in your face does.    … Expand
  10. Jinx
    Mar 23, 2018
    3
    This is an Early Access game being sold for $60. If you're considering it, get the free 14 day Game Pass trial to check it out that way first. There just isn't enough content. It's polished by very shallow and it gets boring really fast.
  11. Chewieflakes
    Mar 20, 2018
    0
    Basically 3 kinds of repeatable missions you grind for gold and reputation that can only be spent on a VERY modest selection of cosmetic items, and a kraken that is nothing but tentacles you shoot at until it dies, at which point you receive an achievement and NOTHING else. For $60 this game is a joke.I just described 95% of content in the game. It's not even an exaggeration, there isBasically 3 kinds of repeatable missions you grind for gold and reputation that can only be spent on a VERY modest selection of cosmetic items, and a kraken that is nothing but tentacles you shoot at until it dies, at which point you receive an achievement and NOTHING else. For $60 this game is a joke.I just described 95% of content in the game. It's not even an exaggeration, there is NOTHING here.

    PvP is very rare and if you do see another ship they can evade you incredibly easily and it is almost never rewarding to fight unless you somehow get on the enemy ship and steal their chests and bring it back to your own ship before destroying theirs (which is highly impractical).    … Expand
  12. shkeptikal
    Mar 20, 2018
    4
    As others have said, the game is gorgeous. It has BEAUTIFUL water mechanics and the sailing is solid. That being said...the combat is clunky and downright unfun, there's very few npc enemy types, there are three types of fetch quest missions that are basically just rinse and repeat, and there is literally no character progression outside of these missions either. All the items you can buyAs others have said, the game is gorgeous. It has BEAUTIFUL water mechanics and the sailing is solid. That being said...the combat is clunky and downright unfun, there's very few npc enemy types, there are three types of fetch quest missions that are basically just rinse and repeat, and there is literally no character progression outside of these missions either. All the items you can buy with in-game currency are cosmetic only. It honestly feels like a game made by a small dev team that should have come out on Steam Early Access, not a game from Rare backed by Microsoft (ESPECIALLY considering all the launch issues....5 stress tests, and the game is dead on launch day? Come on).

    Ignore the fanboys screaming "BLEH IT'S NOT ON MY CONSOLE" and "BLEH IT'S ONE OF MY HANDFUL OF EXCLUSIVES SO IT'S GOOD". The content to price tag ratio is insanely off on this one. I've easily gotten more game for $20 from much smaller devs on Steam. Shame on Microsoft for pushing this so hard. It's basically launch day No Man's Sky on water with fetch quests and 4-man co-op. If content isn't added, and soon, it'll be dead in the water in a matter of months.    … Expand
  13. Jiggawatts
    Mar 22, 2022
    9
    Game got multiple patches and updates over time and is quite good since 2021.
  14. Crazzzyyyxx
    Mar 23, 2018
    3
    Very beautiful game indeed. I like it a lot and have fun it. But what isnt as much fun is the freaking respawn System. Imagine sailing to a skeleton fort and starting a raid. Suddenly another ship comes and you fight to the bitter end, win, and then they respawn literally 1-5 minutes away and come again and again until you run low on cannonballs, planks and bananas. They then start to useVery beautiful game indeed. I like it a lot and have fun it. But what isnt as much fun is the freaking respawn System. Imagine sailing to a skeleton fort and starting a raid. Suddenly another ship comes and you fight to the bitter end, win, and then they respawn literally 1-5 minutes away and come again and again until you run low on cannonballs, planks and bananas. They then start to use the ramming technique until you die. Thats what this game is like. There are a lot of really nice players out there, but a large amount of them dont follow basic rules. To the question "Do players that die in PVP get a slight punishment?" They answered NO. To directly quote them: "Update to Death Cost.
    Please note, we never intended to charge players for PvP related deaths, as we understand the negative impact this would have on player experience. We understand that this addition to the release notes was a little confusing, and in the future we will ensure that any future updates we discuss give you a better understanding of how and why we're implementing it. Sea of Thieves is constantly evolving, and any feature we will test, monitor data and listen to your feedback to ensure we're making the right decisions."
    I really do love that they put their time into this game to make it better and fix the damn servers that are only getting slightly better. This one time where i dont follow my "Dont buy games at release" i get stabbed again. Its obvious a game cant come out perfectly polished and 100% error free. I just don't like how it behaves and at its current state i don't suggest playing hardcore and just wait a week or two until the first patches dropped.    … Expand
  15. ultraviper
    Mar 20, 2018
    3
    only 2 ships in a game based on sailing ships. only 3 mission types and they're all very similar: find treasure on a specific island and return it, find specific types of pig or chicken on any island and return them, or find skeleton pirate leader on specific island and kill him, then return his skull. pvp is only fun for griefers as there is no reward for doing it. there is no progressiononly 2 ships in a game based on sailing ships. only 3 mission types and they're all very similar: find treasure on a specific island and return it, find specific types of pig or chicken on any island and return them, or find skeleton pirate leader on specific island and kill him, then return his skull. pvp is only fun for griefers as there is no reward for doing it. there is no progression of any kind, only cosmetic "upgrades." very frustrating to play solo: if you're steering, you can't do anything else on your ship like changing speed or checking the map. if you let go of the steering wheel to do those things, the ship goes off course.… Expand
  16. HpfllyIRmbrThis
    Mar 20, 2018
    4
    - Lacks content
    - Windows 10 only? Are you serious?
    - Repetitive
    - PvP griefing is a thing in this game...yep
    - no progression
    - With a good team you can complete everything this game has to offer in 3 hours
    - 69€ ($86 i.e. full priced AAA-game) from this? REALLY?

