- Publisher: Ubisoft
- Release Date: Feb 16, 2024
- Also On: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Feb 21, 2024Skull and Bones has its moments, but these brief snapshots don't encompass even half of the full experience. Everything that was great about Black Flag has been ripped out to accommodate tedious live-service elements and a half-baked multiplayer that makes you feel disconnected from other players. Some of its more egregious issues will hopefully be fixed in future updates, but it would still take an entire overhaul to salvage the game's core mechanics and overreliance on banal, repetitive activities. It's disappointing that this is the outcome after an 11-year wait, but Skull and Bones is teetering on the edge of confinement in Davy Jones's Locker.
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Feb 21, 2024Ubisoft's long-in-the-works pirate adventure boasts a beautiful world and bombastic ship-to-ship combat, but it sinks amid boring busywork and tedious traversal.
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Feb 20, 2024Skull and Bones is the result of a long wait and not receiving what was expected. It is an ambitious but monotonous game. Visually speaking, it has very good graphic details, good atmosphere, sound and a decent level of customization. Being a multiplayer service game is absolutely an advantage for this pirate game, although unfortunately in a few weeks everyone will stop talking about it.
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Feb 20, 2024As much as I wanted to enjoy it, Skull and Bones feels like an underdeveloped, unpolished, and unnecessary game that was better left on the cutting room floor. With awkward quests, little incentive to explore, and far too many problematic features, it’s left us wondering how this took 11 years to release and how quickly it’ll drown in its own seas.
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Feb 19, 2024I don’t see much of a future for Skull and Bones. Ubisoft has announced its Year 1 roadmap, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the studio jettisoned the cargo and let it sink to the bottom of the ocean way before that, it certainly feels like they only finished it out of obligation anyway.
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Feb 16, 2024Instead of a "gritty pirate game," Skull and Bones is a looter shooter on the high seas that keeps stepping on its own toes. I hope future seasons will transform it into a game that's good for more than novelty ship battles.
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Feb 16, 2024Skull and Bones promises the pirate adventure of our dreams and falls far short thanks to a sparse storyline, lack of personality, and gameplay that oscillates between frustrating and boring.
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Feb 15, 2024There are brief windows within Skull and Bones where I can see some remnants of passion. Everything else is a chore. A predictable one, considering the game’s delays and development issues, but a disappointment all the same.
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Mar 12, 2024Skull And Bones pitches itself as an exciting MMO pirate adventure. Unfortunately, it's not very adventurous or exciting, and the MMO elements just get in the way. The 'pirate' bit I'll grant it though.
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Mar 21, 2024Skull and Bones is not only not a disaster, but as an open-world ship shooter it is a fun and content-packed proposition, even with its flaws and minor disappointments.
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Feb 17, 2024It’s great for some rather mindless fun, but don’t expect anything too intricate. I have some genuine fears about this being live service, as I’m not sure there’s enough to really justify that sort of design. But I’m also currently Infamy Rank 6 out of 10, and maybe as I reach the maximum rank and experience some of the new content I will see more that gives me hope Skull and Bones could find its sea legs. [Review in Progress]
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Feb 23, 2024I think Skull And Bones might be one of the most boring games I've ever played. There might be value in it for those looking for a leisurely sail, or folks who enjoy the time management side of making deliveries optimally. For everyone else, boat-lovers, live service fiends, and people who like fun, the game will be nothing more than a tedious slog through unrewarding waters.
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Feb 15, 2024So far it seems the ocean in Skull and Bones is a mile wide and an inch deep, devoid of any real personality. As Arrowhead Studios — developers of the darling of the moment Helldivers 2, have proudly emblazoned on their website — “a game for everyone is a game for no one.” In Skull and Bones’ case, it seems that a game that does everything is a game that does nothing. [Review in Progress]
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Sep 9, 2024Skull and Bones is a hard game to recommend at full price, but I do recommend checking out the free trial. I enjoy naval combat and open world Ubisoft games, and Skull and Bones with all its updates so far is good, but it has potential to be better. If you do plan on playing Skull and Bones on Steam Deck, keep in mind that it is an online only experience. I will likely grab it on console to also play there with cross progression. [Impressions]