    Can't see this game surviving past three months. DISAPPOINTMENT!
  17. FabioHellboy
    Mar 20, 2018
    0
    The game itself delivers a tecnhical masterpiece, but the lack of content and servers issues destroyed the overall experience. Just one map? Just 3 weapons? U kidding microsoft
  18. itsz
    Mar 20, 2018
    5
    Beautiful, but seriously lacks content. Good for a laugh with friends, but little more than that.
  19. Brandondwn
    Mar 22, 2018
    3
    The very poor launch aside(server issues & no gold for items turned in). The good? For the time you want to spend here it’s a laugh riot WITH other people IF you can also find other people while in the world. Roughly Three hours in and I’ve only seen one other person while playing solo or with friends. The game is gorgeous, however on higher settings has a pretty bad frame rate on PC. I’veThe very poor launch aside(server issues & no gold for items turned in). The good? For the time you want to spend here it’s a laugh riot WITH other people IF you can also find other people while in the world. Roughly Three hours in and I’ve only seen one other person while playing solo or with friends. The game is gorgeous, however on higher settings has a pretty bad frame rate on PC. I’ve never seen water look this good honestly. The bad for me is how simple this game is & I do mean simple.

    There are 3 factions and each one gives you fetch quests to go and get something to bring back to them. Each time you do it you will get a faction number to rise which unlocks a cosmetic, exclusive to that faction while getting some gold. You then use the gold to buy skins for your character(that you don’t get to create), your weapons and ship. That’s it. There’s no story, there’s no other quest elements. All of the gear is cosmetic and plays the same as what you start out with. There are chests worth more and some do stuff like fill up your boat randomly with water if it’s a cursed chest.

    Overall it feels like a game still in beta and maybe one that was gonna use the loot box algorithm. I’m really disappointed in Rare & for the millionth time this gen, Microsoft. It’s not worth $60 and I felt like the $35 I put into it was too much also. I’d have paid maybe $15 for it, if anything honestly.

    This is very much the “Destiny” of pirate games and what I mean by that is another sixty dollar title has little content, a very buggy launch and is very repetitive. It is far worse in that sense than Destiny, but so people know where im coming from that is what I mean. I don't see this making it very far even with some changes due to the slew of games coming out this year, including what looks like a more ambitious pirate themed video game.    … Expand
  20. BennyGlow
    Mar 29, 2018
    0
    Worst game i have played in years and years. Absolutely nothing to do, No content, Rare banging on about how its their most ambitious game.

    You pay £50 just to have a direct x 12 sea simulator.

    Avoid like that plague
  21. Luhgnut
    Mar 26, 2018
    3
    Let's just say this is a more up to date version of "No Man's Sky". Fun for 5 hours. Then you figure out that in those five hours, you've seen all there is to see. No progression. Nothing. No replay-ability. You're just as tough on day 10 of playing as you are on day one. - No feeling of accomplishment - No penalty for death (except sitting waiting to respawn in 30 seconds back onLet's just say this is a more up to date version of "No Man's Sky". Fun for 5 hours. Then you figure out that in those five hours, you've seen all there is to see. No progression. Nothing. No replay-ability. You're just as tough on day 10 of playing as you are on day one. - No feeling of accomplishment - No penalty for death (except sitting waiting to respawn in 30 seconds back on your ship). No real value to the chests you dig up. The value of the chest is worth more than the gold. You don't need to buy anything from the shop keepers with your worthless chests of gold, because you don't get to keep it. I figured, to purchase A BUCKET (which you get for free on spawn in)...... you would have to dig up, over 84 chests. For a bucket. A single bucket. And that's for the cheap stuff. - But get this, after you spent the money on the expensive bucket which doesn't do ANYTHING better than the bucket you get for free when you spawn in. The Game Designer really must be a maniac. - The motion and visuals of the water is stunning, and the best part of the game, otherwise this is another empty shell of a game, where you "make up you're own fun." - With nothing else but grind..... but go ahead, go have "fun". This is such a game of missed opportunity. Big let down. Feels like NMS all over again.… Expand
  22. anthony15
    Mar 30, 2018
    0
    Called Microsoft Refunded Purchase. Game is really fun at first but then gets boring.
  23. KrieG_
    Mar 7, 2022
    4
    Красавцы, заблокировали доступ к скачиванию. Данный поступок, не заслуживает уважение. Не смотря на то что в игру стоит хотя бы раз сыграть, за такое отношение к простым людям, ставлю минус. Мда, всё больше разочаровываюсь в тех, кого уважал и верил

    Well done, blocked access to download. This act deserves no respect. Despite the fact that the game is worth playing at least once, for    Красавцы, заблокировали доступ к скачиванию. Данный поступок, не заслуживает уважение. Не смотря на то что в игру стоит хотя бы раз сыграть, за такое отношение к простым людям, ставлю минус. Мда, всё больше разочаровываюсь в тех, кого уважал и верил

    Well done, blocked access to download. This act deserves no respect. Despite the fact that the game is worth playing at least once, for such an attitude towards ordinary people, I put a minus. Hmm, more and more disappointed in those whom I respected and believed    … Expand
  24. Riley2504
    Apr 27, 2018
    2
    This is honestly a terrible game. Love sailing the ship, but there are only 2 ships. The only quests in the game are fetch quests, for 3 factions. 1 faction is fetch hidden chests, 1 is fetch certain animals. And one is go kill a named skeleton and bring back its skull. PVP is ok as long as you don't run into griefers, which unfortunately there are a ton of. They camp the fewThis is honestly a terrible game. Love sailing the ship, but there are only 2 ships. The only quests in the game are fetch quests, for 3 factions. 1 faction is fetch hidden chests, 1 is fetch certain animals. And one is go kill a named skeleton and bring back its skull. PVP is ok as long as you don't run into griefers, which unfortunately there are a ton of. They camp the few villages where you can turn in quests and kill you over and over again. The world is too small and the menu system is terrible.… Expand
  25. xMajesticKFJx
    Mar 28, 2018
    0
    I had such high expectations for this game but after just 3 hours of playing I'm trying to see if there is anything new to discover but I don't see anything new! I regret buying this game now I'm stuck with this empty trash till I get rid of it for cheap.
  26. RedFox69
    Mar 7, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Спасибо за то, что отобрали игру, на которую были потрачены деньги и уйму времени.
    Продолжайте в том же духе. И своей первой статьёй пиратского кодекса можете подтираться дальше, желаю потерять всю фан базу. Игры вне политики, ага.    … Expand
  27. FireHaska
    Mar 7, 2022
    0
    Great game, great fun. Pirates and ships. Awesome idea of game, but i have one problem. No more aviable in Russia. It's just steal my money. Thank you steam.
  28. roten
    Mar 7, 2022
    0
    not available in your region
    thanks microsoft (Russophobes)
    i paid for this game
  29. demenchev
    Mar 7, 2022
    0
    Microsoft stole my game (ru)
    One thing is not engaging in the market, but stealing a game already paid for from one's steam library is another thing entirely. I'm sure there's some legality clause that allows them to do it, but from a moral standpoint my money have just been stolen by a company in a move that people born in other countries will see as virtuous. Welcome to clownworld everyone.
  30. loldxd
    Mar 30, 2018
    0
    - Lacks content
    - Windows 10 only? Are you serious?
    - Repetitive
    - PvP griefing is a thing in this game...yep
    - no progression
    - With a good team you can complete everything this game has to offer in 3 hours
    - 69€ ($86 i.e. full priced AAA-game) from this? REALLY?
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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 »